The idea is that the old php syntax "function foo ()" remains unchanged [1] so developers can keep searching for "function foo". Removing "function" as keyword

The idea is that the old php syntax "function foo ()" remains unchanged [1] so developers can keep searching for "function foo". Removing "function" as keyword is a different topic and is discussed in a separate php thread [2]. The thing you mention ("float function add(){}") keeps the option to search for "function add", but I am unsure why this is not taken into account in this proposal. Anyhow, I am pretty happy this finally made it to the php language. [1] https://wiki.php.net/rfc/return_types#position_of_type_declaration https://wiki.php.net/rfc/return_types#position_of_type_decla... [2] http://marc.info/?t=141235344900003&r=1&w=2 http://marc.info/?t=141235344900003&r=1&w=2