The document discusses the new features and changes in PHP 5.6, highlighting deprecated features, updated behaviors, and new functionalities such as the power operator and variadic functions. It emphasizes the importance of adapting to backward incompatibilities, including removed features and stricter error handling. Additionally, the presentation addresses strategies for upgrading to PHP 5.6, including code linting and ensuring frameworks are compatible.

1. PHP 5.6 what’s new?
Zoetemer, Nederlands, November 7th 2014
Damien Seguy

2. What’s new in PHP 5.6?
• Changing version is often a big challenge
• Backward incompatibilities
• New features
• How to spot them ?

3. Speaker
• Damien Seguy
• CTO at exakat
• Phather of the plush toy
elePHPant
• PHP static auditing

4. What will change?
• Removed features
• Deprecated features
• Changed features
• New features

5. Deprecated features
• PHP 5.6
• Array keys won’t be overwritten
• $HTTP_RAW_POST_DATA is gone
• No more Calls From Incompatible Context
• iconv and mbstring directives go to default_charset
• gmp resources are objects
• mcrypt now needs a valid key

6. Deprecated
Deprecated: The mysql extension is
deprecated and will be removed in
• Not removed yet!
• ext/mysql was deprecated in 5.5
the future: use mysqli or PDO
instead in /path/to/filename.php on
• It is still in the code!
line 11
• Will generate errors when using it
• Set your error_reporting to E_STRICT when coding!

7. Array keys won’t be
overwritten
<?php
class C {
const ONE = 1;
public $array = [
self::ONE => 'foo',
'bar',
'quux',
];
}
var_dump((new C)->array);
?>
array(2) {
[0]=>
string(3) "bar"
[1]=>
string(4) "quux"
}
array(3) {
[1]=>
string(3) "foo"
[2]=>
string(3) "bar"
[3]=>
string(4) "quux"
}
PHP 5.5
PHP 5.6

8. $HTTP_RAW_POST_DATA
• $HTTP_RAW_POST_DATA is gone
• always_populate_raw_post_data = -1
• Replace it by file_get_contents(php://input)
• SOAP, JSON, AMP, any protocol specific
Web
server
$HTTP_RAW_POST_DATA
$_POST
Script

9. charset directives
iconv.input_encoding = ISO-8859-1
iconv.internal_encoding = ISO-8859-1
iconv.output_encoding = ISO-8859-1
mbstring.internal_encoding = UTF-8
mbstring.http_input = UTF-8
mbstring.http_output = pass
default_charset
• in php.ini, check for mbstring, iconv directives are
replace by default_charset

10. Check in your code
• defaut_charset
• Search for ini_set, ini_get, ini_get_all, ini_restore,
get_cfg_var
• Seach in php.ini, .htaccess

11. htmlentities
• PHP 5.3 : htmlentities uses iso-8859-1
• PHP 5.4 : htmlentities uses UTF-8
• PHP 5.6 : htmlentities uses default_charset
• default_charset uses UTF-8
• htmlentities, htmlhtml_entity_decode and
htmlspecialchars should have default values specified

12. Incompatible context
$ php53 test.php
Notice: Undefined variable: this in test.php on line 3
A
<?php
class A {
function f() { echo get_class($this); }
}
A::f();
?>
$ php56 test.php
Strict Standards: Non-static method A::f() should not be called
statically in /Users/famille/Desktop/test.php on line 6
Notice: Undefined variable: this in test.php on line 3
A

13. Easy to spot
Strict Standards: Non-static method A::f() should
not be called statically in test.php on line 6
Use the E_DEPRECATED while in DEV
Keep updated

14. Changed behavior
• json_decode is stricter
• it was more tolerant before with TRUE or False values
• gmp resources are object
• and not resources (is_resource())
• mcrypt requires valid keys and vectors
• check correct size and vector presence

15. Upgraded versions
• PRCE : 8.34
• oniguruma 5.9.5
• libmagic : 5.17
• Fixed 180+ bugs
• http://php.net/ChangeLog-5.php

16. Added structures
FUNCTIONS CLASSES CONSTANTS
5.3 25 18 80
5.4 0 9 78
5.5 113 9 37
5.6 19 0 24
TOTAL 157 36 219

17. New features
• Fixing
• Modernization
• New feature

18. Modernization

19. Power operator
• Replaces pow()
• Be aware of precedence
$a = pow(2, 3);
$a = 2;
$a **= 3;
$a = 2 ** 3;
$z = 1 * 2 ** 3 + 4 ** 5 ;

20. … Variadic
• replaces func_get_args()
• Easier to read
function array_power($pow, ...$integers) {
foreach($integers as $i) {
print "$i ^ $pow = ". ($i ** $pow)."n";
}
}
array_power(3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
1 ^ 3 = 1
2 ^ 3 = 8
3 ^ 3 = 27
4 ^ 3 = 64
5 ^ 3 = 125

21. Variadic …
• replaces
call_user_func_array
• Easier to read
• Works on functions
• Works with typehint
• Doesn’t work with
references or default
values
function array_power($pow, ...$integers) {
foreach($integers as $i) {
print "$i ^ $pow = ". ($i ** $pow)."n";
}
}
array_power(3, ...range(1, 5));
array_power(3, ...[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]);
array_power(3, ...[1, 2, 3], ...[4, 5]);
1 ^ 3 = 1
2 ^ 3 = 8
3 ^ 3 = 27
4 ^ 3 = 64
5 ^ 3 = 125

22. Really new

23. __debugInfo()
somePasswordSafe Object
(
[user] => secret
[password] => **********
)
class somePasswordSafe {
private $user;
private $password;
public function __construct($user, $password) {
$this->user = $user;
$this->password = $password;
}
public function __debugInfo() {
return [
'user' => $this->password,
'password' => '**********',
];
}
}
print_r(new somePasswordSafe('root', 'secret'));

24. use const / functions
• Importing constants or
functions from another
namespace
• Keep things separated
• Avoid polluting global
namespace
• Avoid static only classes
namespace NameSpace {
const FOO = 42;
function f() { echo __FUNCTION__."n"; }
}
namespace {
use const NameSpaceFOO;
use function NameSpacef;
echo FOO."n";
f();
}

25. Constant scalar expressions
<?php
class Version {
const MAJOR = 2;
const MIDDLE = ONE;
const MINOR = 1;
const FULL = Version::MAJOR.'.'.Version::MIDDLE.'.'.Version::MINOR.'-'._VERSION;
static $SHORT = null;
function __construct() {
self::$SHORT = Version::MAJOR.'.'.Version::MIDDLE;
}
}
?>

26. Constant scalar expressions
• Code automation
• Won’t accept functioncalls, variables, structures
• Keep it simple

27. Constant scalar expressions
class Version {
const MAJOR = 2;
const MIDDLE = ONE;
const MINOR = 1;
const FULL = Version::MAJOR.'.'.Version::MIDDLE.'.'.Version::MINOR.'-'.PHP_VERSION;
const SHORT = Version::MAJOR.'.'.Version::MIDDLE;
const COMPACT = Version::MAJOR.Version::MIDDLE.Version::MINOR;
• Code automation
• Won’t accept functioncalls, variables
• Keep it simple
public function f($a = (Version::MAJOR == 2) ? 3 : Version::MINOR ** 3) {
return $a;
}
}

28. Context changes
• PHP 5.6
• Windows XP and 2003 dropped
• Support for Zend Optimiser
• Uploads over 2 Gb

29. Strategies for upgrading?
• Lint your code
• Probably won’t find much
• Review the slides
• Make sure your frameworks and libraries are ready too

30. www.slideshare.
net/dseguy
damien.seguy@gmail.com