2:PHP Alive and Kicking With Sara Golemon

๐ **Source:** [2:PHP Alive and Kicking With Sara Golemon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE)
> [!note]+ Document Notes
> tags: [php, php85, php-foundation, development-tools]
> author: PHP Architects
> source: YouTube
> reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE
> date created: 2024-12-28 20:15
>
> # ๐ท๏ธ Title: PHP Alive And Kicking with Sara Golemon - PHP 8.5 Preview
>
<!-- deep-read:sections start -->
## ๐งฐ Action Inbox
- [H1] Review PHP 8.5 features for production readiness โ evaluate impact on existing codebases #php85
- [H2] Plan migration strategy for deprecated features โ timeline for PHP 9 compatibility #deprecation
- [H3] Explore pipe operator for functional programming patterns โ code modernization opportunity #pipe-operator
## ๐งญ Table of Contents
- [๐ Summary](#-summary)
- [๐ Main Content](#-main-content)
- [๐๏ธ Notes](#๏ธ-notes)
- [๐ References](#-references)
- [๐ฃ๏ธ Paraphrase](#๏ธ-paraphrase)
- [๐ฐ Newsletter](#-newsletter)
- [โ
Action Items](#-action-items)
- [๐งช Hypotheses](#-hypotheses)
- [๐ Methodology](#-methodology)
- [โ Questions](#-questions)
- [๐ฎ Future Research](#-future-research)
- [๐ก Implications](#-implications)
- [๐ง Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment)
- [๐ Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment)
- [๐ DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment)
- [โ
Logical Validity](#-logical-validity)
- [๐ก๏ธ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis)
- [๐ฏ Conclusion](#-conclusion)
### ๐ References
- [PHP Foundation](https://opencollective.com/phpfoundation)
- [PHP 8.5 Release Schedule](https://wiki.php.net/todo/php85)
## ๐ Summary
- PHP core contributor Sara Golemon discusses upcoming PHP 8.5 features expected November 2024
- Key highlights include clone with, pipe operator, and no discard attribute as top-tier features
- PHP Foundation funding has accelerated development pace with paid contributors
- Several deprecations target PHP 9 compatibility, including constant redefinition
- OPcache now built into PHP by default, improving performance baseline
## ๐ Main Content
Sara Golemon, longtime PHP contributor and PHP Foundation board member, previews the upcoming PHP 8.5 release scheduled for November 20th, 2024. The discussion covers new language features, performance improvements, and deprecations that prepare for PHP 9.
The PHP Foundation, launched by JetBrains' Roman Pronskiy, has transformed PHP development by funding core contributors. This addresses the historical "bus factor" problem where volunteer contributors could create single points of failure. The foundation now pays several developers monthly, accelerating feature development.
Key 8.5 features include clone with for immutable object modification, the pipe operator for functional programming, and the no discard attribute for compile-time enforcement of return value handling. These represent significant additions to PHP's modern programming capabilities.
