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Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 11:51:24 +0400
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To: Tomas Kuliavas <tokul@users.sourceforge.net>
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Removal of unicode_semantics
From: tony@daylessday.org (Antony Dovgal)

On 04.05.2008 20:34, Tomas Kuliavas wrote:
>> We've discussed this a few times in the past and it's time to make a
>> final decision about its removal.
>>
>> I think most people have agreed that this is the way forward but no
>> one has produced a patch. I have a student working on unicode
>> conversion for the Google Summer of Code and this would help make it
>> simpler.
> 
> unicode_semantics=on breaks backwards compatibility in scripts that have
> implemented multiple character set support in current PHP setups.
> 
> If setting is removed, instead of maintaining at least some bits of
> backwards compatibility and doing some additional work, you force massive
> code rewrites in scripts that depend on working charset support and more
> work for people, who use interpreter.

That is correct, removing The Switch does cause some backward compatibility breakage.
But The Switch does NOT fix it, that's the problem: you would still have 
to fix your applications to work with unicode_semantics both OFF and ON, 
i.e. it causes _2x more_ trouble.

> Every time somebody proposes removal of this setting, they claim that
> majority agreed on it when there is no agreement on anything.
 
The majority of active developers have agreed that the switch would cause more harm than good.
That's the fact.

-- 
Wbr, 
Antony Dovgal