PHP (fake) tuples. Tuples are not built in in PHP, but we can create Python like tuples with simple arrays using shorthand array syntax and destructuring.

php_tuples.php

<?php

/**
 * A low-level function for retrieving data. Throws an exception in case of an error.
 *
 * @return array
 */
function retrieve_data(): array
{
    // throw an exception in case of an error
    // throw new Exception('Could not retrieve data.');

    return ['apple', 'pear', 'banana'];
}

/**
 * A service function to retrieve fruits that returns a tuple with a boolean value and an array.
 *
 * @return array{bool, array}
 */
function get_fruits(): array
{
    try {
        $data = retrieve_data();
    } catch (Exception $e) {
        return [false, [$e->getMessage()]]; // the tuple
    }

    return [true, $data]; // the tuple
}

[$status, $fruitsOrErrors] = get_fruits();

if ($status === true) {
    [$apple, $banana] = $fruitsOrErrors;
    echo "We have these fruits: " . join(", ", $fruitsOrErrors) . '.';
} else {
    [$firstError] = $fruitsOrErrors;
    echo $firstError;
}