svn: /phpdoc/en/trunk/appendices/ about.xml

philip Sun, 23 May 2010 15:52:55 +0000 Revision: http://svn.php.net/viewvc?view=revision&revision=299665 Log: Updated about.phpversions to reflect current practices Changed paths: U phpdoc/en/trunk/appendices/about.xml Modified: phpdoc/en/trunk/appendices/about.xml =================================================================== --- phpdoc/en/trunk/appendices/about.xml 2010-05-23 13:56:49 UTC (rev 299664) +++ phpdoc/en/trunk/appendices/about.xml 2010-05-23 15:52:55 UTC (rev 299665) @@ -268,34 +268,40 @@ whereas the latest is PHP 5.x.x. </para> <para> - Documentation partly exists for the SVN version of PHP, which - always means the very latest development version. This has yet to - be released so is only available through the SVN version handling system, - or via a <link xlink:href="&url.php.snapshots;">snapshot</link>. So be aware that - features marked "available in SVN" are typically unavailable. These - features, though, will most likely be available in the next stable version - of PHP. To download the SVN version, see the <link xlink:href="&url.php.anonsvn;">anonymous - SVN access page</link>. + When documentation exists for the latest (unreleased) developmental versions + of PHP, it will be labeled as either "available in SVN" or "development + version." And while these changes should be planned for, in rare cases they + may change. </para> <para> - So, documentation may exist for PHP versions that aren't yet released. - (Something like PHP 6.x.x while the latest stable version might be - 5.x.x). Most of the time, this is not an error in the documentation. - Explanation is often added for features not available in the current - PHP release, but will be available as a known future PHP version. - Typically, PHP only adds new features in major releases otherwise only bugs - are fixed. Using the A.B.C versioning format, a major release increments A - or B whereas minor releases increment C. So for example it's not uncommon - for a feature to be documented as available in PHP x.1.x when the latest - release is PHP x.0.x. Also note that the manual is written in present - tense, not future tense. + All development takes place in Subversion (SVN) and may be checked out + as described within the <link xlink:href="&url.php.anonsvn;">anonymous SVN + access</link> page. Or, these same sources may be downloaded as + <link xlink:href="&url.php.snapshots;">PHP snapshots</link>, which are available + for every active PHP branch. </para> <para> + And to clarify, the manual will refer to major, minor and point PHP releases. + Using PHP <literal>5.3.1</literal> as an example, the <emphasis>5</emphasis> + refers to the major version, <emphasis>3</emphasis> to minor, and + <emphasis>1</emphasis> is the point release. Typically PHP only adds new features + to major and minor releases, and fixes bugs in point releases. However, this + convention is not always true. + </para> + <para> + Also note that the PHP manual is written in present tense, not future tense, + even for documented features that are not yet available. The reason for this + is so the manual can stand the test of time, thus not require tedious grammar + updates with every PHP release. + </para> + <para> Many times the PHP manual lists "Default Values" for PHP directives. These - values are based on <filename>php.ini-development</filename> and not - <filename>php.ini-production</filename>. They also refer to the latest - version of PHP. See the <link linkend="ini.list">PHP directive - appendix</link> for details on these values and changes. + values are based on how PHP behaves without a &php.ini; configuration file, + so this may differ from values found in the distributed + <filename>php.ini-development</filename> and <filename>php.ini-production</filename> + files. They also refer to the latest version of PHP, although changelog entries + do mention past values. See the <link linkend="ini.list">PHP directive + appendix</link> for details regarding these values and changes. </para> </sect1>