why is there different syntax same outcome?

Question

Why is there different syntax same outcome?

For example

# Example 1
if($myCondition == true) :
    #my code here
endif;

if($myCondition == true) {
    #my code here
}

# Example 2
foreach($films as $film) : 
    #my code here
endforeach;

foreach($films as $film) { 
    #my code here
}

Also I have been using <?= for ages now and I now understand that is deprecated and I should be using <?php echo Is this the case and why? It's a lot more annoying to have to write that out each time.

What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

The colon endif, endforeach, etc syntax is known as Alternative Syntax. I can't say for certain why this functionality exists, just that it does and is supported. I can say that I've noticed the alternative syntax used more for templating purposes where it's easy to pick out an endif/endforeach than it is a closing curly-brace in the middle of HTML markup.

The <?= is known as the short open tag. You can probably find all the info you need about its use here http://stackoverflow.com/questions/200640/are-php-short-tags-acceptable-to-use

Answer 2

Why should the outcome be different? The one without the brackets is called alternative syntax for control structures and is very useful, e.g. when dealing with HTML.

<?php echo is much more portable because short open tags can be disabled and are disabled by default since PHP 5.3