The document discusses recent developments in PHP, highlighting features in versions PHP 7.4 and PHP 8, including new functionalities like weak references and JIT compilation. It also covers updates and upcoming changes in popular PHP frameworks such as Drupal, WordPress, and Laravel. Additionally, the document lists numerous PHP conferences scheduled throughout 2019.

1. Lately in PHP
February - May 4, 2019
Longhorn PHP 2019

2. Lately in PHP
February - May 4, 2019
Longhorn PHP 2019

3. PHP 7.4 & PHP 8
Official PHP Repo: github.com/php/php-src
● Master branch === PHP 8
○ Ex. github.com/php/php-src/blob/master/UPGRADING
● Dev branch === PHP 7.4
○ Ex. github.com/php/php-src/blob/PHP-7.4/UPGRADING

4. Upcoming Features via PHP RFC
Unbundle ext/interbase
● Target: PHP 7.4
● tl;dr: ext/interbase is no longer maintained, bye
● Note: PDO-firebird is safe, for now
● See: wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecate-and-remove-ext-interbase

5. Upcoming Features via PHP RFC
Weak references
● Target: PHP 7.4
● tl;dr: Allows for easier caching of objects
● Note: Does not affect garbage collection
● See: wiki.php.net/rfc/weakrefs

6. Upcoming Features via PHP RFC
FFI - Foreign Function Interface
● Target: PHP 7.4
● tl;dr: ever wanted to use raw
C in PHP?
● See: wiki.php.net/rfc/ffi
<?php
// create FFI object, loading libc and exporting
function printf()
$ffi = FFI::cdef(
"int printf(const char *format, ...);", // this is
regular C declaration
"libc.so.6");
// call C printf()
$ffi->printf("Hello %s!n", "world");

7. Upcoming Features via PHP RFC
Deprecate short-open tags in PHP
● Target: PHP 7.4
● tl;dr: <? phpinfo(); <?php phpinfo();
● See: wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecate_php_short_tags

8. Upcoming Features via PHP RFC
Arrow Functions and Short Closures
● Target: PHP 7.4
● tl;dr: cleaner closures!
● See: wiki.php.net/rfc/arrow_functions_v2
function array_values_from_keys ($arr,
$keys) {
return array_map(function ($x) use
($arr)
{ return $arr[$x]; }, $keys);
}
Becomes:
function array_values_from_keys ($arr,
$keys) {
return array_map(
fn($x) => $arr[$x],
$keys
);
}

9. Upcoming Features via PHP RFC
Consistent Type Errors for Internal Functions
● Target: PHP 8.0
● tl;dr: Catch the sanity
● See: wiki.php.net/rfc/consistent_type_errors

10. Upcoming Features via PHP RFC
JIT: Just In Time compiler
● Target: PHP 8.0
● tl;dr: Compile at run-time the portions of the code that are CPU-bound
● Note: CPU-bound code will see a speed improvement; IO-bound will not
● Note: debugging will most likely mean turning off JIT for that xdebug session
● See: https://wiki.php.net/rfc/jit

11. CMSes: Drupal
Drupal 8.7
● Removed: PHP 5 support
● Removed: IE9, IE10 support
● New: Layout Builder
● New: JSON:API

12. CMSes: WordPress
WordPress 5.2
● Release scheduled for 7 May
● New Features:
○ Site Health Check
○ Fatal Error Recovery Mode
○ Privacy and a11y updates
○ New Dashicons
○ Block Editor upgrades
● See: wordpress.org/news/2019/05/the-month-in-wordpress-april-2019/

13. μFrameworks - Slim
Slim 4 alpha
● PSR-15 Middleware support
● Decouple Slim PSR-7 so any PSR-7 can be used
● Decouple Pimple dependency in favor of any PSR-11 ContainerInterface
● Decouple FastRoute in favor of any routing library
● Decouple error handling & response in favor of user’s preference
● See: slimframework.com/2019/04/25/slim-4.0.0-alpha-release.html

14. Frameworks - CakePHP
CakePHP 3.8.0 RC1
● Some additional methods added to classes
● See: book.cakephp.org/3.next/en/appendices/3-8-migration-guide.html

15. Frameworks - Laravel
Laravel 5.8
● Released 26 February
● Changes:
○ Automatic Policy resolution
○ PHP dotenv 3.0
○ Carbon v1 or v2
○ Cache TTL now in seconds rather than minutes
○ Deprecates String & Array helpers
● See: laravel-news.com/laravel-5-8

16. Frameworks - Symfony
Symfony 4.3 soon!
● Some deprecations
● Improved Workflow
● More validators, assertions, and Constraints
● Routing improvements
● Console hyperlinks
● See: symfony.com/blog/category/living-on-the-edge/4.3

17. Frameworks - Zend
Now: Laminas
● Moving from Zend / RogueWave to Linux Foundation
● Target: 2019 Q2 or Q3
● Will require namespace changes
● See: getlaminas.org

18. PHP: The Right Way
● Note: Every open-source project can use your help with documentation. What
are you waiting for?
○ See: NomadPHP Lightning Talk: “Your First PR: How to Contribute to Open-Source Projects”
■ youtu.be/a5foPCInZZ0
● See: phptherightway.com

19. PHP Conferences
Longhorn PHP 2019
● May 2-4 - Austin, TX
● See: longhornphp.com
200OK
● May 17 - Tulsa, OK
● See: 200ok.us
php[tek] 2019
● May 21-23 - Atlanta, GA
● tek.phparch.com
Flyover Camp 2019
● May 31-June 2 - Kansas City, MO
● flyovercamp.org
WordCamp KC 2019
● June 28-29 - Kansas City, MO
● See: 2019.kansascity.wordcamp.org

20. PHP Conferences - Continued
KCDC 2019
● July 17-19 - Kansas City, MO
● kcdc.info
Laracon VII
● July 24-25 - New York, NY
● laracon.us
CoderCruise
● August 19-23 - Bahamas
● See: codercruise.com
Cascadia PHP 2019
● September 19-21 - Portland, OR
● cascadiaphp.com
Scotland PHP 2019
● November 8-9 - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
● conference.scotlandphp.co.uk

21. Nomad PHP (Online) - May 16
Nomad PHP EU - 01:00 PM CDT
Git Legit
● Pauline Vos (@vanamerongen)
● nomadphp.com/live/5fuXGW7jW04sEEAM
AEuEs0/Git-Legit
Nomad PHP US - 08:00 PM CDT
Write Less Complex, More Readable Code
● Jason McCreary (@gonedark)
● nomadphp.com/live/4pRkSRIlZKKi79OuIf
WJHx/Write-less-complex--more-readable-
code

22. Thank you!
● Comments? Concerns? Anything that I missed?
● JoindIn: joind.in/event/longhorn-php-conference-2019/lately-in-php