PHP RFC: Name of Next Release of PHP

• Version: 1.0
• Date: 2014-07-05
• Author: Andrea Faulds, ajf@ajf.me
• Status: Under Discussion
• First Published at: http://wiki.php.net/rfc/php6

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.

Unlike most RFCs, this deals with a release process issue, and not with extending PHP itself.

This RFC proposes that the next major release of PHP, to succeed the PHP 5.x series, shall be named PHP 6.

PHP 6 is the most obvious name choice. The main argument against this is that due to the abandoned project which would have been called PHP 6, some books dealing with it exist, and this could cause confusion. However, a little looking at Amazon reveals that some of these books do not actually cover PHP 6 at all, and many of the books are of poor quality. Furthermore, I expect that we could easily clarify if necessary that this PHP 6 was not the subject of those books, and I think that much would be obvious to users given that the new PHP 6 would be released in 2015 at the very earliest, more than 5 years after all existing “PHP 6” books would have been published. Finally, I don't think the alternative naming options are really much better.

I propose a 2/3 majority straight yes/no vote.

• Internals list: About PHP6 (April '14)
• Amazon search for "PHP6" books