<?php ?> + <? ?> = ??

[michaewlewis]

So what's the difference if you use the long tag compared to the short tag? And don't say its a just a compatability issue for those servers that have short tags disabled. I already know that, and that doesn't explain it very well.
Is it a security issue?
Is there some sort of bug in an earlier version of apache, php or mysql that made it unuseable?
Or is it just a style thing that a couple of the php developers or distributors were fanatical about and decided to just disable short tags so they could convert all web programmers to their way of thinking?

What's the story? (if you want to make up something, go ahead)

[etully]

Cool, we get to make something up. Ok, here goes.

In order to embed PHP inside XML which also starts with <? programmers were finding it hard to determine the difference between the XML and PHP code so they disabled <? forcing coders to use <?php so that parsers would work better.

Totally out of my butt.

[Weedpacket]

I'ts a compatability issue. PHP started out with <?...?> but then XML came along which used <?...?> to denote processing instructions. The W3C had the wider support base, so PHP had to switch to <?php...?> instead. <?...?> (like a lot of other stuff, like register_globals) was left in so that legacy code would continue to run until it had been upgraded.

Sorry that it's the same answer as the one you don't want, but that's the answer.

[vaaaska]

I thought it was a branding decision... 😉

[michaewlewis]

So it's all XML's fault, eh? I guess I don't have any choice, but to use those long tags now. Although, it's going to be very difficult. I don't know if I can handle typing out those three extra characters! AAAHHH!

[stolzyboy]

michaewlewis wrote:

So it's all XML's fault, eh? I guess I don't have any choice, but to use those long tags now. Although, it's going to be very difficult. I don't know if I can handle typing out those three extra characters! AAAHHH!

when you are all done with your code (if there is no xml)

then just do a search on "<?" and replace it with "<?php"

😉

[michaewlewis]

Oh, I know how to do that.... ctl+h works fine for most programs. I was just being ornery. 😛
Now, what about making up a story?

Once upon a time, there was a tag, <?. It was very short and always got in fights until it grew up and added a few extra letters to its length and is now called <?php. So now the newer tags which used to be bigger and better, don't get in big conflicts with <?. The End.

[dalecosp]

I suppose you've visited the classic thread on this subject?

Plenty of opinions, history, etc. there ... 😃

[Merve]

<?php is free advertising. 😃