Re: PHP Language Specification

On 24/07/2014 19:28, Pierre Joye wrote:

We could take a leaf from Python’s book and call it CPHP :)

Or ZPHP? Implying the PHP implementation built on Zend, but not directly using the Zend trademark? Call it php.net or something like that,

The problem with php.net is that it's also the name of the website, so it still doesn't unambiguously identify the implementation/distribution as opposed to all manner of other things that are organised via that site. It would be nice to have a snappy way of referring to it without resort to awkward phrases like "the php.net implementation of PHP". There's also the awkward fact that in other circumstances, a ".net" suffix would imply an implementation for the .net framework, which instead exists under the name Phalanger.

Zend is only one of many contributors. Yes, the engine is still named Zend Engine but the language has been improved by many php.net contributors.

The idea was that "ZPHP" is PHP running on top of the Zend Engine, in the same way that "JRuby" is Ruby running on top of the JVM, and "CPython" is Python implemented in C. In my mind, it doesn't imply any connection to the company of the same name - especially if we're only borrowing its first letter - but perhaps others would see that differently. The only other defining feature I can think of is that it's the original and reference implementation, so a name suggesting that might work, like "PHP Prime" or "proto-PHP" (somebody may be able to think of something better with the same thought behind it...) The only other way to avoid saying "PHP 5.6.1 is an implementation of PHP 5.6" would be to call the specification itself something other than PHP, as with "POSIX" and "ECMAScript". I'm not at all keen on that idea, though. At the end of the day, we can muddle through, but it might make certain discussions and documentation clearer if the two can be clearly distinguished. -- Rowan Collins [IMSoP]