Re: [RFC] [Discussion] Shorter Attribute Syntax Change

Hello Internals, Here is a small comparison table based on current feedback, maybe it will bring some objective clarity to the discussion: (markdown below) Impact|@@|#[] ---|---|--- BC break|virtualy nonexistent|slightly broader: ##[ comments are now broken. Parser|no technical problems by now|no technical problems by now Extendability|less future-proof, arguably|more future-proof, arguably Grepability|harder, arguably|easier, arguably (however, consider an Attribute taking an array [] parameter.) Perception|similar to PHPDoc annotations, more familiar to PHP devs|more familiar to Rust devs Other issues are either speculative or insignificant (as for me): - causing future parsing issues: no evidence - "backfilling": there is, arguably, no use case for it. Code using PHP 8 features will target PHP 8 anyway. Code, compatible with both PHP 7 and PHP 8 would most probably use classic PHPDoc annotations. - "syntax no other language uses": this is probably insignificant. - "possibility of @@ moving to @ is near to 0": i am not sure anyone planned to move @@ to @, and if so, it would be an unnecessary BC break. I am personally in favor of @@, but just because it looks visually nicer to me. I see no strong objective reason to favor one over the other. If you want an ending token, maybe consider @@Attribute@@, personally I like those round-ish shapes :P. On Tue, Jul 28, 2020 at 5:47 PM Joe Ferguson <joe@joeferguson.me> wrote: > > Hello Internals, > > I've been working with Derick Rethans and others (thanks all!) on a Shorter > Attribute Syntax Change RFC which outlines reasons why the "#[]" syntax > would be preferred over the currently agreed upon "@@" syntax for Shorter > Attribute Syntax. > > An important part of the research that went into this proposal demonstrates > how "@@" will make handling attributes more difficult for PHP_CodeSniffer > (and similar tools) and shows how the alternative "#[]" syntax is more > friendly for these tools. > > You can find the RFC > https://wiki.php.net/rfc/shorter_attribute_syntax_change and > I'm happy to > answer any questions as best I can. > > -- > - Joe Ferguson > JoeFerguson.me > osmihelp.org