[TYPO3-dev] Extensions need update for 4.3!

[Dmitry Dulepov]

Hi!

Ernesto Baschny [cron IT] wrote:
> Well, NULL wasn't wrong until probably 4.3, those extensions were not
> "broken" before, which is why I don't think they should "brake" after
> the 4.3 upgrade.

I think it depends on the view. Does saying "array" mean that null is right? To me it looks wrong.

> I consider NULL to be special (even PHP doc does it, as it is handled as
> well), as this is also the value of the uninitialized variable, which is
> the problem here.
> 
> My proposed solution would keep the type hinting, but allowing NULL
> (undef-var), which is a minor change, and won't break any extension that
> did it "old school" (only those who explicitly pass an integer, a string
> or something else).
> 
> Why are *you* resisting? :)

Well, to me it does not look like a clean solution, thatš all :( It certainly solves the problem but it is not clean. I am not saying I am completely against this idea but I truly want developers to write better code.

> TYPO3 has always claimed for high backwards compatibility, which is why
> many people love it so much. Lately the trend has been to "lets change
> it because it looks nicer" and turning down "mere users" which cannot
> upgrade their installations because they run some extension that does it
> "old school".

Well, you know, I am the one who always asks about compatibility and requires that it is observed ;) But this particular case is not only about compatibility but also about responsibility of the developer and quality of the code. This is how I see it. But this is my personal opinion, I do not say I am absolutely right :) You know, I am pedantic in many things ;)

-- 
Dmitry Dulepov
TYPO3 Core team
My TYPO3 book: http://www.packtpub.com/typo3-extension-development/book
In the blog: http://typo3bloke.net/post-details/duplicate_content_with_realurl/