## ๐๏ธ Notes
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=0) โ [H1] Introduction and Sara's PHP Journey
- Key idea: Sara has used PHP since late 1990s, from government work to Facebook/HHVM
- Evidence: "Started working for US government in late 90s, got into PHP 3.0 around 1998"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:05:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=323) โ [H2] How Sara Became PHP Core Contributor
- Key idea: Contributing patches for missing math functions led to commit access
- Evidence: "Asked how to take logarithm of arbitrary base, wrote patch, Derek said 'just make an account'"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:12:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=765) โ [H3] Facebook/HHVM Impact on PHP Performance
- Key idea: HHVM being twice as fast as PHP 5 pushed PHP 7 performance improvements
- Evidence: "HHVM was twice as fast as PHP 5, PHP had to step up their game for PHP 7"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:18:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=1110) โ [H1] PHP Foundation Overview and Impact
- Key idea: Foundation addresses bus factor and provides paid development time
- Evidence: "We pay several developers monthly so they don't have to have full-time job plus working on PHP"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:24:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=1455) โ [H2] PHP 8.5 Release Timeline
- Key idea: General availability expected November 20th, 2024
- Evidence: "According to wiki.php.net/todo/php85, GA expected November 20th"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:26:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=1600) โ [H1] Clone With Feature - S Tier
- Key idea: Enables modification of readonly properties during cloning process
- Evidence: "Clone with temporarily unfinalizes properties and allows modification during cloning"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:30:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=1812) โ [H1] Pipe Operator - S Tier Feature
- Key idea: Functional programming syntax for chaining operations
- Evidence: "Pipe operator passes left-hand side value into first argument of right-hand side function"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:35:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=2150) โ [H1] No Discard Attribute - S Tier
- Key idea: Compile-time enforcement requiring callers to handle return values
- Evidence: "No discard requires all callers to do something with return value at compile time"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:42:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=2550) โ [H2] Asymmetric Visibility for Static Properties
- Key idea: Extends existing asymmetric visibility to static class properties
- Evidence: "Can say public private get on static properties, sometimes want internal-only setters"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:45:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=2715) โ [H2] Final Property Promotion
- Key idea: Allows final modifier on constructor property promotion
- Evidence: "Can now say function construct public final int $foo for promoted properties"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:48:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=2880) โ [H2] OPcache Always Built In
- Key idea: OPcache now mandatory in PHP builds, can only disable at runtime
- Evidence: "OPcache has no dependencies, no good reason why it shouldn't be built into PHP"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:52:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=3140) โ [H2] Array First and Array Last Functions
- Key idea: New functions for getting first/last values from arrays
- Evidence: "Surprised these don't exist yet, we have array_key_first but not for values"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:58:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=3525) โ [H3] Constant Redefinition Deprecated
- Key idea: define() function can no longer redefine existing constants
- Evidence: "WordPress used to depend on redefining constants, whole point of constants is being constant"
#### โฑ๏ธ [01:02:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=3730) โ [H3] Non-Numeric String Increment Deprecated
- Key idea: Incrementing strings like "ABC" to "ABD" being removed
- Evidence: "Inherited from Perl, ABC++ gives ABD, but no matching decrement, surprising feature"
#### โฑ๏ธ [01:06:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=3995) โ [H3] Backtick Operator Deprecated
- Key idea: Backtick shell execution syntax being replaced with shell_exec calls
- Evidence: "Backtick is alias for shell_exec, improves readability to use explicit function"
## ๐ References
- [PHP Foundation on Open Collective](https://opencollective.com/phpfoundation)
- [PHP 8.5 Todo List](https://wiki.php.net/todo/php85)
- [PHP RFCs](https://wiki.php.net/rfc)
- [Honeybadger Error Monitoring](https://honeybadger.io)
## ๐ฃ๏ธ Paraphrase
- PHP 8.5 introduces powerful new features like clone with for immutable objects and the pipe operator for functional programming
- The PHP Foundation has transformed language development by funding core contributors, leading to faster feature delivery
- Several legacy features are being deprecated to clean up the language for PHP 9, including constant redefinition and string incrementing
## ๐ฐ Newsletter
The upcoming PHP 8.5 release brings exciting modernization features that WordPress developers should know about. The clone with feature enables elegant immutable object patterns, while the pipe operator introduces functional programming capabilities that could transform how we write PHP.
Most importantly, OPcache is now built into PHP by default, meaning better performance out of the box for all WordPress sites. The PHP Foundation's investment in paid development is clearly paying dividends with faster release cycles and more polished features.
For WordPress developers, pay attention to the deprecations - especially constant redefinition and string incrementing behaviors that might exist in legacy code or plugins.
