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Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2008 00:50:12 +0200
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Re: Namespace Resolution
From: sv_forums@fmethod.com ("Stan Vassilev | FM")

> - people expect direct access to the vast number of php functions/ 
> constants

Do you know rule 1 in #phpc? This is one of those cases.

People want :: and not backslash.
People want global stuff to resolve in their namespace (how does this make 
any sense? the very idea of a namespace is to avoid this stuff).

We should know better, and in fact we do know better since all those 
resolution order discussions won't be happening, trying to find a perfect 
intersection between what we know works, and what the (less informed) 
general public thinks it wants.

And the reality is that the whole hatred to the mandatory leading slash is 
overblown beyond any proportions:

1) Newcomers to PHP won't be writing namespaced code. So their WON'T be 
confused.
2) They'll eventually use libraries with namespaces, in which case they're 
STILL not affected.
3) They'll be pasting code samples from the manual and forums in a blank 
file in global space, so they STILL won't be affected.
4) One day, their projects will start growing a lot, their experience with 
it, and they'll have the basic clue to prefix their global classes/functions 
when inside a namespace. So they STILL won't be affected.

What do we do instead? We discuss how to optimize the non-existing scenario 
of noobs being irritated or confused when hammering global identifiers in a 
namespace, while producing unimanginable pain to every PHP coder out there 
from all ranges of experience and knowledge, with magical fallbacks and 
autoload mysteries.

I suggest we all clear our minds a little and give a serious thought to all 
this again. If you just say "no fallbacks", some people will bitch 2-3 days, 
then try it, and see that it was not all that bad after all.

Regards,
Stan Vassilev