Thread:Extension talk:ParserFunctions/$wgPFEnableStringFunctions/reply (3)

It just doesn't feel right, ParserFunctions is more for adding some kind of control flow statements whereas StringFunctions is for processing strings. Both are for extending MW markup to some kind of programming language which is ugly but seems like a necessary evil. The more features you add, the more twisted it gets, String Functions is just the start but take a look at Variables or Loops and you get the idea how far this could go. So I'd prefer providing either all of these as package with some clear configuration guide to allow everybody to choose how far he'd like to go there OR to put all of these into single extension packages where you can clearly choose what twisted feature you want and how far to go.

But for this particular example, ParserFunctions joining with StringFunctions, I have another problem. It is a extension employed at Wikimedia foundation wikis such as Wikipedia! Therefore it would be very confusing for users of those wikis to look at Help:Extension:ParserFunctions where they should find information about string functions as well (right now they are not even documented there) whereas they are not even available in those wikis.

It really seems like StringFunctions were just put into ParserFunctions as a cheep attempt to get them into Wikipedia without anybody noticing/complaining. I'd really be happy to see them separated again so maintenance of these two extensions wouldn't be so mixed up and confusing.