Certainly. I don't believe this is about "inclusion" any more than creating a function called "ech" as an alias for "echo" would be. The <? tag, as you all know, creates problems when working with XML. Furthermore, I've never understood the "it's easier to read" argument since I've found it to be exactly the opposite. The <? as opposed to <?php, at least for me, makes it more difficult to "at a glance" see where the PHP code begins (i.e. it's smaller and more ambiguous). Also, since many hosts disable it by default, getting apps/frameworks that use them working can be an added pain.
On the other hand, considering how verbose many of our function names are, I've never understood why the extra 3 characters (or 2 now that it's <?=) is such a burden that we have to deal with all the above annoyances instead. Like I said, other than the fraction of a second it takes to type "php", I really don't see any value in this. Let's try this from a financial angle. After all, "time is money," right? So let's assume that, on average, it takes you one half of one second to type the string "php". Let's also assume that the average salary for a PHP developer (source: simplyhired.com) in the United States is $56,000/yr. Rounding-up, that comes out to $27/hr. So, how much is that one half of one second burden costing this unfortunate, superbly average PHP developer? 27 / (60 ^ 2) / 2 == $0.00375. In other words, roughly 1/3 of one cent. So yeah, I guess I stand corrected. The short_open_tag isn't worthless. It's worth a third of a penny. My bad. ;P --Kris P.S. Seriously, if you like short_open_tags, it's really not a big deal for me. I just don't see any value in them, myself. On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 3:28 PM, Tom Boutell <t...@punkave.com> wrote: > I understand the problem with <? and XML, it was just <?= that seemed > safe enough to me. Glad it's standard in 5.4. > > On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 6:21 PM, Adam Jon Richardson <adamj...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 6:04 PM, Kris Craig <kris.cr...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > >> Personally, I HATE short_open_tab. It has no value-- *except* that, > >> unfortunately, it's still widely used in many apps and even some > frameworks > >> TTBOMK. > > > > > > I personally like it and find value in its inclusion :) > > > > Adam > > > > -- > Tom Boutell > P'unk Avenue > 215 755 1330 > punkave.com > window.punkave.com >
