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Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 20:08:18 +0100
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To: internals@lists.php.net
Message-ID: <98192A9B-C5AF-4767-A300-77ED224BF1D6@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] [VOTE] Shorter Attribute Syntax Change
From: rowan.collins@gmail.com (Rowan Tommins)

On 12 August 2020 19:03:02 BST, Jakob Givoni <jakob@givoni=2Edk> wrote:
>> > Is
>> >
>> > <?php @[Bar()]; ?>
>> >
>> > on it's own an error?
>>
>> Yes=2E Basically this is an example of valid code in PHP 7 that will
>> break if @[] is adopted=2E
>
>Wow, that was unexpected=2E By what logic?
>Also, how long must I wait before I can put a semicolon after the new
>attribute syntax? Is one whitespace enough or do I have to go to a new
>line?
>To me, suddenly disallowing semicolons at some points between
>statements or between a "declaration" and a statement seems to break
>PHP logic=2E


It's not that the semicolon is forbidden as such, it's that the code is in=
terpreted completely differently=2E

Imagine if we had no "private" keyword, and then added it; this would prev=
iously have been valid (a statement followed by a declaration):

private; function foo () {}

But once "private" is a keyword, that is a syntax error=2E

Removing the semicolon happens to make a valid declaration using the keywo=
rd, but that's basically coincidence:

private function foo() {}

The same is true of attributes, which as others have pointed out are simil=
ar to visibility or scope modifiers - anywhere that could be an attribute w=
ill be parsed as one, not as a statement, comment, or whatever else, so som=
e code changes meaning, and other code becomes a syntax error=2E

Regards,

--=20
Rowan Tommins
[IMSoP]