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Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2017 19:33:22 +0000
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Subject: [RFC] Deprecate and Remove Bareword (Unquoted) Strings
From: rowan.collins@gmail.com (Rowan Collins)

Good evening all!

Currently, if the constant FROB_ACTIVE is not defined, the code "echo 
FROB_ACTIVE;" results in an E_NOTICE and the string 'FROB_ACTIVE' being 
displayed. I would like to propose that this be changed to an E_WARNING 
in PHP 7.2, and to an Error in PHP 8.0.

My reasoning for this includes:

- consistency with other "undefined" errors, including the otherwise 
identical "echo \FROB_ACTIVE;"
- the fallback to string appears to be largely undocumented except to 
discourage its use
- the error can mask serious bugs, such as when mis-typing keywords

I have tried to anticipate some of the questions that will be raised, so 
have drafted an RFC rather than trying to fit all the detail into one 
e-mail: https://wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecate-bareword-strings

Please read my proposal, and let me know your thoughts. I have placed 
the RFC "under discussion", but will be happy to modify it based on 
feedback, and am in no haste to put it to a vote.

Regards,

-- 
Rowan Collins
[IMSoP]