Another post from the archives: I am running a WAMP development environment at home and at work. I am always looking for new ways to fine-tune my set-up. Here is one…
The short open tags option allow you to leave off the “php” in the opening tag of your code block. So, instead of:
<?php
// your code
?>
you use:
<?
// your code
?>
To enable PHP short style tags, you will need to edit your php.ini file.
- Open
- Search for
short_open_tag - Set it to
= On(it isOffby default) - Save the file
- Restart your web server
The advantage: you get to save yourself typing 3 characters for every PHP code block you write.
The disadvantages: loss of portability: your code will not work on a server where short tags have not been enabled — and many ISP’s are not willing to edit the php.ini file on the server.
Also note that as of PHP 5.4.0 <?= will always work, regardless of your short_open_tag setting, e.g.:
<?=$your_variable?>
