Tim Bond

MergePHP - November 14, 2024

Date	Milestone
Jul 04 2024	Alpha 1
Jul 18 2024	Alpha 2
~~Aug 01 2024~~	~~Alpha 3~~ (skipped)
Aug 01 2024	Alpha 4
Aug 13 2024	Feature freeze
~~Aug 15 2024~~	~~Beta 1~~ (skipped)
~~Aug 15 2024~~	~~Beta 2~~ (skipped)
Aug 15 2024	Beta 3
Aug 29 2024	Beta 4
Sep 12 2024	Beta 5
Sep 26 2024	RC 1
Oct 10 2024	RC 2
Oct 24 2024	RC 3
Nov 07 2024	RC 4 👈
Nov 21 2024	GA

`new MyClass()->method()` without parentheses

// < 8.4
echo (new DateTimeImmutable())->getTimestamp();

// 8.4
echo new DateTimeImmutable()->getTimestamp();

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/new_without_parentheses

New `array_*()` functions

$animal = array_find(
    ['dog', 'cat', 'cow', 'duck', 'goose'],
    static function (string $value) {
        return str_starts_with($value, 'c');
    }
);

var_dump($animal); // string(3) "array_find"

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/array_find

```
array_find
```
- Returns the first element satisfying a callback function
```
array_find_key
```
- Returns the key of the first element satisfying a callback function
```
array_any
```
- Checks if at least one array element satisfies a callback function
```
array_all
```
- Checks if all array elements satisfy a callback function

New `array_*()` functions

Asymmetric Visibility

class PhpVersion
{
    public private(set) string $version = '8.4';
}

$phpVersion = new PhpVersion();
var_dump($phpVersion->version); // string(3) "8.4"
$phpVersion->version = 'PHP 8.3'; // Visibility error

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/asymmetric-visibility-v2

class PhpVersion
{
    public string $version = '8.3';
}

$phpVersion = new PhpVersion();
var_dump($phpVersion->version); // string(3) "8.3"
$phpVersion->version = 'PHP 8.4'; // No error

Deprecated Attribute

/**
* @deprecated 8.3 use get_bar() instead
*/
function get_foo() {
	return 'foo';
}

$value = get_foo();
// No indication that the method is deprecated

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecated_attribute

#[\Deprecated(
	message: "use get_bar() instead",
	since: "8.4"
)]
function get_foo() {
	return 'foo';
}

$value = get_foo();
// Deprecated: Method get_foo() is deprecated
// since 8.4, use get_bar() instead

Property Hooks

class Locale
{
    public string $languageCode;

    public string $countryCode {
        set (string $countryCode) {
            $this->countryCode = strtoupper($countryCode);
        }
    }

    public string $combinedCode {
        get => \sprintf("%s_%s", $this->languageCode, $this->countryCode);
        set (string $value) {
            [$this->countryCode, $this->languageCode] = explode('_', $value, 2);
        }
    }

    public function __construct(string $languageCode, string $countryCode) {
        $this->languageCode = $languageCode;
        $this->countryCode = $countryCode;
    }
}

$brazilianPortuguese = new Locale('pt', 'br');
var_dump($brazilianPortuguese->countryCode); // BR
var_dump($brazilianPortuguese->combinedCode); // pt_BR

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/property-hooks

$brazilianPortuguese = new Locale('pt', 'br');
var_dump($brazilianPortuguese->countryCode); // BR
var_dump($brazilianPortuguese->combinedCode); // pt_BR

Deprecated Implicit nullable types

function save(Book $book = null) {}

// Deprecated: Implicitly marking parameter $book as
// nullable is deprecated, the explicit nullable type
// must be used instead

function save(?Book $book = null) {}

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecate-implicitly-nullable-types

PDO Driver specific SQL parsers

<?php
$connection = new PDO(
    'mysql:host=localhost;dbname=test',
    $username,
    $password,
);
// in 8.4: object(Pdo\Mysql)
// previously: object(PDO)

$connection->sqliteCreateFunction(
    'append_php',
    static fn($string) => 'PHP ' . $string
); // Fatal

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/pdo_driver_specific_parsers

Lazy Objects

<?php
$initializer = static function (MyClass $proxy): MyClass {
    return new MyClass(123);
};
 
$reflector = new ReflectionClass(MyClass::class);
$object = $reflector->newLazyProxy($initializer);

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/lazy-objects

Deprecated: _ as a class name

class _ {
}

exit() behavioral change

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/exit-as-function

The exit() (and die()) language constructs now behave more like a function
Can now be passed like callables
Are affected by the strict_types declare statement
Perform the type coercions (instead of casting any non-integer value to a string)
Passing invalid types (not int or string) to now result in a TypeError

New bcmath functions

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/adding_bcround_bcfloor_bcceil_to_bcmath

bcceil()
bcdivmod()
bcfloor()
bcround()

New mb_ functions

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/mb_trim

```
mb_trim()
```
```
mb_ltrim()
```
```
mb_rtrim()
```
```
mb_ucfirst()
```
```
mb_lcfirst()
```

New XML functions

XMLReader::fromStream()
XMLReader::fromUri()
XMLReader::fromString()
XMLWriter::toStream()
XMLWriter::toUri()
XMLWriter::toMemory()

New header functions

http_get_last_response_headers()
http_clear_last_response_headers()

New request_parse_body() function

// On a a PUT request
var_dump($_POST);  // []
var_dump($_FILES); // []

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/rfc1867-non-post

function request_parse_body(?array $options = null): array {}

// usage:
[$_POST, $_FILES] = request_parse_body();

// options:
// max_file_uploads
// max_input_vars
// max_multipart_body_parts
// post_max_size
// upload_max_filesize

PHP 8.4 security support until 31 Dec 2028

Release Cycle Update

https://wiki.php.net/rfc/release_cycle_update

Allow features that do not require an RFC in the beta period
Disallow new features in release candidates and bug fix releases
Reduce number of RCs to four (was six)
Extend security support by one year
Allowing recent regression fixes during security support

How can I play with it now?

Easy: docker container run --rm php:8.4.0RC3-cli php -i

Medium:

POSIX

docker container run --rm -v $(pwd):/app/ php:8.4.0RC3-cli php /app/script.php

Windows - cmd

docker container run --rm -v %cd%:/app/ php:8.4.0RC3-cli php /app/script.php

Windows - PowerShell

docker container run --rm -v ${PWD}:/app/ php:8.4.0RC3-cli php /app/script.php

Hard: FROM php:8.4.0RC3-...

What's New in PHP 8.4

By Tim Bond

What's New in PHP 8.4

MergePHP - November 9, 2023

new MyClass()->method() without parentheses

New array_*() functions

New array_*() functions

Asymmetric Visibility

Deprecated Attribute

Property Hooks

Deprecated Implicit nullable types

PDO Driver specific SQL parsers

Lazy Objects

Deprecated: _ as a class name

exit() behavioral change

New bcmath functions

New mb_ functions

New XML functions

New header functions

New request_parse_body() function

Release Cycle Update

How can I play with it now?

What's New in PHP 8.4

More from Tim Bond

`new MyClass()->method()` without parentheses

New `array_*()` functions

New `array_*()` functions