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Date: Thu, 06 May 2021 11:37:33 -0500
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] PHP Language Specification
From: larry@garfieldtech.com ("Larry Garfield")

On Thu, May 6, 2021, at 10:23 AM, Sara Golemon wrote:
> On Thu, May 6, 2021 at 10:10 AM Micha=C5=82 Marcin Brzuchalski <
> michal.brzuchalski@gmail.com> wrote:
>=20
> > czw., 6 maj 2021, 16:01 u=C5=BCytkownik Christoph M. Becker <cmbecke=
r69@gmx.de>
> > napisa=C5=82:
> >
> > > I wonder what to do with the PHP Language Specification[1].  Appar=
ently,
> > > the repo is abandoned (last commit was more than a year ago, altho=
ugh
> > > PHP 8 changed quite some stuff).  If we don't have the bandwidth t=
o
> > > maintain it, we should mark it as unmaintained, and maybe some of =
the
> > > information could be moved to the PHP manual  (I quite like the st=
rict
> > > syntax specification, which the manual almost completely lacks).
> > >
> >
> > How much effort would it require?
> > Is there potentially someone who could help with reviews?
> >
> >
> Which part? Getting it up to date and keeping it there? Or moving the =
parts
> we most care about to the manual then abandoning it?
>=20
> I'm actually fairly happy either way, but it does need some TLC.  Some=

> brave soul to step up and yes, "YES! I WILL DEFEND THE LANGUAGE
> SPECIFICATION!"  Someone with the courage to do the dirty work.  WHO W=
ILL
> STAND AND FIGHT?!*
>=20
> -Sara
>=20
> * I just got my second dose of the vaccine and evidently it's making m=
e a
> bit goofy, but don't let that stop anyone from stepping up.  We all ma=
ke
> PHP better together.

Having an independent specification is a good thing, but as you say it n=
eeds people.  It also needs a commitment from the core dev process to in=
clude updating it in the process.  That was always the missing link, IIR=
C.  Documentation already suffers from the same problem (updates for doc=
s are left for "someone else to do later" when an RFC is proposed), but =
at least there the demand for Someone(tm) to Do Something(tm) is large e=
nough and the barrier to entry low enough that it mostly happens eventua=
lly, mostly.  Neither of those is the case for the spec, which is why it=
 just doesn't happen.

Is it going to be supported by people working on core?  Fantastic.  If n=
ot, it's going to get and stay out of date and offer not enough value fo=
r anyone to bother stepping up to pick up that slack.  (As we've seen.)

I agree it needs to be either promoted to euthanized, one or the other.

--Larry Garfield