PHP: rfc:deprecate_php_short_tags

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====== PHP RFC: Deprecate PHP Short open tags ======
  * Version: 0.1
  * Date: 2019-03-20
  * Author: George Peter Banyard, <girgias@php.net>
  * Status: Accepted on 2019-04-24, rendered obsolete by [[rfc:deprecate_php_short_tags_v2|PHP RFC: Deprecate short open tags, again]] on 2019-07-23
  * Target Version: PHP 7.4
  * Implementation: https://github.com/php/php-src/pull/3972
  * First Published at: http://wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecate_php_short_tags

===== Introduction =====

PHP has provided over the years different ways to indicate the beginning of PHP code other than the standard <php><?php ... ?></php> open tags. Most of these opening tags have been removed with PHP 7.0.0((Remove alternative PHP tags RFC https://wiki.php.net/rfc/remove_alternative_php_tags)), however, PHP's short open tags still remain.

===== Proposal =====
Deprecate and disable <php>short_open_tag</php> in PHP 7.4 and remove PHP's short open tags in PHP 8.0.

===== Reasoning =====

  * The PHP [[https://php.net/manual/en/language.basic-syntax.phptags.php|documentation]] discourages their usage.
  * PHP's short open tags clash with XML ''<?xml ?>'' and can mean two different things depending on the INI configuration.
  * PHP's short open tags depend on an INI directive and as such are non-portable.
  * As such source code may leak if PHP relying on the short open tags is executed on a configuration where this isn't enabled.
  * PHP's parser simplification.

===== Backward Incompatible Changes =====
Every script which currently uses the discouraged short <php><?</php> open tag will need to convert to the standard <php><?php</php> open tag.\\
This can be automatically achieved by using the ''"full_opening_tag"'' fixer from [[https://cs.symfony.com/|PHP-CS-Fixer]].

===== Proposed PHP Version(s) =====
Deprecation notice and default value changed to Off in PHP 7.4 and removal in PHP 8.0.

===== RFC Impact =====
==== To SAPIs ====
None.

==== To Existing Extensions ====
Readline and Tokenizer have been updated in the implementations patches.

==== To Opcache ====
None to my understanding.

==== php.ini Defaults ====
Change <php>short_open_tag</php> from ''"1"'' to ''"0"''.

===== Unaffected PHP Functionality =====
The <php><?=</php> short tag is unaffected because as of PHP 5.4 it is always available.

===== Feedback =====
Facebook poll ((https://fb.com/groups/2204685680/permalink/10157687999015681/)) created by Peter Kokot: 73 for, 2 against.

===== Proposed Voting Choices =====
Yes/No for boths votes.

===== Vote =====
Primary vote: Deprecate PHP's short open tags in PHP 7.4.\\
Requires a 2/3 majority.

Secondary vote: Remove PHP's short open tags in PHP 8.0.\\
Requires a 2/3 majority.

Voting started on 2019-04-10 at 10:40 UTC and ran until 2019-04-24 11:20 UTC (for two (2) weeks)

<doodle title="Deprecate PHP short open tags in PHP 7.4?" auth="girgias" voteType="single" closed="true">
   * Yes
   * No
</doodle>

<doodle title="Remove PHP short open tags in PHP 8.0?" auth="girgias" voteType="single" closed="true">
   * Yes
   * No
</doodle>

===== Patches and Tests =====
https://github.com/php/php-src/pull/3972 PHP 7.4 Deprecation Notice Implementation\\
https://github.com/php/php-src/pull/3975 PHP 8.0 Removal Implementation\\
TBD Documentation patch\\

===== Implementation =====
After the project is implemented, this section should contain 
  - the version(s) it was merged into
  - a link to the git commit(s)
  - a link to the PHP manual entry for the feature
  - a link to the language specification section (if any)

===== References =====
[[https://externals.io/message/104662|Initial feedback on Internals (link to External.io)]]\\
[[https://externals.io/message/104922|RFC Announcement on Internals (link to External.io)]]\\
[[https://externals.io/message/105201|RFC Vote Announcement on Internals (link to External.io)]]\\
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