Having started this thread I'd like to focus the discussion so we can actually get somewhere. Otherwise opinions will keep streaming in ad nauseum without any real progress.
At issue here is not whether UTC makes sense as a default. The question is also not how we can automate the install process via package managers to set an appropriate default timezone. Additionally, this has nothing to do with perceived "laziness" on the part of people who don't want to add a line in the .ini file or define the default in their scripts. My problem with the current behavior is that it essentially *forces* the use of an .ini file by triggering an error if no default is assigned. As far as I know there is no other extension that punishes you for not using an .ini file. Further, my argument is that this behavior is undesirable and treats the CLI as a second class citizen by assuming PHP is only used as a web framework. I frequently have good reasons to run without an .ini file and this error is a roadblock to using PHP to program (and not to make web pages). Now, as far as I can tell the only argument put forward to justify triggering the error is (summarized): many people are too stupid to set a timezone and don't understand why the results of their date() calls are different from their own timezone. This results in many erroneous bug reports. So the question I would like to see addressed is this: Is user stupidity a sufficient reason to punish people running without an .ini file (php -n)? If there are reasons besides "we get tons of mistaken bug reports and we need to cater to the very worst PHP programmers," I have yet to see them expressed. -- PHP Internals - PHP Runtime Development Mailing List To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
