Am 20.08.2012 22:51, schrieb Andrew Faulds:
On 20/08/12 21:43, Lars Schultz wrote: It's a ridiculous argument, IMO. Nothing you could add to core couldn't be implemented in userland code somehow. (yes, that's hyperbole, but there is very often a userland solution. Most functions are for convenience)
I don't think it's ridiculous because every core functionality to be implemented and maintained causes some php-dev to invest time on something, which is not absolutely necessary because it could be done, with some additional work, in userland. There is a lot of functionality, that can not be reasonably well implemented in userland, and php-dev time should be used on such cases, no?
With my suggestion, any php-user could suggest a functionality he feels is missing to go not into core but into the documentation, with a suggestion of how to solve the problem. Therefore the bar, which decides wether something is worthy of going into core could stay as high as it is, but it could be lower for something that goes into the documentation as an example.
Adding functions is important for convenience as well as functionality. Sure, it would be nice to have a small set of functions, but those lead to overly verbose code and waste the time of developers. Yes, many of them can be easily implemented in userland, but consider this: what if half (say) of the array or string functions didn't exist and you had to manually implement each? A little code can quickly become a lot to do a lot of simple things.
Therein lies the crux of it all...how much is too much or too little. Who's to say? It's a matter of personal preference, I believe. That's why such features will always trigger those discussions. Because it depends on one's programming style...of which there are various, various good ones, even if not always compatible.
That said, not every possible function has a compelling case for addition, simply because it does something too obscure or is impractical.
Sometimes that is obvious and then the discussion will be short or not even starts. But mostly it's not.
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