In November 2021, PHP 8.1, which has new PHP features and improved performance, was released. One of the most intriguing aspects is the JIT compiler. In this blog, we’ll highlight and go into further depth about PHP 8.1’s key features. You may use these PHP 8 features to make PHP easier to use in your projects. This PHP blog for your PHP development website may be useful for both novice and seasoned developers.
In this post, the new features of PHP 8.1 are discussed. We’ll look more closely at everything, including entirely new PHP capabilities, speed improvements, significant changes, and more.
Features:
New minor versions are mostly released to add new capabilities. Over 20 new features are included in PHP 8.1, ranging from little tweaks like adding a new $options parameter to different hash_*() methods to brand-new syntactic features like enums. A list of some of the significant new PHP 8 features included in 8.1 is shown below.
Enumeration
Enumerations, sometimes referred to as “enums,” are now supported by PHP 8.1. It’s a different kind with a lot of potential numbers. You can see how enumerations are utilized to find out more about it.
Fiber
PHP 8.1 supports “Fibers,” the low-level PHP component that enables concurrent code execution. A stack of variables and states make up a “fiber,” a unit of code. These “fibers” can be compared to strings of programs that the primary program launches. At startup, the “fiber” cannot be stopped or terminated by the primary program. Instead, it ought to be stopped or finished inside a “Fiber” block of code. The “fiber” is severed, and control is returned to the complete program, allowing the main program to begin operation.
On fibers alone, the fiber-to-fiber idea, or the synchronized execution of several fibers, is not allowed. In any event, having a PHP framework that can manage the execution stack and effectively support non-concurrency is really advantageous.
Never
Support for the “never” “return type” has been added in PHP 8.1. When a certain series of tasks has been completed, the capacity can be instructed to cease running the program using the ‘Never’ type. This may be done by invoking the exit() or die() functions to throw an exception.
Readonly
An additional class property called read-only is now supported by PHP 8.1. A one-time-only setting is required for the read class property. There is no way to alter the setting value. When you attempt to update the value, the program crashes.
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Last
Another class constant flag named “last” has support in PHP 8.1. Unfortunately, you cannot alter class constants while executing legacy. In other words, subclasses cannot extend them or take their place.
Because they cannot be obtained outside of the class, you cannot use this flag with private constants. A fatal error will also occur if you call the last and private constants at the same time.
Array is a list() function.
The array is list(), a new array operation, is supported by PHP 8.1. determines if consecutive numbers, usually beginning with 0, are present in a preset array. If the object is a semantic list of values, the keys are large integers in an array starting with 0, and there are no gaps in the middle, then the method returns true. Additionally, it returns true for void arrays. To make use of the capabilities of an array is a list, please do try to see it for yourself. False values will be evaluated for arrays with keys that do not begin at zero, are not integers, or are integers but are not contiguous.
‘fsync()’ and ‘fdatasync()’ Functions
The methods fsync() and fdatasync() are now supported by PHP 8.1. Both resemble the fflush() method as it is currently written. By doing this, the buffer is flushed into the active framework. Nevertheless, the functions fsync() and fdatasync() flush buffers to physical memory. The main difference between them is that the fsync() function includes metadata when synchronizing document changes, but the fdatasync() function does not.
The fsync() function receives a document pointer and attempts to commit modifications to the disc. If the resource is not a file, the function gives a warning and returns false while active.
Consequently, the fdatasync() function is in use. However, fsync() is a little faster since it aims to fully synchronize both the record’s information changes and the document’s metadata, such as the latest adjustment time that is composed of the two discs.
Unpacking Support for String-Keyed Arrays
String-keyed array unpacking is supported in PHP 8.1. PHP makes use of the spread operator to unload arrays (…). By integrating at least two exhibits while using a clearer phrase form, this operator adapted to PHP 7.4. The spread operator, however, was limited to arrays with numeric keys until PHP 8.1. To learn how to use the spread operator in a keyed array of strings, try to use PHP 8.1 and preview it.
‘full_path’ key in ‘$_FILES
The $_FILES global variable now supports the new full path key thanks to PHP 8.1. Before PHP 8.1, the server did not record whole paths or particular folders in $_FILES. The complete instructions, including the form for submitting HTML documents, cannot be submitted at this time. The brand-new full-path key addresses this problem. To allow directory transfers to be taken into consideration, it stores common paths and recreates certain directory structures on the server. For information on how to utilize the full path key with the global variable $_FILES, see it for yourself.
New ‘IntlDatePatternGenerator’ Class
An additional IntlDatePatternGenerator class is now supported by PHP 8.1. Before PHP 8.1, only the IntlDateFormatter could be used to define limited dates and times. Eight pre-characterized designs are supported for the past, present, and future. In any case, these groups’ flexibility was not anticipated by the IntelDatePatternGenerator. You may pick the days and a monthly calendar for this course to fit your schedule and requirements. If you want to understand how to use the IntlDatePatternGenerator class, I recommend executing the respective code sample.
Other minor adjustments:
There are some extremely small language modifications with every new edition. On GitHub, there is a deprecated little RFC that lists them all. Please have a look if you’re interested in the specifics.
Final words
Numerous helpful new features have been added to PHP 8.1, notably to the object model. Enums have long been coveted because they make programming more predictable and readable. Intersection types provide a mechanism to decouple from framework- or library-specific interfaces in addition to providing precise type indications for required or supplied functionality. Fibers provide fantastic low-level engine features for developing top-notch asynchronous functions for your language to compete competitively with Node.js.
However, several other changes might affect your program and unintentionally ruin it. Among these are adjusting MySQL’s default error mode, relocating resources to designated resource object types, and changing how values are cast to other types, particularly when strict typing is enabled.
The fact that PHP 8.1 outperforms its predecessor is no small feat. Some of PHP 8.1’s more exciting new features are enums, fibers, pure intersection types, and many of its performance improvements. I’m also eager to explore PHP 8.1 and investigate different PHP frameworks and content management systems.
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Which PHP 8.1 feature is your favorite? Share your thoughts with the readers in the section below.
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