Hi, On 02/12/2016 07:27 AM, Daniel Kinzler wrote: > Now that we target PHP 5.5, some people are itching to make use of some new > language features, like the new array syntax, e.g. > <https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/269745/>. > > Mass changes like this, or similar changes relating to coding style, tend to > lead to controversy. I want to make sure we have a discussion about this here, > to avoid having the argument over and over on any such patch. > > Please give a quick PRO or CON response as a basis for discussion. > > In essence, the discussion boils down to two conflicting positions: > > PRO: do mass migration to the new syntax, style, or whatever, as soon as > possible. This way, the codebase is in a consistent form, and that form is the > one we agreed is the best for readability. Doing changes like this is > gratifying, because it's low hanging fruit: it's easy to do, and has large > visible impact (well ok, visible in the source).
I'll offer an alternative, which is to convert all of them at once using PHPCS and then enforce that all new patches use [] arrays. You then only have one commit which changes everything, not hundreds you have to go through while git blaming or looking in git log. > CON: don't do mass migration to new syntax, only start using new styles and > features when touching the respective bit of code anyway. The argument is here > that touching many lines of code, even if it's just for whitespace changes, > causes merge conflicts when doing backports and when rebasing patches. E.g. if > we touch half the files in the codebase to change to the new array syntax, who > is going to manually rebase the couple of hundred patches we have open? There's no need to do it manually. Just tell people to run the phpcs autofixer before they rebase, and the result should be identical to what's already there. And we can have PHPCS run in the other direction for backports ([] -> array()). But if we don't do that, people are going to start converting things manually whenever they work on the code, and you'll still end up with hundreds of open patches needing rebase, except it can't be done automatically anymore. > My personal vote is CON. No rebase hell please! Changing to the syntax doesn't > buy us anything. Consistency buys us a lot. New developers won't be confused on whether to use [] or array(). It makes entry easier for people coming from other languages where [] is used for lists. I think you're going to end up in rebase hell regardless, so we should rip off the bandaid quickly and get it over with, and use the automated tools we have to our advantage. So, if we're voting, I'm PRO. -- Legoktm _______________________________________________ Wikitech-l mailing list Wikitech-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikitech-l