Resources: [PHP Foundation](https://opencollective.com/phpfoundation), [PHP 8.5 Changes](https://wiki.php.net/todo/php85), [Learn WordPress](https://learn.wordpress.org/)
## โ
Action Items
#### WordPress
- Core: Evaluate PHP 8.5 compatibility testing timeline, performance impact assessment
- Core Performance: Leverage built-in OPcache improvements, benchmark new features
- Community: Educate developers on 8.5 features through meetups and WordCamps
- Plugins: Review deprecated feature usage in plugin directory
- Hosting: Prepare hosting partners for 8.5 rollout and compatibility requirements
#### The WPCC
- Programs: Fund PHP 8.5 compatibility audits for critical plugins
- Projects: Sponsor documentation updates for new PHP features
- Funding: Support PHP Foundation contributions from WordPress ecosystem
## ๐งช Hypotheses
- Clone with will reduce boilerplate code in WordPress object manipulation patterns
- Pipe operator adoption will be slow due to unfamiliarity with functional programming
- Built-in OPcache will improve WordPress performance metrics across hosting providers
- Deprecated features will cause compatibility issues in legacy WordPress installations
### ๐ Methodology
- A/B testing WordPress sites with PHP 8.5 vs 8.4 for performance comparison
- Static analysis of WordPress core and popular plugins for deprecated feature usage
- Survey PHP developers on adoption intentions for new 8.5 features
### โ Questions
- How will clone with interact with WordPress object caching mechanisms?
- What performance gains will built-in OPcache provide for typical WordPress workloads?
- Which deprecated features are most commonly used in WordPress plugins?
### ๐ฎ Future Research
- Analysis of pipe operator usage patterns in PHP codebases
- WordPress-specific implementation guides for PHP 8.5 features
- Migration tooling for deprecated feature replacements
### ๐ก Implications
- Practice: Developers need training on functional programming patterns with pipe operator
- Policy: WordPress minimum PHP version requirements may accelerate
- Security: Built-in OPcache reduces attack surface of optional extensions
- Education: New syntax features require updated WordPress coding standards
- Funding: PHP Foundation model could inspire similar WordPress sustainability efforts
### ๐ง Learning Styles Assessment
Reading level estimate: 12th Grade (technical podcast content)
#### ๐ Visual learners
- Present: Feature tier rankings, conceptual explanations
- Improve: Code syntax diagrams, before/after comparisons, feature relationship maps
#### ๐ Aural learners
- Present: Full audio podcast with conversational explanations
- Improve: Timestamped audio summaries, pronunciation guides for technical terms
#### ๐ฃ๏ธ Verbal learners
- Present: Detailed feature explanations, analogies to existing concepts
- Improve: Glossary of new PHP terminology, comparison tables
#### ๐งฉ Kinesthetic learners
- Present: Real-world usage examples mentioned
- Improve: Hands-on coding exercises, interactive PHP 8.5 playground
#### ๐ง Logical learners
- Present: Feature categorization system, chronological development timeline
- Improve: Decision trees for feature adoption, compatibility matrices
#### ๐งโ๐คโ๐ง Social learners
- Present: Community discussion format, collaborative insights
- Improve: Discussion prompts, community feedback channels
#### ๐งโโ๏ธ Solitary learners
- Present: Individual exploration encouraged through references
- Improve: Self-assessment checklists, personal learning paths
#### ๐ฟ Naturalistic learners
- Present: Evolution of PHP language patterns
- Improve: Ecosystem impact analysis, natural progression concepts
### ๐ Accessibility Assessment
#### Screen reader semantics
- Present: Clear headings, descriptive timestamps
- Improve: Audio descriptions of visual tier rankings, alt text for any diagrams
#### Keyboard navigation
- Present: Standard podcast controls
- Improve: Keyboard shortcuts for timestamp navigation, skip-ahead functionality
#### Contrast and readability
- Present: Standard text formatting
- Improve: High contrast options, adjustable text sizing for show notes
#### Text resizing and reflow
- Present: Responsive text layout
- Improve: Mobile-optimized transcript formatting, text reflow verification
#### Media and captions
- Present: Full transcript provided
- Improve: SRT captions file, downloadable transcript options
#### Forms and interactions
- Present: Basic podcast interface
