PHP Version History

 

PHP Version History: A Complete Guide

Introduction

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is one of the most popular server-side scripting languages used for web development. Since its initial release in 1995, PHP has undergone significant improvements, introducing new features, better performance, and enhanced security. This article provides a detailed history of PHP versions, their release dates, and key features.

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PHP Version Timeline

PHP 1.0 (1995)

• Created by Rasmus Lerdorf.
• Originally called "Personal Home Page Tools".
• Limited functionality with basic form handling.

PHP 2.0 (1997)

• Introduced more structured scripting capabilities.
• Improved performance over PHP 1.0.

PHP 3.0 (1998)

• A complete rewrite of PHP.
• Introduced a robust extension architecture.
• Supported object-oriented programming (OOP).

PHP 4.0 (2000)

• Introduced the Zend Engine 1.0.
• Improved performance and scalability.
• Support for sessions and output buffering.
• More powerful web server integration.

PHP 5.0 (2004)

• Introduced Zend Engine 2.0.
• Improved OOP support (private, protected, public properties, and methods).
• Exception handling using try-catch.
• SimpleXML and improved XML support.
• Built-in SQLite support.

PHP 5.3 (2009)

• Introduced namespaces.
• Late static binding.
• Anonymous functions and closures.

PHP 5.4 (2012)

• Short array syntax ([] instead of array()).
• Traits for code reusability.
• Removed register_globals and safe_mode for better security.

PHP 5.5 (2013)

• Added yield for generators.
• Password hashing API (password_hash()).

PHP 5.6 (2014)

• Constant scalar expressions.
• Variadic functions using ....
• Argument unpacking.

PHP 7.0 (2015)

• Major performance improvements with Zend Engine 3.0.
• Return type declarations.
• Null coalescing operator (??).
• Scalar type hints (int, float, string, bool).

PHP 7.1 (2016)

• Nullable types (?int).
• Iterable and void return types.

PHP 7.2 (2017)

• Argon2 password hashing.
• Deprecation of create_function().

PHP 7.3 (2018)

• JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR constant.
• Flexible heredoc and nowdoc syntax.

PHP 7.4 (2019)

• Preloading for faster performance.
• Typed properties.
• Arrow functions (fn() => expression).

PHP 8.0 (2020)

• Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation for improved performance.
• Named arguments.
• Attributes (alternative to docblocks).
• Match expression (replacement for switch).

PHP 8.1 (2021)

• Enums for better type safety.
• Fibers (lightweight coroutines).
• Readonly properties.

PHP 8.2 (2022)

• Disjunctive normal form (DNF) types.
• readonly classes.
• Deprecation of dynamic properties.

PHP 8.3 (2023)

• Improved performance.
• json_validate() for JSON validation.
• More flexible TypedClass declarations.

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Conclusion

PHP has evolved significantly from its humble beginnings as a simple scripting language to a powerful, high-performance language for web development. With ongoing improvements in security, performance, and modern programming practices, PHP continues to be a leading choice for web applications.