PHP is the most promising scripting language used for the Development of websites, web applications, dynamic content, databases, session tracking, and even building entire e-commerce sites.
PHP’s languages run on a server-side scripting platform. It’s used for making powerful dynamic and interactive Websites. This is a broadly free, well-organized, and alternative to competitors such as Microsoft ASP.
It can perform on various platforms like Windows, Linux, UNIX, and Mac and supports a wide range of databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Sybase, Inform ix, and Microsoft SQL Server.
PHP 8 on the 26 Nov 2020 PHP new edition was released. It contains many new features, Like the JIT compiler, which improves performance significantly. Support for PHP’s older version will end in 2020. Many website developers are still using the old versions. Yet this is technically possible, it is not recommended.
So switch to a new version of PHP for the various advantages. The new functions offered more variety; performance can massively increase the security gaps.
PHP 8 Architecture
The extended functionality added is Just in Time (JIT) Compiler, Attributes, New Match Expression, Union Types, Static Return, and Mixed Types, New PHP 8 Functions, Named Arguments, and Breaking improvement in PHP 8.
1. JIT Compiler
2. Attributes
3. Union Types
<?php
class F {}
class G extends F {}
// This doesn’t extend F.
class H {}
function f(C $f) {
echo get_class($f).”\n”;
}
f(new F);
f(new G);
f(new H);
?>
Output of the above example in PHP 8:-
G
H
4. Static return type
5. WeakMap
<?php
$wm = new WeakMap();
$o = new StdClass;
class A {
public function __destruct() {
echo “Dead!\n”;
}
}
$wm[$o] = new A;
var_dump(count($wm));
echo “Unsetting…\n”;
unset($o);
echo “Done\n”;
var_dump(count($wm));
The above example will output:
int (1)
Unsettling…
Dead!
Done
int(0)
6. Stringable interface
The String-aware interface is automatically added to classes that implement the __toString() method. Previously, this step had to be done manually. The code looks like this:
Let’s say we have an example that defines to String method.
<?php
class Cat
{
public function __toString(): string
{
return ‘Meow’;
}
}
Here we create an object of a class and call echo to print an object directly. This will be converted to string via __toString method.
<?php
require_once ‘Cat.php’;
$cat = new Cat();
echo $cat;
Example will output:
1
Meow
7. The Null safe Operator (RFC)
In PHP new addition to the zero coalescing operators. Now the possibility to recognize zero return values directly from methods.
They are unaware of this and allow us to get a value without having to test if the value exists and to return a different value if the first value is null. It shows that we can do this to get a value of $_GET superglobal or 0 if that value doesn’t exist.
$country = null;
if ($session !== null) {$user = $session->user;
if ($user !== null) {$address = $user->getAddress();
if ($address !== null) {$country = $address->country;
}
}
}
// do something with $country
With the nullsafe operator ?-> this code could instead be written as:
$country = $session?->user?->getAddress()?->country;
8. Named Arguments (RFC)
Named arguments provide a different order of arguments and call functions. Check that following normal function that has two parameters.
It fills an array to the given length.function fillArray(array $arrayToFill, int $number) : array
{
for ($i = 0 $i < $number; ++$i)
{
$arrayToFill[$i] =1;
}
return $arrayToFill;
}
8. Named arguments (RFC)
{
for
($i = 0 $i $number; ++$i)
{ $arrayToFill[$i] =1; }
return $arrayToFill;
9. Match expression
A match expression can be added similarly to the switch, but with safer semantics and the ability to return values. It is an expression that can store or return the variable. Only supports single-line expressions and no break is required; statement.
It will be useful sometime in the future:
echo match (8.0)
{
‘8.0’ => “Oh no!”
8.0 => “This is what I expected”,
};
//> This is what I expected
10. Saner string to number comparisons
In PHP When comparing numeric string, a number comparison is used. If not, it converts the number to a string and uses a string comparison.
# PHP 8
0 == ‘foobar’ // true
# PHP 8
0 == ‘foobar’ // false
11. OPcache extension
PHP is an interpreted language when a PHP script is executed. The interpreter analyses to compile and execute the code over and over again on every request. This process wastes CPU resources and additional time.
This is where the OPcache extension works.
“OPcache makes better performance by storing precompiled scripts”.
12. Error handling improvements
An important and backwards-incompatible change in PHP is that internal functions now throw exceptions on type or value errors.
This correct historical behaviour issues a warning and returns null if it encounters a value that it cannot use.
This behaviour is often undesired because PHP warnings do not stop the execution of the remaining block.
PHP 8 Status
Features, Improvements, and the JIT Compiler with example
The PHP has eight new features such as Union types, JIT Compiler, The null safe operator, named arguments, Attributes, Match expression, Constructor property promotion.
The wide range of improved language features makes PHP better for enterprise-level projects. Union allows for the defining type validation, which brings the language closer to a strong typing approach.
JIT stands for just-in-time compilation means, a technique that compiles a program into machine code immediately before it is executed. JIT executes the machine code that has been implemented to work together with OP Cache.
It is the first time a script is cached in OP Cache, it is returned and compiled immediately.
PHP 8 workflow
Why is PHP a gig in the Information technology Industry?
Review of PHP 8 gig systems
PHP 8 is much more than just the version number.
PHP 8 is packed with new features, and potential performance, and fixes too many unintuitive behaviours and inconsistencies in previous iterations of the language.
Conclusion
The updated version of PHP improves our performance and improves the quality of the code-base with new changes to PHP 8.
Upgrading to newer versions of PHP 8 is usually more secure, has fewer bugs, and runs scripts faster. If a website is built with PHP and the code is compatible with the latest version of the language, it will work the same way or better. If you use WordPress or a similar CMS and update it, you will see performance improvements.