- Improve: Accessible feedback forms, keyboard-navigable controls
### ๐ DEIB Assessment
#### Cultural breadth
- Present: American perspective with international awareness (Portugal move mentioned)
- Improve: Global PHP community perspectives, international contributor stories
#### Inclusive language
- Present: Technical jargon explained, gender-neutral references
- Improve: Plain language summaries, avoid American-centric assumptions
#### Neurodiversity support
- Present: Clear topic transitions, structured discussion
- Improve: Content warnings for technical complexity, processing time allowances
#### Representation
- Present: Female technical leader perspective, diverse career paths
- Improve: Multiple contributor backgrounds, varied entry points to PHP
#### Psychological safety
- Present: Respectful technical disagreement, acknowledgment of knowledge gaps
- Improve: Beginner-friendly disclaimers, mistake normalization
### โ
Logical Validity
#### Strong reasoning
- Deductive strength: Features logically categorized by impact and utility
- Inductive strength: PHP Foundation success extrapolated from development pace increase
- Causal reasoning: HHVM performance pressure directly caused PHP 7 improvements
- Analogical strength: Backtick operator compared to bash shell functionality
#### Fallacies
- Appeal to authority: Sara's expertise justifies feature rankings without additional evidence
- Hasty generalization: Foundation success assumed from limited time period observation
#### Tone of voice
- Overall tone: Conversational expert discussion with technical depth and humor, accessible to intermediate developers
### ๐ก๏ธ DARVO Analysis
- Deny: No denial patterns present
- Attack: No attacks on accusers present
- Reverse victim/offender: No victim/offender dynamics present
- Emotional cues and rhetoric: Positive technical discussion with collaborative tone
## ๐ฏ Conclusion
PHP 8.5 represents a significant step forward in language modernization, with the clone with feature, pipe operator, and no discard attribute offering powerful new programming paradigms. The PHP Foundation's funding model is clearly accelerating development, while necessary deprecations prepare the language for PHP 9. WordPress developers should begin evaluating these features for adoption while planning
<!-- deep-read:sections end -->
[[3. Resources/Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/2PHP Alive and Kicking With Sara Golemon|Full Document Contents]]
## Document Notes
---
tags: #php #php85 #php-foundation #development-tools
author: PHP Architects
source: YouTube
reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE
date created: 2024-12-28 20:15
---
# ๐ท๏ธ Title: PHP Alive And Kicking with Sara Golemon - PHP 8.5 Preview
## ๐งฐ Action Inbox
- [H1] Review PHP 8.5 features for production readiness โ evaluate impact on existing codebases #php85
- [H2] Plan migration strategy for deprecated features โ timeline for PHP 9 compatibility #deprecation
- [H3] Explore pipe operator for functional programming patterns โ code modernization opportunity #pipe-operator
## ๐งญ Table of Contents
- [[#๐ Summary]]
- [[#๐ Main Content]]
- [[#๐๏ธ Notes]]
- [[#๐ References]]
- [[#๐ฃ๏ธ Paraphrase]]
- [[#๐ฐ Newsletter]]
- [[#โ
Action Items]]
- [[#๐งช Hypotheses]]
- [[#๐ Methodology]]
- [[#โ Questions]]
- [[#๐ฎ Future Research]]
- [[#๐ก Implications]]
- [[#๐ง Learning Styles Assessment]]
- [[#๐ Accessibility Assessment]]
- [[#๐ DEIB Assessment]]
- [[#โ
Logical Validity]]
- [[#๐ก๏ธ DARVO Analysis]]
- [[#๐ฏ Conclusion]]
### ๐ References
- [PHP Foundation](https://opencollective.com/phpfoundation)
- [PHP 8.5 Release Schedule](https://wiki.php.net/todo/php85)
## ๐ Summary
- PHP core contributor Sara Golemon discusses upcoming PHP 8.5 features expected November 2024
- Key highlights include clone with, pipe operator, and no discard attribute as top-tier features
- PHP Foundation funding has accelerated development pace with paid contributors
- Several deprecations target PHP 9 compatibility, including constant redefinition
- OPcache now built into PHP by default, improving performance baseline
## ๐ Main Content
Sara Golemon, longtime PHP contributor and PHP Foundation board member, previews the upcoming PHP 8.5 release scheduled for November 20th, 2024. The discussion covers new language features, performance improvements, and deprecations that prepare for PHP 9.
