OK everyone, it seems that some people have forgotten or missed the original
agreement that this thread started with. There is a communication disconnect
("strict typing" means horribly different things to different people right
now). Please read through and understand the following terminology before
continuing to post on this thread. We've agreed to the following terms:
- "Strict Typing" means the super strict old C style typing *with no implicit
conversions*. (If you really think this is what you want, you are probably
mistaken. Look through prior discussions on this topic. This fails for numerous
reasons, including the fact that almost every input to PHP is a string.)
- "Weak Typing" means types in the same sense that the PHP documentation uses
types (for example, the docs indicate substr(string, integer), and
substr(12345, "2") == "345".) (If you think you want "strict typing", this is
probably what you mean.)
- "No Scalar Typing" should be used to indicate the current system (where there
is no provision for hinting at scalar types.)
In addition, if someone potentially new expresses support for "Strict Typing",
please assume that they really mean weak typing unless proven otherwise (this
is by far the more likely intent.) Don't get mean, politely clarify terminology
so that everyone can be on the same page. If someone still insists that they
want "Strict Typing" (as defined above), point them to the prior discussions on
the topic which explain exactly what the problems with this are.
John Crenshaw
Priacta, Inc.
