RE: [PHP-DEV] dropping curly braces

On 18 November 2005 11:48, Derick Rethans wrote: > On Fri, 18 Nov 2005, Andreas Korthaus wrote: > > > Derick Rethans wrote: > > > > > > That's the problem - also grep does not know if [] is used for > > > > arrays or stings. That's the same for programmers, it's often > > > > not easy to conclude from context - that's my point. > > > > > > grep won't, but php -l will. > > > > That's true. But what about "reducing complexity"? > > > > Don't you think it's useful to allow a convention like {} for > > strings and [] for arrays, so you can be sure what $str{1} means > > without looking at any context? > > No. Why not? If users demand it, why not allow them that facility? I think the visual difference between [] for arrays and {} for string access is a superb feature of PHP. (Personally, I'd like to see it extended to something like $s{2:5} or $s{2,3} for longer substrings, but I've proposed that before and been shot down so I won't mention it ;) If {} for string access goes away, I won't be converting to [] becasue I think a visual difference is vital -- so all my $s{$x} will be turned into substr($s, $x, 1). Cheers! Mike --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Ford, Electronic Information Services Adviser, Learning Support Services, Learning & Information Services, JG125, James Graham Building, Leeds Metropolitan University, Headingley Campus, LEEDS, LS6 3QS, United Kingdom Email: m.ford@leedsmet.ac.uk Tel: +44 113 283 2600 extn 4730 Fax: +44 113 283 3211 To view the terms under which this email is distributed, please go to http://disclaimer.leedsmet.ac.uk/email.htm