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PHP RFC: Name of Next Release of PHP
- Version: 1.1
- Date: 2014-07-05 (latest 2014-07-20)
- Author: Andrea Faulds, ajf@ajf.me
- Status: In Voting
- First Published at: http://wiki.php.net/rfc/php6
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.
Unlike most RFCs, this deals with a release process issue, and not with extending PHP itself.
Proposal
This RFC proposes that the next major release of PHP (PHP NEXT or PHP x+1), to succeed the PHP 5.x series, shall be named either PHP 6, or PHP 7, based on the result of the vote.
Rationale
PHP 6 is the most obvious name choice as it follows the existing numbering scheme. Do we really need to break from it?
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, we would be naming a new version with the same name as a previous, but never properly released and abandoned version. A little looking at Amazon reveals that some of these “PHP 6” 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.
In past discussions, “PHP 7” has also been suggested as a name, to make it clear that this new version of PHP is unrelated to the old “PHP 6”. However, it has been argued that it would not reduce confusion (people would wonder why the version 6 was skipped), and that people who would be likely to fall for “PHP 6” books might look for PHP 7 books, be unable to find them, and end up buying the old “PHP 6” books as they would seem, by the version number, to be the most up-to-date. While it could be argued that “PHP 7” is breaking with the numbering scheme by “skipping” a version, it could also be argued that it isn't, as PHP 6, even if it was never properly released, was a real version in development.
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, the PHP community would likely try to dissuade people from buying these old “PHP 6” books. Some also question how many of the old “PHP 6” books are still in print, for that matter.
There are few naming options aside from PHP 6 or PHP 7 with considerable support, hence the vote covers only those two.
Vote
Previously, a 2/3 majority yes/no vote to PHP 6 was proposed.
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.
Voting started 2014-07-20 and ends 2014-07-27.
References
- Internals list: About PHP6 (April '14)