On the surface, it sounds like a good idea but underneath the semantic change is fraught with logical inconsistencies.
A method is specifically a function declared within a class context. A static method is a static function declared within a class context. A method by itself has no meaning and adds yet another type of declaration that someone would have to learn to debug code that used the 'method' declaration instead of the 'function' declaration. >From a semantic point of view, using 'function' visually demarcates the beginning of an series of operations. As such, scrolling through a class with many 'method's interspersed with 'function' declarations can get messy. If on the other hand, 'method' had some specific meaning outside of the class context, it would make sense to incorporate it into the lexer. The same argument applies to the use of 'member'. These are semantic constructs, not syntactic constructs, and as such only have value when there is additional meaning inherent in their use. Syntactic constructs for an ubiquitous language like PHP should be simple and uniform with little or no gobbledygook like some other languages which shall remain nameless (and no I'm not thinking of smalltalk.). PHP should look like PHP. PHP should not look like smalltalk. It's like saying we should all write C++ in Delphi or write Perl in Python. Let's keep it simple and stick with the 'function' and 'var' declarations unless there is a need for a separate syntactic construct that has value outside of a class context. My two cents. Any other takers? Shamim Islam BA BSc Lamont R. Peterson ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote*: > >All: > >I can't hardly wait for PHP 4.3 (Zend 2.0) to hit the streets. I can't >express how anxiously I've been waiting for the class model to be reworked. >Great job! > >I would, however, like to see a couple of simple additions to the planned >release (if these are already coming, then I just haven't seen is talked >about anywhere). I would love to have "method" as an alias for "function" >and "member" as an alias for "var". These could be just plain aliases, but >it would be nice if these aliases were only valid within a class definition. > >I would love to hear peoples thoughts on this one. Where I work, the kind of >software we write on PHP, it only makes sense to use objects. However, we >do mix in plain functions liberally when there is no need for the features of >an object. I've worked this way with PHP ever since 4.0.0 was released. > > -- PHP Development Mailing List <http://www.php.net/> To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
