missing php closing tags

[karma-lab]

I don't know that it matters, since v1.5.5f seems to work, but I have noticed missing closing php tags in several files while customizing my templates.

For example, take a look at includes/languages/english/login.php.

There is an opening php tag at the top; there is NOT a closing tag at the bottom.

[Design75]

That is by design. The last closing bracket is optional

[mc12345678]

That is by design. The last closing bracket is optional

Part of the design consideration has reported to be that when the closing tag has been included, there have been too many occurrences of an extra character that might inadvertently get added after the closing tag (like a space) which causes problems when trying to execute the code.

To maintain some sanity for upgrading, the developers have generally been removing or supporting removal of the closing php tag if the file has been otherwise updated for execution. This is instead of just removing it from every file. Removal from all files makes it look like every file has been edited and requires replacement which isn't really a true need with the current fileset.

[karma-lab]

I see. Thanks for explaining this. Now I know that I should not be putting them back in to my edited templates!