[wp-hackers] call time pass by reference (PHP 5.4 in-compatibilities)

[Mike Schinkel]

On Dec 28, 2012, at 5:55 PM, Andrew Nacin <wp at andrewnacin.com> wrote:
> However, *we can't remove existing instances* of _ref_array() calls
> without breaking plugins. Plugin callbacks tied to existing _ref_array()
> actions might be explicitly asking for their value to be passed by
> reference, like so:

Would we consider adding a constant (with caveat[1]) that is halfway between WP_DEBUG=true and WP_DEBUG=false?  One that is set true for new sites but false for upgraded sites, a WP_NO_DEPRECATED constant?  This way plugin authors would have most of an incentive to fix deprecated usage as their plugins would fail for newer sites that don't allow deprecated usage?

-Mike


[1] http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/22251#comment:5