Jonny Stirling wrote (on 03/04/2014):
At the moment, PHP.next doesn't really exist. What it will eventually be
called is surely a question for when we get around to distributing it, e.g.
shortly before first alpha. Until then (imo) there is no benefit to
deciding this now, or in the near future. Any use of names PHP6 or PHP7 or
even PHP8 before it exists is just going to continue the issues brought up
here in the future.
That being the case, perhaps keeping the naming as simply php.next (branch
included) or using basic code names is the way to go.
I think this is actually quite a good idea. Firstly, it's the approach being taken by some very high-profile projects recently, e.g. Microsoft with Internet Explorer and I think Office. ECMAScript is an even closer example: they did in fact skip a version when ECMAScript 4 was abandoned, and "ECMAScript Harmony" was intended to be a release, but became a roadmap across several, with "ES.next" being used to refer to drafts of what features should land next.
Not that we have to do what everyone else does, but for those worried we might "look like clowns" by daring to call it anything other than 6: we are not alone.
Secondly, if we rename the page on the wiki to "PHP.next", or some other code name, then this entire discussion can be shunted off, and we can concentrate on what will be in the release. It may even be that, like the ECMAScript committee, we find ourselves with tentative plans for a PHP.next.next as well, as we narrow in on a realistic set of goals.
Regards,
--
Rowan Collins
[IMSoP]