[TYPO3-ect] PHP 4 or 5 for forms library?

[Elmar Hinz]

Hi Michael,

Michael Scharkow wrote:
> 1. ECT is actually building *for* 5.0

There is no such definition. The name is ECT not P5T. Hower there is
nothing wrong with PHP5 and anybody can build extensions that are only
running with PHP5.

According to Roberts Roadmap PHP5 becomes obligatory with TYPO3 5.x. Maybe
the bigger part of installations out there in the wild, will be running on
PHP4 until they are upgrading to TYPO3 5.0.

So the question is to realistically estimate, on how many installations our
libraries will be used if they are PHP5 only. How many users would be
excluded from using them? Will the amount of users  reach the "critical
mass" of installations.

> 2. Building for 4.x would mean so much compromise that all development
> is trapped in backwards-compat issues all the time. This starts already
> by yet another glue layer implementing PHP5 functions for PHP4, which I
> absolutely won't understand.

I remember Kasper wrote something about the perfect world, where you were a
dictator in ... ;-)

None the less we are meanwhile in the lucky position to have a place, where
ideas of perfectionism are really needed. That is the 5.x core team. No
compromises anymore that trapps all development in backwards-compat issues ...

I am not patient enough to wait years for 5.x. So I try to realize some
central ideas of 5.x within 4.x with extensions and get them 2 years
earlier. The difficulties and compromises connected with this strategy are
challenge of own nature.


> 3. I didn't know the form lib was designed to be obsolete when finished...

Even TYPO3 5.x will be obsolete when finished, because at that time 6.x
will be in work  ... I bet form lib will be used for 2, 3 or 4 years until
all migration to 5.x is done.

I am also sure that the 5.x core team will learn a lot from the form lib
and implement the successfull ones of the iedas. Extensions are the
incubator projects of TYPO3.

Regards

Elmar