There has been some discussion on the PHP internals list on adding a short syntax array seen in other languages. The short syntax array defines an array directly with the array operator brackets:

 
$array = array(1,4,array(5,9),array(3,'name')); // Old way
$array = [1,4,[5,9],[3,'name']]; // Shorter syntax
 

The shorter syntax is both more readable and more welcoming to programmers coming from other languages. I read about this on Brian Moon's blog, and among one of the comments I read an interesting thought:

Yes, would be a nice addition. Though I’d rather the anonymous object syntax came too, would be much more useful, with callbacks etc.
visit({ function accept() { … } });

I think the commentator was actually referring to anonymous functions (which are objects in Javascript). If PHP implemented anonymous functions (and maybe closures?) it would become very powerful (callbacks anyone?), sort of like Javascript with real class based OO. Food for thought.

3. Refactoring

Code refactoring is a programming technique that involves rewriting code in a way that improves its readability or simplifies its structure without changing its results. Thus refactoring is mainly about improving code maintainability. Code smells is a term coined by Kent Beck, and refers to certain attributes of written code that suggest it should be refactored. (more...)