On 21/08/12 21:44, Lars Schultz wrote:
Am 20.08.2012 22:51, schrieb Andrew Faulds:
On 20/08/12 21:43, Lars Schultz wrote:
It's a ridiculous argument, IMO. Nothing you could add to core couldn't
be implemented in userland code somehow. (yes, that's hyperbole, but
there is very often a userland solution. Most functions are for
convenience)
I don't think it's ridiculous because every core functionality to be
implemented and maintained causes some php-dev to invest time on
something, which is not absolutely necessary because it could be done,
with some additional work, in userland. There is a lot of
functionality, that can not be reasonably well implemented in
userland, and php-dev time should be used on such cases, no?
With my suggestion, any php-user could suggest a functionality he
feels is missing to go not into core but into the documentation, with
a suggestion of how to solve the problem. Therefore the bar, which
decides wether something is worthy of going into core could stay as
high as it is, but it could be lower for something that goes into the
documentation as an example.
The problem is that these functions often improve the readability and
concise expressive power of PHP. Yes, you can import large libraries of
functions, but it is much more programmer-friendly not to.
Also, functions can often improve the *maintainability* of code, as
well. For instance, compare:
if (startswith($line, "<title>") && endswith($line, "</title>") {
with:
if (susbstr($line, 0, 7) === "<title>" && substr($line, -8) ===
"</title>") {
The first is more readable, and more maintainable, since you're not
dealing with manually specified string lengths, which can easily be wrong.
Adding functions is important for convenience as well as functionality.
Sure, it would be nice to have a small set of functions, but those lead
to overly verbose code and waste the time of developers. Yes, many of
them can be easily implemented in userland, but consider this: what if
half (say) of the array or string functions didn't exist and you had to
manually implement each? A little code can quickly become a lot to do a
lot of simple things.
Therein lies the crux of it all...how much is too much or too little.
Who's to say? It's a matter of personal preference, I believe. That's
why such features will always trigger those discussions. Because it
depends on one's programming style...of which there are various,
various good ones, even if not always compatible.
There seems to be a problem in here of "if I don't need it, nobody else
does". Of course the reverse "if I need it, everyone else should have it
in core" is also true, but I think the first point is a problem.
That said, not every possible function has a compelling case for
addition, simply because it does something too obscure or is
impractical.
Sometimes that is obvious and then the discussion will be short or not
even starts. But mostly it's not.
It quite often is obvious, I fear: the most vocal may often be the minority.
--
Andrew Faulds
http://ajf.me/
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