rfc:php6
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rfc:php6 [2014/07/21 09:32] nikic add historical context |
rfc:php6 [2017/09/22 13:28] |
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- | ====== PHP RFC: Name of Next Release of PHP ====== | ||
- | * Version: 2.0 | ||
- | * Date: 2014-07-05 (latest 2014-07-20) | ||
- | * Author: Andrea Faulds < | ||
- | * Contributors: | ||
- | * Status: Under Discussion | ||
- | * First Published at: http:// | ||
- | ===== Introduction ===== | ||
- | |||
- | There has been some debate over what the name of the next major release of PHP, to succeed the PHP 5.x series, should be called. This RFC is an attempt to settle the matter once and for all. | ||
- | |||
- | This RFC proposes that the next major version of PHP shall be named either PHP 6 or PHP 7, based on the outcome of this vote. In the following arguments for both sides are presented. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== Historical context ===== | ||
- | |||
- | The reason why this question even comes up, is that there has been a previous attempt at a new major version, which was started in 2005 and abandoned in 2010 due to difficulties in the Unicode implementation. Apart from language-integrated Unicode support, most features added for that version were integrated either in PHP 5.3 or PHP 5.4. | ||
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- | This previous attempt at a new major version was also developed under the name of PHP 6 and as such there are various resources referring to it, including a number of books. There is concern that there might be confusion between the abandoned previous attempt and the work that is currently happening. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== The Case for PHP 7 ===== | ||
- | |||
- | The case for choosing 7 as the next major version for PHP is comprised from 2 key elements - there are no good reasons not to do it, and several good reasons to do it. | ||
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- | ==== No good reasons NOT to skip version 6 ==== | ||
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- | Regarding the first element, it seems that many people are concerned that if we skip a version, we somehow cause confusion or break away from our versioning scheme. | ||
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- | The main confusion point cited by proponents of 'PHP 6' was that people will wonder 'how come we suddenly have PHP 7 and without having PHP 6?' - however, this is really much more of a trivia question than a cause for confusion. | ||
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- | We also wouldn' | ||
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- | ==== Strong reasons of why we actually should skip version 6 into 7 ==== | ||
- | |||
- | There are several reasons of why we shouldn' | ||
- | |||
- | * First and foremost, PHP 6 already existed and it was something completely different. | ||
- | * While it's true that the other PHP 6 never reached General Availability, | ||
- | * PHP 6, the original PHP 6, has been discussed in detail in many PHP conferences. | ||
- | * There' | ||
- | * Unlike the ' | ||
- | |||
- | To summarize, PHP 6 is a living memory in the minds of many developers - internals and PHP community alike; | ||
- | |||
- | Other than having good reasons to skip 6 and no reasons not to, there are also some minor reasons of why PHP 7 is actually a nicer choice: | ||
- | |||
- | * Skipping versions isn't unprecedented or uncommon in both open source projects and commercial products. | ||
- | * 7 is perceived as a lucky number in both the Western world and Chinese culture. | ||
- | * Version 6 is generally associated with failure in the world of dynamic languages. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== The Case for PHP 6 ===== | ||
- | |||
- | The case for PHP 6 mostly comes down to why we shouldn' | ||
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- | The main argument against this is that there was previously a project, which was abandoned in 2010, also called PHP 6. There have been many discussions about it in the past and some books and articles dealing with it exist, and this could cause confusion. Essentially, | ||
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- | In past discussions, | ||
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- | Another point that has been made is that due to online reviews, it would quickly become clear that these old "PHP 6" books do not cover the new PHP 6; people would likely try them, find the code in the book did not work, and rate the book "1 star", deterring other customers. Furthermore, | ||
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- | ===== Vote ===== | ||
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- | A 50%+1 (simple majority) vote with two options, "PHP 6" and "PHP 7", is proposed. If more votes are for PHP 6, that shall be the name of the next major release of PHP. Otherwise, if more of votes are for PHP 7, that shall be its name. | ||
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- | Voting started 2014-07-20 but was cancelled. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== References ===== | ||
- | |||
- | * Internals list: [[http:// | ||
- | * [[http:// |
rfc/php6.txt · Last modified: 2017/09/22 13:28 (external edit)