'<?=' History / Info request

Hi! I do not use this <?= because I know not all accept its use but *who* doesn't? Thus far I find some information but only through humans, no docs : Warning : Assumptions are just that, assumptions. Fairly certain they are true but ... not 100% sure. Assumptions : ------------- A. PHP4 Specific. B. If short_open_tag = 'off' in php.ini then this short cut is disabled C. It acts as echo , not print Questions : ------------- A. What version did this come about exactly, 4.0.0 ? B. What are some reasons one would disable short tags? C. Is there a way to bypass a short tags setting so that it'll work, like in an included config file? .htaccess is fine but ideally a check like 'if short tags off then enable short tags.' although i suppose this would defeat the purpose of 'off'. Hmm. D. Could this "bypass" easily be done on php3 parsers as well? I assume no way but will ask anyways as I am paranoid. Can think of ways to 'convert' but they involve work. Boo work. Comments : ------------- AFAIK this is not mentioned anywhere in the manual but of course should be. I found reference to the ASP style shortcut of <%= but not this. Also, <?= is not mentioned as a short tag in short tag settings. I understand this is no doubt on the TODO list to document but I am curious now! Would be nice if more time existed, bah, stupid time :-) References : ------------- Should be mentioned here as a short tag for echo , as well as in default php.ini setting : - http://www.php.net/manual/configuration.php#ini.short-open-tag Briefly mentions <%= (ASP Style) but not <?= (PHP Style) but should : - http://www.php.net/manual/language.basic-syntax.php If a short cut for echo() it may as well be mentioned here too: - http://www.php.net/manual/function.echo.php Can't find mention in changelogs : - PHP4 : http://php.net/ChangeLog-4.php - PHP3 : http://php.net/ChangeLog.php3 Thank you, with this cleared up perhaps I, along with others, will use this -- when applicable. TIA, Philip Olson -- be outside the box.