Newsgroups: php.internals
Path: news.php.net
Xref: news.php.net php.internals:58162
Mailing-List: contact internals-help@lists.php.net; run by ezmlm
Received-SPF: pass (pb1.pair.com: domain l-i-e.com designates 67.139.134.202 as permitted sender)
Message-ID: <13e07c74166300ee0723b9db79edc02b.squirrel@www.l-i-e.com>
In-Reply-To: 
 <CAKOpQSwqddd1YUeuTGOQWX+V9SA_is-2UE1TOXfqt1YQoz2upw@mail.gmail.com>
References:
    <CAG=uTXFQUY=EDb=ut97nNSm+m8sMQNRK-9YPcfb2quaoS246-g@mail.gmail.com>
    <CABBJUpd7XkDjckY-5=D6B=kouUYMrWvzMVnHR_Hch74oGWM-TQ@mail.gmail.com>
    <CAO8n+WJrqUguS4FSq==z9rF6iLoz3uXqSLBrrkY6yMBY9DrTWA@mail.gmail.com>
    <CALtuQzD6f_vcZiGi2HWdP8SSqf9744FucUC+4sX7PnGhOnh+rg@mail.gmail.com>
    <4F455C96.50706@gmail.com> <4F455E91.2060408@alliantinternet.com>
    <028001ccf1ab$0b200050$216000f0$@alliantinternet.com>
    <4F457517.7050901@alliantinternet.com>
    <028d01ccf230$91d79b00$b586d100$@alliantinternet.com>
    <CAAyV7nHA_DhyZUqU2=EYDSvCEYmc7MFejsG97dXCoTtaeMurMg@mail.gmail.com>
    <4F4686C6.2040207@sugarcrm.com>
    <CAKOpQSwtHvSoSVj8q4_QTte42D588OUBDBQ_a4YB8q=GquekBQ@mail.gmail.com>
    <fe9c203ff43ec075a6f1a405053889ec.squirrel@www.l-i-e.com>
    <CAKOpQSwqddd1YUeuTGOQWX+V9SA_is-2UE1TOXfqt1YQoz2upw@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:29:20 -0600
To: "PHP internals list" <internals@lists.php.net>
User-Agent: SquirrelMail/1.4.21 [SVN]
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Importance: Normal
Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] [RFC] Enum proposal (yet another)
From: ceo@l-i-e.com ("Richard Lynch")

On Fri, February 24, 2012 4:33 pm, Kris Craig wrote:
> I hear that a lot; i.e. "If you want static typing, use Java."
>
> Unfortunately, that dismissive answer has not worked too well over the
> years, has it?  People are still clamoring for this, and I think
> making
> some very valid arguments that shouldn't be so derisively and
> flippantly
> brushed aside.

I did not mean to be flippant, and was quite sincere, so allow me to
restate it:

This idea has been floated many times.

Sometimes, it even came with initial patches to "prove" it could be
done, and was feasible.

Every time, eventually, non-trivial issues were raised by Core Devs
that could simply NOT be addressed by the proposer, and they realized
that changing PHP at such a fundamental level was, indeed, a
non-starter. Or at least a non-finisher. :-)

I only meant to suggest that if you seriously WANT these features in
your language, switching to Java and JSP will give them to you,
without the pain and suffering of a TON of work that history has shown
will 99.9999% sure end in failure.

I am, again, not being flippant, nor trying to claim that PHP is not
an evolving language.

I am, still, stating that the probability of it evolving in this
direction, after it has been tried and failed so MANY times in the
past, is incredibly unlikely.

Examine the historical record, and the many proposed patches / changes
/ ideas, and I sincerely believe you will come to the same conclusion.

If you really think you can pull it off, despite the historical
evidence, I suggest you start to make a patch to do so, and find out
just how much you are biting off to chew.

In essence, you will effectively be re-writing Java / JSP or something
similar, while trying to maintain compatibility with PHP and PHP
internals that rely extensively on dynamic typing.

To bowlderize Clemens (?) with regard to typing:

"Strict is strict, and dynamic is dynamic, and never the twain shall
meet."

-- 
brain cancer update:
http://richardlynch.blogspot.com/search/label/brain%20tumor
Donate:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=FS9NLTNEEKWBE