PHP 8.4 Is Here

PHP 8.4 represents another step in PHP’s evolution, once again improving performance and adding features to help developers write more concise, high quality code.

PHP 8.4 is now available for IBM i from Seiden Group.

The 8.4 release is also a happy occasion for us, as our own Calvin Buckley was named a release manager for PHP 8.4, one of a small team responsible for the high quality release of packaged source code for the global PHP community.

A Few Highlights of PHP 8.4

• Performance and security improvements
• BcMath\Number Object: Simplifies money calculations, and other arithmetic requiring decimal math, without loss of precision
• DOM API Enhancement: Improves HTML5 parsing
• Property Hooks: Reduces the amount of code needed for “get” and “set” functionality
• Lazy Objects: Objects that initialize only when needed; can speed up ORMs such as Doctrine
• request_parse_body(): Makes APIs easier to code for HTTP verbs such as PUT, PATCH, and DELETE

In addition, PHP 8.4 introduces the “Built by” block to the php -v command. This enhancement, submitted by Calvin, allows php -v to show the name of the builder of the PHP distribution, which helps people know who their PHP vendor is (e.g. us).

We plan to cover some of these topics in more detail in future articles.

To Learn More

• Official PHP 8.4 announcement
• Migration guide from PHP 8.3 to 8.4

Get in touch for a free PHP upgrade assessment or a PHP Install & Learn from Seiden Group.