Hello Aidan,
I think named parameters would be a useful feature... I'll leave it
at that.
Here is a coding idea for you, in case you hadn't considered it...
function highlight($text=NULL, $needle=NULL, $strip_links=NULL, ...)
{
is_null($text) && $text = SOME DEFAULT VALUE;
is_null($needle) && $text = SOME DEFAULT VALUE;
is_null($strip_links) && $text = SOME DEFAULT VALUE;
...
}
In that way, the user doesn't have to remember the default values,
just the offsets.
Best wishes with the proposal.
--
Best regards,
Jason mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 8:53:11 PM, you wrote:
AL> Andrei Zmievski wrote:
>> On Jan 9, 2006, at 4:09 AM, Aidan Lister wrote:
>>
>>> As useful functions tend to increase in complexity over time, often so
>>> does the number of parameters.
>>>
>>> It soon gets to the point where function calls look like:
>>> foo(true, false, false, false, false, true)
>>> The rest of the parameters being required to be supplied, with their
>>> default value, when the user is only interested in changing the last
>>> option.
>>>
>>
>> If you get to the point where your function has a dozen parameters, I
>> would suggest re-thinking the purpose and design of such a function,
>> because you are likely trying to make it do too much.
>>
>> -Andrei
AL> In a simple highlighting function I wrote (which at 16k hits is probably
AL> considered useful) I needed most of the following parameters:
AL> $text
AL> $needle
AL> $strip_links
AL> $case_sensitive
AL> $whole_word_only
AL> $simple_text_only
AL> $highlight_pattern
AL> $return_or_print
AL> $use_xhtml
AL> $tooltips_or_divs
AL> I imagine any function dealing with html may use a significant portion
AL> of these. Obviously some of these are for effect, but I think my point
AL> is clear enough.
AL> We've discussed other options at developers disposal like associative
AL> arrays, setOpt and getOpt functions in a class, but again each have
AL> their drawbacks and named parameters solve the problem elegantly.
AL> Could we properly discuss the pros and cons of a name parameters
AL> implementation - even if it's only to put the whole issue to bed once
AL> and for all?
AL> Best wishes,
AL> Aidan
--
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