PHP RFC: Change var_export() array syntax to use shorthand arrays

• Version: 1.0
• Date: 2020-03-29
• Author: Sherif Ramadan, googleguy@php.net
• Status: Draft
• First Published at: http://wiki.php.net/rfc/var-export-array-syntax

This RFC proposes to change var_export()'s array syntax to use the new short-hand arrays first introduced in PHP 5.4. The old array() construct is a kludge and is unappealing. The shorter syntax may be easier to read and takes up less space and is also more ubiquitous with JSON notation.

Instead of

array(1, 2, 3)

var_export() would produce

[1, 2, 3]

.

What breaks, and what is the justification for it?

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