The PHP Foundation, launched by JetBrains' Roman Pronskiy, has transformed PHP development by funding core contributors. This addresses the historical "bus factor" problem where volunteer contributors could create single points of failure. The foundation now pays several developers monthly, accelerating feature development.
Key 8.5 features include clone with for immutable object modification, the pipe operator for functional programming, and the no discard attribute for compile-time enforcement of return value handling. These represent significant additions to PHP's modern programming capabilities.
## ๐๏ธ Notes
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=0) โ [H1] Introduction and Sara's PHP Journey
- Key idea: Sara has used PHP since late 1990s, from government work to Facebook/HHVM
- Evidence: "Started working for US government in late 90s, got into PHP 3.0 around 1998"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:05:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=323) โ [H2] How Sara Became PHP Core Contributor
- Key idea: Contributing patches for missing math functions led to commit access
- Evidence: "Asked how to take logarithm of arbitrary base, wrote patch, Derek said 'just make an account'"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:12:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=765) โ [H3] Facebook/HHVM Impact on PHP Performance
- Key idea: HHVM being twice as fast as PHP 5 pushed PHP 7 performance improvements
- Evidence: "HHVM was twice as fast as PHP 5, PHP had to step up their game for PHP 7"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:18:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=1110) โ [H1] PHP Foundation Overview and Impact
- Key idea: Foundation addresses bus factor and provides paid development time
- Evidence: "We pay several developers monthly so they don't have to have full-time job plus working on PHP"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:24:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=1455) โ [H2] PHP 8.5 Release Timeline
- Key idea: General availability expected November 20th, 2024
- Evidence: "According to wiki.php.net/todo/php85, GA expected November 20th"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:26:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=1600) โ [H1] Clone With Feature - S Tier
- Key idea: Enables modification of readonly properties during cloning process
- Evidence: "Clone with temporarily unfinalizes properties and allows modification during cloning"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:30:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=1812) โ [H1] Pipe Operator - S Tier Feature
- Key idea: Functional programming syntax for chaining operations
- Evidence: "Pipe operator passes left-hand side value into first argument of right-hand side function"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:35:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=2150) โ [H1] No Discard Attribute - S Tier
- Key idea: Compile-time enforcement requiring callers to handle return values
- Evidence: "No discard requires all callers to do something with return value at compile time"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:42:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=2550) โ [H2] Asymmetric Visibility for Static Properties
- Key idea: Extends existing asymmetric visibility to static class properties
- Evidence: "Can say public private get on static properties, sometimes want internal-only setters"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:45:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=2715) โ [H2] Final Property Promotion
- Key idea: Allows final modifier on constructor property promotion
- Evidence: "Can now say function construct public final int $foo for promoted properties"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:48:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=2880) โ [H2] OPcache Always Built In
- Key idea: OPcache now mandatory in PHP builds, can only disable at runtime
- Evidence: "OPcache has no dependencies, no good reason why it shouldn't be built into PHP"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:52:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=3140) โ [H2] Array First and Array Last Functions
