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Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2015 21:26:54 +0000
To: Shawn McCool <shawn@heybigname.com>,internals@lists.php.net
Message-ID: <F929CDB4-F44D-4D37-AEBF-C2C32C35A30B@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Request Feedback for Instance Variable Sugar RFC
From: rowan.collins@gmail.com (Rowan Collins)

On 9 March 2015 09:43:32 GMT, Shawn McCool <shawn@heybigname.com> wrote:

>In order to access instance variables, one must use the `$this->`
>prefix.
>The problem with this is that it reduces expressiveness in the language
>and
>increases the amount of unnecessary decoration, reducing readability.

I disagree with this premise. The $this here is not just decorative syntax, it's an actual variable, which can be passed around just like any other variable. The -> is then the standard way of accessing a property or method, applied to that variable.

This is beautifully simple, and expresses what's going on perfectly: if you look at $this->foo, and ask "which foo is being referenced here?", the answer is clearly "the one which is a property of $this".

The only places I can see value in a shorthand are in constructors and setters, where you're just copying from one name to another ($this->foo = $foo). But the part that's redundant there is the variable/property names, not the $this, so what you need is getter/setter support, or shorthand constructors (you should be able to find previous RFCs for both).

Regards, 
-- 
Rowan Collins
[IMSoP]