On Tue, 2006-12-19 at 19:05 +0100, Niels wrote: > Hi list, > > I'm writing a PHP program and I've got a number of concerns. The program is > about 20 KLOC at the moment, but will probably grow quite a lot. > > I'm using OOP throughout, and I don't really have a lot of problems with > what PHP4 can do with OOP. PHP5 does have a nice feature or two, eventhough > none seems essential to my particular style of programming. I don't mind > using what PHP5 offers where it makes sense, but where's that? Exceptions > and new OOP features? > > Exceptions: I just don't see the big advantage. I've got errors and messages > bubbling up through object layers as it is, and exchanging that with a > wholly new structure seems more trouble that it's worth. I've read several > books on how cool PHP5 is, but the arguments for using exceptions seem to > boil down to "Java has them". Nowhere have I seen good examples that really > show how well exceptions solve real problems, all examples seem to show are > that 5 lines of try/catch are somehow sexier than 5 lines of if/else. What > about performance? > > New OOP features: I can go through my code and mark all my methods as public > or private or whatever. No problem. But why would I? It will make classes > easier to understand when I look at them, but that's just convenience. What > are the performance benefits? I've not found a single mention of that > anywhere. What do abstractions and interfaces actually do, aside from > structuring my code better? > > What major compelling reasons do I have to start using exceptions and OOP-5? There's only one compelling reason IMHO... objects are assigned to variables by reference instead of by copy. Other than that, as you have noted, pretty much everything else is bells and whistles of limited use to a savvy programmer who doesn't give a rat's ass about java style OOP. IMHO, stick with PHP4 style coding and adjust the things that are incompatible with PHP5. Then you're code can work in either. PHP5 uptake has not been particularly breathtaking and the majority of PHP developers are still using PHP4 because it works well enough without the headaches. PHP6 on the other hand, will probably be well worth the switch. Cheers, Rob. -- .------------------------------------------------------------. | InterJinn Application Framework - http://www.interjinn.com | :------------------------------------------------------------: | An application and templating framework for PHP. Boasting | | a powerful, scalable system for accessing system services | | such as forms, properties, sessions, and caches. InterJinn | | also provides an extremely flexible architecture for | | creating re-usable components quickly and easily. | `------------------------------------------------------------' -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
