On 05 February 2007 17:29, Brian Moon wrote:
> Ford, Mike wrote:
> > > I don't find:
> > >
> > > $a = [1 => ['pears', 'apples'], 2 => ['juice', 'oranges']];
> > >
> > > any less readable than:
> > >
> > > $a = array(1 => array('pears', 'apples'), 2 => array('juice',
> > > 'oranges'));
> > >
> > > Quite the opposite actually :)
> >
> > Me too - I go beyond Edin on this one, as I find the
> array() version actually quite UNreadable and I have
> difficulty picking out what the individual arrays are;
> conversely, the [] version I take in at a glance.
>
> That is why you have coding standards. Our doucment states that this
> should be written as:
>
> $a = array(
> 1 => array('pears', 'apples'),
> 2 => array('juice', 'oranges')
> );
>
> I believe in either syntax, proper formatting of complex data
> can solve
> the readablity problems.
Solve, no. Alleviate, yes.
Given the above, the layout tells me there's some kind of structure
going on, but I still have to actually *read* it to discover
that there are arrays involved (and where they start and end).
With this version:
$a = [
1 => ['pears', 'apples'],
2 => ['juice', 'oranges']
];
I can take one glance and tell there are nested arrays involved, and
what their scopes are -- I'd say my comprehension speed is at least
an order of magnitude faster!
*That* makes this syntax a no-brainer for me, personally ;-)
Cheers!
Mike
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