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Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2020 09:28:37 +0100
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To: PHP internals <internals@lists.php.net>
Message-ID: <434969CF-4FD8-4F57-8999-92FAC43358FA@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Re: [RFC] PHP Namespace Policy
From: rowan.collins@gmail.com (Rowan Tommins)

Hi Michael,

On 25 April 2020 00:00:32 BST, Michael Morris <tendoaki@gmail=2Ecom> wrote=
:
>Changing function names and argument orders would lead to BC breaks so
>massive people would move away without a transition plan that was
>sustainable long term=2E  Namespaces give that opportunity, I think=2E


You're not the first person to suggest this, indeed I've thought of trying=
 to write an FAQ for the list, and this would be on it=2E

There is some merit to the idea, but there's a snag: just using new names =
for new versions of things (which is what a new namespace would be) helps *=
machines* know which is which, but it doesn't help *humans* know which is w=
hich=2E Instead of "Does strpos take needle or haystack first?" the user wo=
uld now have to think "Is this file using the old or new functions? Is one =
of them called str_pos and the other strpos, and do they take arguments in =
a different order?"=20

The general consensus is that the long-term solution is to add new object-=
oriented APIs, including "scalar objects" (syntax to call methods in string=
s, integers, etc)=2E That's not necessarily because OO is better, but becau=
se it's sufficiently different that it can comfortably sit side by side wit=
h the current functions=2E We might have $haystack->positionOf($needle) or =
$needle->positionIn($haystack) or both, and strpos would still be available=
 to all programs with the same arguments it's had for 20 years=2E

Similarly, an OO-based file handling API would give us a chance to design =
in better error handling so there was no need for the @ operator and lots o=
f =3D=3D=3Dfalse checks=2E That new API is the kind of thing that could liv=
e under the \PHP namespace, but the old functions wouldn't need to move any=
where=2E

Regards,

--=20
Rowan Tommins
[IMSoP]