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To: "Stanislav Malyshev" <stas@zend.com>,
	"Lester Caine" <lester@lsces.co.uk>
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Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:04:23 +0100
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] namespaces and alpha3
From: steph@php.net ("Steph Fox")

> I can name two:
> 1. Most (not all, I know, but most) of the use cases for namespaces are in 
> the OO realm, and most of the problems they are to serve come from that 
> realm too. So at least initially most of the active users, which wait for 
> it impatiently, are OO users, and classes are the thing the care the most 
> about.
> 2. Everything becomes so much simpler with only classes. Classes and 
> functions have very different usage patterns in PHP, so if we try to serve 
> them both we inevitably encounter some "inconsistencies" in how they are 
> served, because of the different usage patterns, which may be a problem 
> for some purists. I personally don't care too much for "inconsistencies" 
> if they serve the user - i.e. allow to do useful things easier - but I 
> know there are other approaches.

FWIW, I agree with everything Stas says here.

> Please note that doesn't mean we _must_ drop them - I am just presenting 
> the argument for it, I am aware of the existence of the arguments against 
> too.

The problem is we can't know whether restricting *future* evolution in 
namespace support is going to turn out to be a good idea.

- Steph