Writing code without the words 'php' at start

[sofcare]

Hi,

I work from two separate servers/pcs. On one, I have to start my code with ‘<?php’, while on the other I can start with just ‘<?’. Why is that and how can I adjust the other server so that I don’t have to write ‘php’ after the question mark? Thanks.

Chris

[AbraCadaver]

Prior to version 5.4 it’s the short_open_tag setting in php.ini

[Valkrider]

The full tag always works so always use it.

[sebrenauld]

You should always use full (<?php) tags for a variety of reasons:

• Compatibility. You will never be able to guarantee that short_open_tag will be set to true, and in some cases, may not have control over it
• Collisions. IIS+ASP is notoriously famous for trying to parse <? as ASP if poorly configured. You want to avoid this.
• Documentation. It only costs you three bytes and lifts all the ambiguity immediately, without the need for inspection.