Although I still don't see the upside of using print instead of echo, I can at least conclude that using () after echo and print is completely and utterly useless. They, when working with frameworks, components or even large script, they take up more bytes and therefore, the script becomes larger and takes longer to process.
When I see people's scripts with;
PHP Code:
echo ( 'My Echo' );
// and of course ...
print ( 'My print (duh..)' );
I find it a excessive use of overhead. When compared,
PHP Code:
echo 'My echo';
// and of course ...
print 'My print (duh..)';
...is a lot more easier on the eyes, very much so if you're working between if/elseif/else, for, foreach, while, switch and other functions. Use () only when you absolutely need to. :)
And yes, echo processes just slightly better than print, but it isn't notable. Create your own script and test it out on your own server (or XAMP, WAMP) using;
PHP Code:
$timer['start'] = microtime();
echo 'a';
echo 'a';
echo 'a';
// Couple of hundred times...
echo 'a';
echo 'a';
echo 'a';
$timer['end'] = microtime();
And compare those diffirences.
ReSpawN