A pre-RFC discussion on the PHP internals mailing list proposes introducing a `.phpc` file extension for 'pure-code' PHP source files that would not require the `<?php` opening tag. The thread debates implementation approaches: extension-based dispatch, a boolean argument to the engine's parse entrypoint, an environment variable like `PHP_INPUT_PURE`, or new `include_pure`/`require_pure` keywords. Key concerns raised include backward compatibility breaks, SAPI complexity, and whether the benefit of omitting `<?php` justifies the added complexity. One participant suggests auto-detecting the absence of `<?php` tags and restarting the parse in code mode as a potential middle ground.
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