Short tags aren't going anywhere, so why not use them! Short tags are best used in template files in frameworks like [Zend Framework](http://framework.zend.com/).

These are short tags

  <? $items = array('apple','pie','bacon'); ?>
  <? foreach ($items as $item) : ?>
    <? if ($item == 'bacon') : ?>
      <b><?=$item?></b>
    <? else : ?>
      <?=$item?>
    <? endif ; ?>
  <?endforeach ; ?>

Enable in php.ini

  short_open_tag = On

Enable in .htaccess

  php_flag short_open_tags on


Hooray for less typing!

PHP Short Tags