i have wondered the same thing in php, but i decided to code the long way because it's easier to read.
i'm not using your exact example, but something more like this:
PHP Code:
<?
// short way
if($i == 1) echo "i is 1";
// long way
if($i == 1)
{
echo "i is 1";
}
?>
just seams like it would take less time debugging if things went wrong.