[Info-vax] OS implementation languages

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 9/8/2023 2:05 PM, Simon Clubley wrote:
> Unfortunately, I _do_ have to use PHP sometimes.
> 
> It didn't take me long to establish some solid rules, such as strict
> comparisons at _all_ times, and to use a monitor library I wrote that
> has the allowed error level turned all the way down so that things
> which PHP normally allows through generate an error instead.
> 
> |PHP is built to keep chugging along at all costs. When faced with either
> |doing something nonsensical or aborting with an error, it will do something
> |nonsensical. Anything is better than nothing.
> 
> It is a horrible, horrible, language that like Javascript has been
> turned from something used for writing little scripts into something
> used to write mission-critical and highly sensitive applications,
> which neither of them are suitable for.
> 
>  From that page:
> 
> |PHP is built to keep chugging along at all costs. When faced with either
> |doing something nonsensical or aborting with an error, it will do something
> |nonsensical. Anything is better than nothing.
> 
> That sums up the language perfectly (and the same mindset is equally true
> for Javascript in IMHO). They were both designed for quick hacks, not for
> serious mission-critical applications.

PHP actually follows the same rules as most languages:
   not able to continue => error
   able to continue => warning
   error => stop execution
   warning => continue execution

But PHP does allow some constructs that other languages do not.

As an example:

<?php

class C { }

function check($lbl, $v) {
     $vv = $v ? 'true' : 'false';
     echo "$lbl is $vv\r\n";
}

check('true', true);
check('false', false);
check('123', 123);
check('"ABC"', 'ABC');
check('0', 0);
check('""', '');
check('"0"', '0');
check('(instance of C)', new C());
check('null', null);

?>

outputs:

true is true
false is false
123 is true
"ABC" is true
0 is false
"" is false
"0" is false
(instance of C) is true
null is false

But languages get designed for certain purposes/contexts/users.

PHP was designed to allow people that does not understand
data types to write code.

If people do not understand the difference between boolean
data type and other data types, then PHP behavior makes sense.

There is little point in criticizing a language for meeting
its design goals.

The question is whether the language is a good choice for
a specific context.

I have no idea whether PHP was the right or the wrong choice
for your web application.

There is a pretty big majority in the IT industry that believe
type safe languages are not the right choice for web applications.
Business critical web site or not.

Just like you can ask a C compiler to not continue with
warnings then you can do the same with PHP.

function always_die($errno, $errstr, $errfile, $errline ) {
     echo "$errstr in $errfile on line $errline";
     die();
}
set_error_handler('always_die');

will force PHP to stop at warnings and notices (PHP term for
informationals).

Arne