Short Tags¶
PHP uses special tags to identify code that has to be executed. The short tags are a special set of PHP tag, shorter than the usual <?php. It was simply <?.
Short tags may be disabled in PHP configuration, with the short_open_tag directive.
Short tags are different from echo tags : those tags immediately display data.
From the manual : As short tags can be disabled it is recommended to only use the normal tags (<?php ?> and <?= ?>) to maximise compatibility.
<?php
echo 1;
?>
<?
// this is a short tag
echo 2;
?>