- Key idea: New functions for getting first/last values from arrays
- Evidence: "Surprised these don't exist yet, we have array_key_first but not for values"
#### โฑ๏ธ [00:58:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=3525) โ [H3] Constant Redefinition Deprecated
- Key idea: define() function can no longer redefine existing constants
- Evidence: "WordPress used to depend on redefining constants, whole point of constants is being constant"
#### โฑ๏ธ [01:02:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=3730) โ [H3] Non-Numeric String Increment Deprecated
- Key idea: Incrementing strings like "ABC" to "ABD" being removed
- Evidence: "Inherited from Perl, ABC++ gives ABD, but no matching decrement, surprising feature"
#### โฑ๏ธ [01:06:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FZr0ItziE?t=3995) โ [H3] Backtick Operator Deprecated
- Key idea: Backtick shell execution syntax being replaced with shell_exec calls
- Evidence: "Backtick is alias for shell_exec, improves readability to use explicit function"
## ๐ References
- [PHP Foundation on Open Collective](https://opencollective.com/phpfoundation)
- [PHP 8.5 Todo List](https://wiki.php.net/todo/php85)
- [PHP RFCs](https://wiki.php.net/rfc)
- [Honeybadger Error Monitoring](https://honeybadger.io)
## ๐ฃ๏ธ Paraphrase
- PHP 8.5 introduces powerful new features like clone with for immutable objects and the pipe operator for functional programming
- The PHP Foundation has transformed language development by funding core contributors, leading to faster feature delivery
- Several legacy features are being deprecated to clean up the language for PHP 9, including constant redefinition and string incrementing
## ๐ฐ Newsletter
The upcoming PHP 8.5 release brings exciting modernization features that WordPress developers should know about. The clone with feature enables elegant immutable object patterns, while the pipe operator introduces functional programming capabilities that could transform how we write PHP.
Most importantly, OPcache is now built into PHP by default, meaning better performance out of the box for all WordPress sites. The PHP Foundation's investment in paid development is clearly paying dividends with faster release cycles and more polished features.
For WordPress developers, pay attention to the deprecations - especially constant redefinition and string incrementing behaviors that might exist in legacy code or plugins.
Resources: [PHP Foundation](https://opencollective.com/phpfoundation), [PHP 8.5 Changes](https://wiki.php.net/todo/php85), [Learn WordPress](https://learn.wordpress.org/)
## โ
Action Items
#### WordPress
- Core: Evaluate PHP 8.5 compatibility testing timeline, performance impact assessment
- Core Performance: Leverage built-in OPcache improvements, benchmark new features
- Community: Educate developers on 8.5 features through meetups and WordCamps
- Plugins: Review deprecated feature usage in plugin directory
- Hosting: Prepare hosting partners for 8.5 rollout and compatibility requirements
#### The WPCC
- Programs: Fund PHP 8.5 compatibility audits for critical plugins
- Projects: Sponsor documentation updates for new PHP features
- Funding: Support PHP Foundation contributions from WordPress ecosystem
## ๐งช Hypotheses
- Clone with will reduce boilerplate code in WordPress object manipulation patterns
- Pipe operator adoption will be slow due to unfamiliarity with functional programming
- Built-in OPcache will improve WordPress performance metrics across hosting providers
- Deprecated features will cause compatibility issues in legacy WordPress installations
### ๐ Methodology
- A/B testing WordPress sites with PHP 8.5 vs 8.4 for performance comparison
- Static analysis of WordPress core and popular plugins for deprecated feature usage
- Survey PHP developers on adoption intentions for new 8.5 features
### โ Questions
- How will clone with interact with WordPress object caching mechanisms?
- What performance gains will built-in OPcache provide for typical WordPress workloads?
- Which deprecated features are most commonly used in WordPress plugins?
