The backslash is the namespace separator. This just indicates that these classes are in the root namespace. This is the same as prefixing :: in front of C++ class names.

This is the official explanation as to why the delimiter is a backslash - https://wiki.php.net/rfc/namespaceseparator

To this day, the table on that page remains one of my favourite examples of PHP's badly thought out design.

PHPs design and grammar precluded using any of the other existing operators. The backslash is really the best choice and in practice it works pretty well. The actual debate on the separator choice was very very very long.

Yeah, and also: Who gives a shit? It's the convention they chose, just adapt to it and get over it, or program in a different language.

People who like to complain about PHP are rarely the same people who use it every day.

I have to use PHP every day and I rarely go a day without complaining about it.

You're the exception, not the rule.

I mostly hear C/C++, Ruby, Python, etc. devs complain about PHP. Very rarely actual PHP developers.

And typically, their complaints are less of the moan-ass "waaah, they use a \ for namespace separation" and more "ugh, why don't they disabled emulated prepared statements by default"?

Only one side is constructive.

None of those who are complaining about the monument of shit being erected outside of town is actually an erector of monuments made of shit.

Typically, their complaints are about the ugly appearance and smell.

Only one side is constructive.

I still don't get what stopped them from using any of the existing operators.

Rationale was discussed on IRC, see:

https://wiki.php.net/_media/rfc/php.ns.txt

Linked to at the bottom of:

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/namespaceseparator

I skimmed through it but couldn't really understand why they couldn't coopt one of the existing operators (for example, by making classes have a namespace for their methods)

Couldn't they provide a clearer explanation than simply dumping a huge IRC log like that??

Basically namespaces operate at a different level. You can almost imagine it like Macro expansion -- the namespaces are fully resolved for all the symbols in the file and then the compilation happens. This is necessary for a host of reasons. They can't co-opt an existing operator because all the existing operators work at an entirely different level.

The reality is that the parser is absolute shit and that sort of necessitated the character not being '.'

But you get used to that kind of stuff writing PHP. At least Facebook is making things better.

I'm 99% sure this isn't satire.

Heh, I was wondering the same. As others have pointed out, it looks like it's the namespace separator. Now someone has to explain why on Earth you need the namespace separator if these class names are already in the namespace?

PHP has an incredible knack for almost copying other languages' features, but making them uglier in some random way, for no particular added benefit.

(I know, I'm a hater... but seriously, why?)

> Now someone has to explain why on Earth you need the namespace separator if these class names are already in the namespace?

You don't. This is just illustrating these classes are in the global namespace.

> PHP has an incredible knack for almost copying other languages' features, but making them uglier in some random way, for no particular added benefit.

Well you have a case for "no added benefit" typically they aren't ugly for a random reason. There's a lot of very necessary reasons for the way these things work while making a language which is still PHP. PHP isn't precompiled. PHP has autoloading of classes. PHP allows code to be imported into other code. Combining namespaces with all the other existing features isn't an easy task.

if you do not include the namespace separator, and you import a namespace with the same name defined, you'll have a not-so-pleasant surprise. e.g.:you use "Exception" to catch all exceptions, and someone defines "SQL\Exception", then you import "SQL", and now all your catch blocks stop working. But don't worry. This is business as usual in the PHP world.

The namespace separator is not required if already in the correct scope. I am not sure why the author decided to include them in the examples.

Modern PHP code rarely uses the global namespace, so almost everyone who cares about correct handling of the new exceptions will have to prefix them with a backslash anyway.