As much as I used enums in C++, I'm not sure that this is really the right tool here, and it often introduces more problems than it solves. Specific concerns that come to mind:
1. In C++ this often led to nasty needs such as a "LOG_LEVEL_COUNT" entry at the end of the list of enums. 2. Sometimes devs want to add items in the middle of the list for code organization purposes. This silently changes the values of the other constants and it isn't clear when that will or won't break stuff. 3. Better than half the time, enums seem to be a series of bit flags, not sequential numbers (in this case enum offers NO value over the current const lists). 4. The greatest value of enums in C++ is actually related to typesafety. Admittedly, this was sometimes more of a frustration than a help, but that was really just an implementation issue, not an inherent problem with enums and typesafety. 5. There is no clear path for extending the enums through inheritance. Allowing enums to be (optionally) named would open a clear path to address counts and hinting, but still doesn't address the problems inherent in automatic numbering, and would complicate the inheritance question. IMHO this should wait until we can address some of these items. Otherwise the feature is just a halfbaked not-so-short shorthand for constants. John Crenshaw Priacta, Inc. -- PHP Internals - PHP Runtime Development Mailing List To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