### ๐ฎ Future Research
- Analysis of pipe operator usage patterns in PHP codebases
- WordPress-specific implementation guides for PHP 8.5 features
- Migration tooling for deprecated feature replacements
### ๐ก Implications
- Practice: Developers need training on functional programming patterns with pipe operator
- Policy: WordPress minimum PHP version requirements may accelerate
- Security: Built-in OPcache reduces attack surface of optional extensions
- Education: New syntax features require updated WordPress coding standards
- Funding: PHP Foundation model could inspire similar WordPress sustainability efforts
### ๐ง Learning Styles Assessment
Reading level estimate: 12th Grade (technical podcast content)
#### ๐ Visual learners
- Present: Feature tier rankings, conceptual explanations
- Improve: Code syntax diagrams, before/after comparisons, feature relationship maps
#### ๐ Aural learners
- Present: Full audio podcast with conversational explanations
- Improve: Timestamped audio summaries, pronunciation guides for technical terms
#### ๐ฃ๏ธ Verbal learners
- Present: Detailed feature explanations, analogies to existing concepts
- Improve: Glossary of new PHP terminology, comparison tables
#### ๐งฉ Kinesthetic learners
- Present: Real-world usage examples mentioned
- Improve: Hands-on coding exercises, interactive PHP 8.5 playground
#### ๐ง Logical learners
- Present: Feature categorization system, chronological development timeline
- Improve: Decision trees for feature adoption, compatibility matrices
#### ๐งโ๐คโ๐ง Social learners
- Present: Community discussion format, collaborative insights
- Improve: Discussion prompts, community feedback channels
#### ๐งโโ๏ธ Solitary learners
- Present: Individual exploration encouraged through references
- Improve: Self-assessment checklists, personal learning paths
#### ๐ฟ Naturalistic learners
- Present: Evolution of PHP language patterns
- Improve: Ecosystem impact analysis, natural progression concepts
### ๐ Accessibility Assessment
#### Screen reader semantics
- Present: Clear headings, descriptive timestamps
- Improve: Audio descriptions of visual tier rankings, alt text for any diagrams
#### Keyboard navigation
- Present: Standard podcast controls
- Improve: Keyboard shortcuts for timestamp navigation, skip-ahead functionality
#### Contrast and readability
- Present: Standard text formatting
- Improve: High contrast options, adjustable text sizing for show notes
#### Text resizing and reflow
- Present: Responsive text layout
- Improve: Mobile-optimized transcript formatting, text reflow verification
#### Media and captions
- Present: Full transcript provided
- Improve: SRT captions file, downloadable transcript options
#### Forms and interactions
- Present: Basic podcast interface
- Improve: Accessible feedback forms, keyboard-navigable controls
### ๐ DEIB Assessment
#### Cultural breadth
- Present: American perspective with international awareness (Portugal move mentioned)
- Improve: Global PHP community perspectives, international contributor stories
#### Inclusive language
- Present: Technical jargon explained, gender-neutral references
- Improve: Plain language summaries, avoid American-centric assumptions
#### Neurodiversity support
- Present: Clear topic transitions, structured discussion
- Improve: Content warnings for technical complexity, processing time allowances
#### Representation
- Present: Female technical leader perspective, diverse career paths
- Improve: Multiple contributor backgrounds, varied entry points to PHP
#### Psychological safety
- Present: Respectful technical disagreement, acknowledgment of knowledge gaps
- Improve: Beginner-friendly disclaimers, mistake normalization
### โ
Logical Validity
#### Strong reasoning
- Deductive strength: Features logically categorized by impact and utility
- Inductive strength: PHP Foundation success extrapolated from development pace increase
- Causal reasoning: HHVM performance pressure directly caused PHP 7 improvements
- Analogical strength: Backtick operator compared to bash shell functionality
#### Fallacies
- Appeal to authority: Sara's expertise justifies feature rankings without additional evidence
- Hasty generalization: Foundation success assumed from limited time period observation
#### Tone of voice
- Overall tone: Conversational expert discussion with technical depth and humor, accessible to intermediate developers
### ๐ก๏ธ DARVO Analysis
- Deny: No denial patterns present
- Attack: No attacks on accusers present
- Reverse victim/offender: No victim/offender dynamics present
- Emotional cues and rhetoric: Positive technical discussion with collaborative tone
## ๐ฏ Conclusion
PHP 8.5 represents a significant step forward in language modernization, with the clone with feature, pipe operator, and no discard attribute offering powerful new programming paradigms. The PHP Foundation's funding model is clearly accelerating development, while necessary deprecations prepare the language for PHP 9. WordPress developers should begin evaluating these features for adoption while planning
