.PHP File Format – Versions

5.0

A new object model. Objects are held by handle instead of copied. Added public, protected, private, abstract, final, interface, class constants, static, clone, __construct() and __destruct(), magic methods, exceptions with try and catch, and class type declarations on parameters.

5.1

array as a parameter type. PDO enabled by default.

5.2

The JSON, filter and date extensions (DateTime).

5.3

Namespaces, late static binding (static::), closures, nowdoc, goto, the ?: operator, __DIR__, __callStatic(), const outside classes, and Phar bundled.

5.4

Traits, short array syntax ([1, 2]), <?= always on, array dereferencing of function results, $this in closures, binary integer literals, the callable type and the built-in web server. Removed register_globals, safe_mode, magic quotes and break $var.

5.5

Generators, finally, list() in foreach, Foo::class, empty() on any expression, the password hashing API and OPcache bundled.

5.6

Variadic parameters and argument unpacking with ..., **, constant expressions, const arrays, use function and use const, __debugInfo(), phpdbg, and default_charset defaulting to UTF-8.

7.0

Added scalar type declarations and strict_types, return types, ??, <=>, constant arrays with define(), anonymous classes, \u{…} escapes, Closure::call(), group use, generator return values and yield from, intdiv(), and the Throwable hierarchy with engine errors as Error.

Changed: uniform variable syntax, which reads indirect expressions strictly from left to right; list() assigns in order; foreach no longer moves the internal pointer.

Removed: ASP tags and <script language="php">, the ereg and mysql extensions, and others. Old-style constructors were deprecated.

7.1

Nullable types, void, iterable, multi-catch, symmetric [$a, $b] destructuring with keys, class constant visibility, negative string offsets and Closure::fromCallable().

7.2

The object type, parameter type widening on overrides, overriding abstract methods with abstract methods, a trailing comma in group use, and the Sodium extension in core. mcrypt moved to PECL.

7.3

Flexible heredoc and nowdoc, references in destructuring, CompileError, and trailing commas in calls.

7.4

Typed properties, arrow functions, ??=, spread in array literals, numeric literal separators, return type covariance and parameter contravariance, WeakReference, __serialize(), exceptions from __toString(), preloading and the FFI extension. Deprecated nested ternaries without parentheses and $a{0} offsets.

8.0

Added the JIT compiler, union types, match, named arguments, attributes, the nullsafe operator, constructor promotion, mixed and static return types, throw as an expression, WeakMap, Stringable, $obj::class, a trailing comma in parameter lists, and catches without a variable.

Changed: number and string comparison, . precedence, many warnings became Error or TypeError, undefined variables and keys became warnings, and error_reporting defaulted to E_ALL. @ no longer hides fatal errors. #[ no longer starts a comment.

Removed: (real) and (unset) casts, $a{0}, __autoload(), create_function(), each(), old-style constructors, calling non-static methods statically and track_errors.

8.1

Enums, fibers, readonly properties, intersection types, never, first-class callable syntax, new in initialisers, final class constants, 0o octal literals, and array unpacking with string keys. Restricted whole-array writes to $GLOBALS. Deprecated passing null to built-in scalar parameters, implicit lossy float-to-int conversion, and autovivification from false.

8.2

Readonly classes, DNF types, standalone null, false and true types, constants in traits, enum properties in constant expressions, #[\SensitiveParameter], and the Random extension. Deprecated dynamic properties, "${var}" interpolation and relative callables such as "self::method".

8.3

Typed class constants, dynamic class constant fetch (C::{$name}), #[\Override], arbitrary static variable initialisers, readonly reinitialisation in __clone(), final on trait methods with as, and json_validate().

8.4

Property hooks, asymmetric visibility, lazy objects, #[\Deprecated], new Foo()->bar() without parentheses, and interface and abstract properties. New functions include array_find(), array_find_key(), array_any(), array_all(), mb_trim() and fpow(). exit() and die() behave like functions.

Deprecated: implicitly nullable parameters, _ as a class name, raising zero to a negative power, E_USER_ERROR with trigger_error(), and the E_STRICT constant.

8.5

Released on 20 November 2025. Pipe operator, clone with new property values, #[\NoDiscard] and the (void) cast, static closures and first-class callables in constant expressions, attributes on constants, #[\Override] on properties, #[\DelayedTargetValidation], final promoted properties, asymmetric visibility on static properties, casts in constant expressions, the URI extension, array_first() and array_last(), Closure::getCurrent(), and backtraces for fatal errors.

Deprecated: the backtick operator, the casts (integer), (boolean), (double) and (binary), a semicolon after case, null as an array offset, and __sleep() and __wakeup() (soft). Removed: disable_classes. Traits now bind before the parent class.

8.6

At the time of writing PHP 8.6 is at the release candidate stage and has not been released. The manual’s migration guide lists defaults for readonly properties, reference assignment in a WeakMap, __debugInfo() in enums, #[\Override] on class constants, partial function application (add(1, ?)), writing to properties of objects held in constants, and endianness modifiers for pack(). The form feed joins the default characters removed by trim().