On Monday, 27 May 2024 at 19:10, Claude Pache <claude.pa...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Gina,
>
> It is ok, for `exit` to be wired to a function. However, the paren-less
> `exit` syntax is absolutely reasonable and should be kept in the long term
> (more on this below). It is true that your proposal doesn’t remove the
> paren-less form, but the implementation (a hack around constant evaluation)
> strongly suggests that it is desirable to deprecate it in the future (hey, it
> is even the very first item of the `Future scope` section). Therefore, I
> think it is preferable to keep proper parsing rules for `exit`.
>
> Now here is why I think that `exit` syntax without parentheses is reasonable.
> For me, `exit` is a control-flow instruction, saying to terminate the
> program, just like `return` terminates a function or `break` terminates a
> loop. I don’t care about implementation details, whether it is implemented as
> invoking a never-returning function, or as throwing a hidden exception, or
> whatever. The fact is, in typical use:
>
> `php header("Location: /somewhere/else.php"); exit;`
>
> I would consider an oddity and useless noise to put empty parentheses after a
> bare `exit`, just as I wouldn’t consider to put empty parentheses after a
> bare `return`.
>
> (BTW... I wouldn’t describe a bare `yield` (equivalent to `yield null`) as
> “constant” evaluation, even if it may be found in same positions as a “real”
> constant.)
>
> —Claude
Adding something to Future Scope does not mean I will pursue this, this is just
a possible direction that can be done and needs to be argued on its own merits.
And frankly I have no intension on pushing this, I would _rather_ remove
support for passing strings to exit() than removing the paren-less form.
It should be noted that in other programming languages, exit() is a function
that requires an argument for the status code.
So I don't think of it as a control-flow instruction (because I don't see
terminating something as control flow) but if that's how you see it fine.
If that's the only reason for keeping proper parsing rules, I'm not sure
whether that's worthwhile IMHO.
Best regards,
Gina P. Banyard
