Call for Discussion: PHP_Splint: Evaluate PHP code for potential usage and style problems.

Greetings All, I am preparing a new proposal for PEAR, and I wanted to start a discussion thread here before beginning the formal process. The highlights of the draft proposal are below: --- start --- [b]Summary[/b] PHP_Splint: Evaluate PHP code for potential usage and style problems. [b]Problem[/b] Packages exist to support PHP developers during testing (eg PHPUnit), but no packages exist to support PHP developers during construction. Other languages enjoy rich sets of compilation warnings (eg via gcc) and third-party tools (eg lint), but PHP provides only limited syntax checking. The absence of any exceptional PHP "lint" tool is a huge exposure for application developers, especially those building enterprise and mission-critical applications. [b]Proposal[/b] To provide a package that augments the built-in PHP lint (available through the php_check_syntax() function or the -l command line argument to PHP/CLI), giving developers a far more detailed review than a straight syntax check. This package's lint support aims to address coding issues at the semantic level more than the syntactic level. The package name is a backroynm and is recursive: Splint = "[u]S[/u]plint: [u]P[/u]HP [u]lint[/u]" The package name also refers to a "splint," which provides support and protection for a wounded part. --- end --- If you are interested, I encourage you to please review the following materials for a more complete picture of the proposal: http://bishop.ideacode.com/~bishop/work/PHP_Splint/docs/PEPr_Proposal.txt http://bishop.ideacode.com/~bishop/work/PHP_Splint/docs/design.html http://bishop.ideacode.com/~bishop/work/PHP_Splint/PHP_Splint.php Also, bear in mind this package is still in the early development stage, so all ideas, comments, and questions are very welcome. Regards, bishop -- ideacode, Inc. Genuine Ingenuity. http://www.ideacode.com/