## Highlights
- Hello and welcome to PHP Alive and Kicking brought to you by PHP architects and made better by our partners at Honeybadger. More about them later. This podcast explores the latest developments in PHP and what it's like to earn a ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01k9g2v130cj315r7s14k0d8by))
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- I'm going to be raked out with gold for that one. Um, yeah. What is PHP? I don't know. I don't think I do it. And I don't think I have a loud voice. And I will shout you down if you tell me I do. >> Point proven. >> So tell tell us how >> I just want to be heard. That's all. >> We understand. We understand. And I don't don't mean it in a in a in a mean way. It's a >> of course >> endearing way. So >> leave that to me. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01k9g2v139gfdc4c5cqcxrswj8))
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- programming things you could do in those days and like 6 months into that um my boss who again was the previous programmer for the department he's like hey why don't you check out this PHP thing this looks pretty cool and this was like 98 so like this was like 3.0 0 I think 16 was the the patch version at the time, but like it was it was early PHP. Um, but the thing that made me fall in love with the language was actually the website. The documentation was incredible. Like from day one, PHP's ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01k9g2v13mtrt5hhbnmpd62s3q))
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- PHP 5, in fact. Um, and where is HTVM? They're doing whatever they're doing. Um, where was I going with that thought? Um, uh, oh yeah, last time I was really writing PHP on a regular basis. So like I ended up rewriting most of PHP's runtime in PHP um because the way HVM works um the JIT can compile PHP code uh on startup uh out of this what they call ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01k9g2v14aqwxkteba92ybrvjg))
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- into that. Um, and then there's the board meeting on Tuesdays, uh, where we make, uh, decisions about what we want to do with um, future projects. And there's one coming up that I can't talk about yet, but um, I will uh, you know, when I can talk, we can talk about that in the after show. Okay. >> Well, talking about the foundation, for for any listeners that don't know what the the PHP foundation is, why don't you just give us a bit of an overview? >> Well, why don't you know about the PHP ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01k9g2v15bep61dgwd7na44ttf))
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- >> No, I certainly think that the foundation has been a big turning point for the language. For someone that's coming come into the language a lot later than either of you, um, I've I've kind of I've not seen the rough road that PHP had in the early days. I came in around 7.2. Um, so I'm quite a late adopter. Well, I thought it was, ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01k9g2v168acrppzhmkfb8mxzz))
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- to not use property promotion because I'd got finals and >> so it'll be game changing for you. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Good. >> Um yeah, I mean that's a tier. Um we can move on to B tier. Um there's there's there's a lot of features in every new release of PHP these days. Thank you foundation for hiring people to work on this on a regular basis. Um, I think the biggest one is that, uh, ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01k9g2v1cggadbmywkn632pd8n))
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- >> Just kind of makes sense. Yeah. Um, well, good news. You can go to wiki.php.rfc and you can find all of the RFC's that have been written for every version of PHP since 5 something. Uh, and you can read uh what it what it throws, why it throws it, and uh depending on the RFC author, who complained about the fact that it throws that instead of something else. So, uh you can we're entirely open. Have fun with that. Uh so the last thing I have on my list ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01k9g2v1gm9dpk8w3k34n50v12))
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- deprecation list. Uh Nikki sort of uh created this tradition. It's a great tradition. It gets PHP to clean up after itself. Um we can go through the list as well. Um I there is a deprecation RFC listed from the wiki. The thing is that RFC mostly covers 8.4 deprecations um for reasons that I'm I'm not entirely sure. So I actually had to go to the uh news file in the source tree. By the ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01k9g2v1r0e7b200vw5g8a18k8))
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- it's in the grammar I guess I'm going to support it. So no errors is my guess. >> So at the moment they're going to get no errors because it's valid code. >> You're deprecating that. So what's going to happen next? You're going to end up with people who've mistyped it not knowing they've mistyped it that have had it on production for 10 years. Like how does this work? I don't understand. I've got a feeling PHP Storm starts ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01k9g2v23fb9r4k0c2xbn1x2k0))
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