Re: PHP global namespace clogged up

From: Tim Tyler (tim_at_tt1lock.org)
Date: 09/03/04 

Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2004 06:38:16 GMT

Chris Hope <blackhole@electrictoolbox.com> wrote or quoted:
> Tim Tyler wrote:

> The main problem with trying to fix PHP in respect to the issues you have
> pointed out in your many posts, is that they need to maintain backward
> compatibility. OK, so maybe they don't, but it makes it very hard to move
> developers/hosting providers/etc onto a Brand New Version of PHP which
> isn't backward compatible, even though it might address all the issues
> brought about because of the way PHP has evolved. It'll take long enough
> for everyone to move to v5, let alone to a new version which throws all the
> existing function names and syntax out the window, and breaks all existing
> legacy systems.

My proposal (in the first post of this thread) described what would be
needed to clean things up without breaking legacy systems:

``To clean up the existing mess, many new functions need to
  be created as member function of the appropriate objects -
  and most of the old functions in the global namespace need
  deprecating.''

Deprecating functions doesn't break anything - since all the old
functions are still there and they still work just as before - the
only difference is that they generate deprecation warnings if you
set a flag when parsing the page.

This doesn't clean things up immediately - but it does allow a
clean-up to be performed in the future.

IMO, if a clean-up is attemped it is most likely to initially take
the form of third party libraries - intended for "real progammers",
who are not happy with the existing situation - and want a decent
set of library routines for PHP. 

-- 
__________
 |im |yler  http://timtyler.org/  tim@tt1lock.org  Remove lock to reply.

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