# Proposal: Array syntax

- Thread: https://externals.io/message/5255
- Original archive: https://news-web.php.net/php.internals/5255
- Started by Jaap van Ganswijk on 2003-11-05T18:07:13+00:00
- Messages: 2
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## #5258 — Andrey Hristov — 2003-11-05T17:25:45+00:00

URL: https://externals.io/message/5255#5258 · In reply to: #5255

Jaap van Ganswijk wrote:

>At 2003-11-05 09:59 +0100, Michael Walter wrote:
>  
>
> > […]
>
>I'm also in favor of a shorter notation for array() and list().
>
>In fact this also helps to ease the problem I have
>with 'foreach ($A as $I=>$d)', because it would
>then be possible to write: while ([$i,$d]=each($A)).
>  
>
Do you know that while(list(..,..) = each($ar))
is kinda "deprecated". You should consider using
foreach() which is clearer and the fastest way to
traverse an array. while() + each() + list() is the
old way (evermore, you have not to forget to `reset()`
your array before the traversal - foreach() does not
need this step).

Andrey

>It's still not as short as I'd like it to be:
>'while ($i=>$d in $A)', but it's already a lot
>better.
>
>I'd also like to see ranges supported and propose
>to add notations for inclusive and non-inclusive
>ranges as:
>1..3 inclusive at both ends so equal to 1,2,3
>  
>
>1.<3 non inclusive at the end so equal to 1,2
>1>.3 non inclusive at the beginning so equal to 2,3
>1><3 non inclusive at both ends so equal to 2
>  
>
Use the `range()` function. PHP is more close to C than to
Pascal in my opinion. The language should be simple the
standard library should be rich (IMO).


Andrey

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## #5255 — Jaap van Ganswijk — 2003-11-05T18:07:13+00:00

URL: https://externals.io/message/5255#5255

At 2003-11-05 09:59 +0100, Michael Walter wrote:
>Very cool.
>
>How about supporting .. syntax, btw. as in [1..3] or ["a".."z"]? Might no be the worth, just thinking out loud ;)

I'm also in favor of a shorter notation for array() and list().

In fact this also helps to ease the problem I have
with 'foreach ($A as $I=>$d)', because it would
then be possible to write: while ([$i,$d]=each($A)).
It's still not as short as I'd like it to be:
'while ($i=>$d in $A)', but it's already a lot
better.

I'd also like to see ranges supported and propose
to add notations for inclusive and non-inclusive
ranges as:
1..3 inclusive at both ends so equal to 1,2,3
1.<3 non inclusive at the end so equal to 1,2
1>.3 non inclusive at the beginning so equal to 2,3
1><3 non inclusive at both ends so equal to 2

Of course generally only the first two variations
are being used.

(Please note that this syntax conflicts slightly
with the syntax of floating point numbers and
compares. Perhaps it's solvable by scanning '..',
'.<', '>.' and '><' as tokens first and not
allowing ranges with floating point numbers
anyway.)

By the way, Python has three 'group' notations:
[] for a list
{} for a dictionary
() for a tuple

Very confusing (and one of the reasons I prefer PHP
over Python ;-), and I agree with Rasmus that at least
here the symbols no longer make clear what is being
meant, but I think that just [] for the values in an
array is very intuitive because the same symbols are
being used to add the index of an array. (But {}
from the set notion in mathematics would be fine too,
I think).

By the way, don't forget to allow a comma at the end
of a list: 1,2,3,

This especially makes sense when the elements are
listed each on a seperate line:
1,
2,
3,

Greetings,
Jaap


>Christian Schneider wrote:
> > […]