title: Are PHP short tags acceptable to use?
body: <p>Here's the information <a href="http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.basic-syntax.php" rel="noreferrer">according to the official documentation</a>:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>There are four different pairs of
    opening and closing tags which can be
    used in PHP. Two of those, <code>&lt;?php ?&gt;</code>
    and <code>&lt;script language="php"&gt; &lt;/script&gt;</code>,
    are always available. The other two
    are short tags and ASP style tags, and
    can be turned on and off from the
    php.ini configuration file. As such,
    while some people find short tags and
    ASP style tags convenient, they are
    less portable, and <strong>generally not
    recommended</strong>.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>In my experience most servers <em>do</em> have short tags enabled. Typing</p>
  
  <pre><code>&lt;?=
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>is far more convenient than typing</p>
  
  <pre><code>&lt;?php echo 
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>The programmers convenience is an important factor, so <strong>why</strong> are they not recommended?</p>