PHP echo vs PHP short echo tags

php function echo pageload
homework picture homework · Sep 6, 2009 · Viewed 80.2k times · Source

Are they equal in safeness? I was informed that using

<?=$function_here?>

was less safe, and that it slows down page load times. I am strictly biased to using echo.

What are the advantages/disadvantages?

Answer

Pascal MARTIN picture Pascal MARTIN · Sep 6, 2009

<? and <?= are called short open tags, and are not always enabled (see the short_open_tag directive) with PHP 5.3 or below (but since PHP 5.4.0, <?= is always available).

Actually, in the php.ini-production file provided with PHP 5.3.0, they are disabled by default:

$ grep 'short_open' php.ini-production
; short_open_tag
short_open_tag = Off

So, using them in an application you want to distribute might not be a good idea: your application will not work if they are not enabled.

<?php, on the other side, cannot be disabled -- so, it's safest to use this one, even if it is longer to write.


Except the fact that short open tags are not necessarily enabled, I don't think there is much of a difference.

Related questions

PHP: return value from function and echo it directly?

this might be a stupid question but … php function get_info() { $something = "test"; return $something; } html <div class="test"><?php echo get_info(); ?></div> Is there a way to make the function automatically "echo" …

Read More
What is the difference between PHP echo and PHP return in plain English?

Yes, I have googled this question and even referred to my textbook (PHP by Don Gosselin) but I seriously can't seem to understand the explanation. From my understanding: echo = shows the final result of a function return = returns the value …

Read More
Deprecated: mysql_connect()

I am getting this warning, but the program still runs correctly. The MySQL code is showing me a message in PHP: Deprecated: mysql_connect(): The mysql extension is deprecated and will be removed in the future: use mysqli or PDO …

Read More