Usage of 'use' or 'using' in programming languages

namespaces, php

Solution

+1 Very Interesting question

My Opinion

The keyword `use` as so many uses and functionality imagine this

use core\utils\sms\gateway\clickatell\http\SmsSender  as SmsCSender 
use core\utils\sms\gateway\fastSMS\ftp\Smssender as SmsFSender

Now Compare

if(!SmsCSender::send($sms))
{
    SmsFSender::send($sms);
}

To

if(!core\utils\sms\gateway\clickatell\http\SmsSender::send($sms))
{
    core\utils\sms\gateway\fastSMS\ftp\SmsSender::send($sms);
}

Conclusion

Without `namespace` and `use` i would not be able to achieve such a clean readable code so what i think is that `namespace and use complement each other` rather than 'use' defeating the purpose of a namespace

Problem

I always thought the main goal of a namespace is to prevent name collision and ambiguity. #1 problem fixed by namespaces from php.net: Name collisions between code you create, and internal PHP classes/functions/constants or third-party classes/functions/constants. However, most languages implement the "use" keyword in some way to alias or import other namespace to the current one. I know how it works, but I don't understand why such functionality is ever used. Isn't using a 'use' keyword effectively defeating the purpose of a namespace? ``` namespace core\utils; class User { public static function hello(){ return "Hello from core!"; } } //--------------------------------------------------- namespace core2\utils; class User { public static function hello(){ return "Hello from core2!"; } } //--------------------------------------------------- namespace core2; //causes name collision, we now have two different classes of type 'utils\User' use core\utils; //without this line the result is 'Hello from core2' class Main { public static function main(){ echo utils\User::hello(); } } Main::main(); //outputs Hello from core! ?> ``` Am i missing something or is usage of 'use' keywords really generally discouraged? Either way, under what circumstances is it actually a good idea to sacrifice the encapsulation? I used to use use, but now I am not sure when use should be used. Edit: Alright let me get this straight: If I use 'use' to get short name, how is that better than just declaring the class in global namespace? See below: ``` namespace core\utils\longname { class User {} //declare our class in some namespace } //------------------Other File--------------------------- namespace { //in another file import our long name ns and use the class use core\utils\longname\User as User; new User(); } ``` ^ What is the advantage of namespacing like that against this declaration: ``` namespace { class User {} //declare our class in global namespace } //------------------Other File--------------------------- namespace { //in another file just use the class new User(); } ``` Is there any difference at all between the two?

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