On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 08:47:42 +0200, Lukas Kahwe Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Larry Garfield wrote:
>> Non-core PHP developer speaking, so read with that in mind:
>>
>> One of the things that held back PHP 5 adoption for so long, IMO, is the
>> large
>> amount of FUD that surrounded it. Even now, 3 years after it was
>> released, I keep seeing the argument that "I can't drop PHP 4 and use PHP 5,
>> then I
>> have to rewrite *everything* to use objects. I hate objects." That is, of
>> course, completely untrue, and if you're paying even moderate attention
>> it's not at all difficult to write code that runs just fine in both PHP 4 and
>> PHP 5, with and without register_globals and magic_quotes. All it takes is a
>> little forethought and not letting yourself be sloppy.
>
> I have seen little of that. But I have seen issues due to array_merge()
> changes. But more importantly our handling of E_STRICT has made it
> difficult for many.
>
>> Writing PHP 5/6 compatible code needs to be just as easy, if not easier, in
>> addition to having better marketing to head off the FUD. Taking a stance
>> of "you'll have to start from scratch if you want to be PHP 6 compatible, oh
>> well" is an absolutely sure-fire way to guarantee that no one uses PHP 6 for
>> anything except niche markets.
>
> I see it more as a question of being open about whats going on. If we
> would have had the upgrading guides from the beginning of 5.0.z, I think
> things would have been easier.
I'm /quite/ sure you are correct here. As memory serves; ppl were polarized for
or against almost immediately when PHP5 came out. This alone, is probably this
single most important ingredient to produce a FUD factory.
> The fact that our x.0.z releases are not
> particularly popular is another issue.
>
> I think the biggest challenge PHP5 faced however was that it was mainly
> about making developers life easier, since PHP4 already enables you to
> do pretty much any kind of web site if you are willing to put in the
> required time. Native unicode to me feels a bit more like adding
> something that was not really doable before (sure you can but that would
> mean writing every lib yourself, so the time required is beyond the vast
> majority of dev teams). Then again its not like all developers will jump
> on unicode the second its released (mainly because not all end users are
> asking for this). But the point is, getting very high adoption rates for
> new PHP releases will always be hard.
Just wondering; would it make /any/ sense to run a survey/poll on the PHP site,
asking what feature/capability/etc.. they would most like to see in future PHP
versions? This /might/ provide some insight for the developers to see if they
are at all inline with the developers goals/roadmap. Point being; it may help
future versions avoid the /underwhelming/ reception that PHP5 recieved. And
better;
might help future versions recieve the same success that PHP4 did.
Just a thought.
>
> regards,
> Lukas
>
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