Description:
------------
In "Actual Result" I have copied the current "variables_order" description from the manual.

It looks if it was copied from the "register_globals - friendly" description of "gpc_order", but AFAIK these two parameters don't do the same!

If you set "variables_order" to "GP", PHP will _not_ "overwrite any GET method variables with POST-method variables of the same name" - that's why $_GET etc. have been invented.

Since "register_globals" has been removed from CVS-HEAD, I think this description is misleading (at least it was to me).

As far as I can see the order of the variables does not matter if you don't have register_globals anymore. It's only a question of which variables will be created at all. Only if you still use register_globals the last sentence makes sense, but this should not be the default anymore (IMO).

Expected result:
----------------
Perhaps something like that:

variables_order  string

    Set the order of the EGPCS ($_ENV, $_GET, $_POST, $_COOKIE, $_SERVER) variable parsing. The default setting of this directive is "EGPCS". Setting this to "GP", for example, will cause PHP to completely ignore environment variables, cookies and server variables, and to created only the $_GET and $_POST superglobals.

If register_globals is still used, variables_order also configures the order ENV, GET, POST, COOKIE and SERVER variables are populated in global scope. Setting this to "GP" with register_globals enabled, will cause PHP to overwrite any GET method variables with POST-method variables of the same name.

[REGISTER-GLOBALS-WARNING]
[REGISTER-GLOBALS-REMOVED-NOTICE]

    See also PHP Superglobals.

Actual result:
--------------
variables_order  string

    Set the order of the EGPCS (Environment, GET, POST, Cookie, Server) variable parsing. The default setting of this directive is "EGPCS". Setting this to "GP", for example, will cause PHP to completely ignore environment variables, cookies and server variables, and to overwrite any GET method variables with POST-method variables of the same name.

    See also register_globals.

http://de3.php.net/manual/en/ini.core.php#ini.variables-order