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Releases

Versions of the PHP Engine

PHP 8.5

URI Extension
PHP 8.5 adds a built-in URI extension to parse, normalize, and handle URLs following RFC 3986 and WHATWG URL standards.
Pipe Operator
The |> operator enables chaining callables left-to-right, passing values smoothly through multiple functions without intermediary variables.
Clone With
Clone objects and update properties with the new clone() syntax, making the "with-er" pattern simple for readonly classes.
#[\NoDiscard] Attribute
The #[\NoDiscard] attribute warns when a return value isn't used, helping prevent mistakes and improving overall API safety .
Closures and First -class Callables in Constant Expressions
static closures and first -class callables can now be used in constant expressions, such as attribute parameters .
Persistent cURL Share Handles
Handles can now be persisted across multiple PHP requests, avoiding the cost of repeated connection initialization to the same hosts .

PHP 8.4
Major Features:
  • Property Hooks allow intercepting properties
  • Asymmetric Visibility for get and set
  • #[Deprecated] attribute signals removal intent
  • new array lookup and query options
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PHP 8.3
Major Features:
  • class constants can now be typed
  • Dynamic class Constants
  • Enhanced deep cloning of readonly instances
  • Generate random strings from provided character sets
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PHP 8.2
Major Features:
  • Entire classes can now be marked readonly
  • Improved type support with Disjunction Normal Forms
  • null, true and false are now usable as types
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Older Versions

These versions are no longer officially supported by the PHP Project

Official support refers to that provided direct by the PHP Project.

If you install PHP via third-party packages, support timelines may be different. Please read the Release Support Policy for more information.

PHP 8.1
Major Features:
  • Native support for Enumerations
  • Core support for asynchronous programming
  • class properties can be permanently marked readonly
  • Clean syntax for creating closures from callables
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PHP 8.0
Major Features:
  • Pass arguments to functions based on parameter names
  • Native syntax for structured metadata(annotations)
  • Shorthand syntax for defining and initializing properties
  • Strict, expression - based alternative to switch statements
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PHP 7.4
Major Features:
  • class properties fully support type declarations
  • Concise syntax for simple one - liner closures
  • Assign values quickly using the ??= operator
  • Unpack arrays directly inside other arrays using ...
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PHP 7.3
Major Features:
  • Improved formatting and indentation parsing for multi - line strings
  • Allow trailing commas in function calls
  • list destructuring supports assignment by reference
  • new function to safely verify if a variable is countable
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PHP 7.2
Major Features:
  • use 'object' as a formal type declaration
  • Native support for the Argon2 password hashing algorithm
  • Modern cryptography via the core Sodium extension
  • Traits can now be overridden by abstract methods
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PHP 7.1
Major Features:
  • Prepend types with a question mark to allow nulls
  • Functions can explicitly declare a 'void' return
  • Accept arrays or Traversable objects interchangeably
  • Catch multiple exception types within a single block
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PHP 7.0
Major Features:
  • Type hinting for int, float, string, and bool
  • Specify the strict return type of a function
  • Simplify isset checks with the ?? operator
  • Combined comparison using the <=> operator
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PHP 5.6
Major Features:
  • Accept variable-length argument lists using ...
  • Unpack arrays dynamically into function arguments
  • Use basic math and expressions when defining constants
  • Calculate powers easily using the ** operator
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PHP 5.5
Major Features:
  • Create simple iterators using the 'yield' keyword
  • Execute code unconditionally after try/catch blocks
  • Fetch fully qualified class names as strings
  • The empty() construct now accepts arbitrary expressions
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PHP 5.4
Major Features:
  • Enable horizontal code reuse across independent classes
  • Define arrays cleanly using the [] syntax
  • Integrated CLI web server for local development
  • Anonymous functions can automatically access object scope
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PHP 5.3
Major Features:
  • Organize code and prevent naming collisions
  • Reference the called class context using static::
  • Support for anonymous functions and inline callbacks
  • Omit the middle expression using the ?: operator
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PHP 5.2
Major Features:
  • Native json_encode and json_decode functions added
  • Built-in data validation and sanitization filters
  • Native support for creating and reading ZIP archives
  • Introduction of the object-oriented DateTime class
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PHP 5.1
Major Features:
  • Standardized, lightweight interface for database access
  • Significant execution speed improvements over 5.0
  • Added support for __isset() and __unset()
  • Allow 'array' as an explicit parameter type hint
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PHP 5.0
Major Features:
  • A completely rewritten core engine for better performance
  • Introduction of true OOP with visibility (public/protected/private)
  • Standardized try/catch error handling model
  • An easy-to-use extension for parsing XML structures
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PHP 4.4
Major Features:
  • Fixed major memory corruption issues related to references
  • Added an INI directive to limit the nesting level of input variables
  • File hashing functions now use streams instead of low-level IO
  • Added flag to sort arrays based on the current locale
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PHP 4.3
Major Features:
  • Introduced a separate CLI SAPI for developing shell applications
  • Unified approach to handling files, pipes, sockets, and I/O resources
  • The GD image manipulation library is now bundled by default
  • A more portable and less resource-consuming build process
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PHP 4.2
Major Features:
  • External variables are no longer registered in the global scope by default
  • Major overhaul of the sockets extension for better reliability
  • Highly improved performance and handling of file uploads
  • Introduced experimental support for the Apache 2 web server
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PHP 4.1
Major Features:
  • Introduced autoglobal arrays like $_GET, $_POST, and $_SESSION
  • Revolutionary performance and stability improvements under Windows
  • Added turn-key output compression support
  • Added infrastructure to support version numbers for different extensions
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PHP 4.0
Major Features:
  • A new, highly optimized two-stage parse and execute engine
  • Built-in support for HTTP session management
  • Ability to buffer output before sending it to the browser
  • More comprehensive object-oriented programming support over PHP 3
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