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HaPHPiness - Best things in PHP

This guide is inspired by haphpiness.com, highlighting the modern features that make PHP a great language to work with.

Modern Language Features​

1. Named Arguments (PHP 8.0)​

Named arguments allow you to pass values to a function by specifying the parameter name, so that you don't have to rely on their order.

// After: named arguments
htmlspecialchars($string, double_encode: false);

2. Union Types (PHP 8.0) and Intersection Types (PHP 8.1)​

Union types allow variables to have more than one type. Intersection types require a value to satisfy multiple type constraints.

// Union types
function process(int|string $input): void {}

// Intersection types
function save(Countable&Iterator $collection): void {}

3. Enums (PHP 8.1)​

First-class support for enumerations, providing type safety for fixed sets of values.

enum Status: string {
    case Active = 'active';
    case Inactive = 'inactive';
}

4. str_contains(), str_starts_with(), str_ends_with() (PHP 8.0)​

Consistent and readable functions for common string operations.

if (str_contains($url, 'https')) { ... }
if (str_starts_with($file, '/var/www')) { ... }
if (str_ends_with($file, '.php')) { ... }

5. Array Unpacking with String Keys (PHP 8.1)​

The spread operator now works with string keys, making array merging clean and expressive.

$config = [...$defaults, ...$custom];

6. Fibers (PHP 8.1)​

Lightweight, cooperatively-scheduled coroutines for building async primitives.

$fiber = new Fiber(function (): void {
    $value = Fiber::suspend('paused');
    echo "Resumed with: $value";
});

8. Built-in development server (php -S)​

No Apache or Nginx config needed for local development. Just run:

php -S localhost:8000

10. Arrow Functions (PHP 7.4)​

Concise syntax for short closures with automatic variable capture from parent scope.

$doubled = array_map(fn($n) => $n * 2, $numbers);

11. Match Expressions (PHP 8.0)​

A more powerful and safer alternative to switch, providing strict comparison and returning a value.

$text = match($statusCode) {
    200, 201 => 'Success',
    404      => 'Not Found',
    default  => 'Unknown',
};

12. Null coalescing operator ?? and ??= (PHP 7.0+)​

Clean way to handle defaults and lazy initialization.

$username = $_GET['user'] ?? 'anonymous';
$this->logger ??= new NullLogger();

15. Readonly properties and classes (PHP 8.1+)​

Engine-enforced immutability for properties and entire classes.

readonly class Money {
    public function __construct(public int $amount, public string $currency) {}
}

17. Attributes — native metadata​

PHP 8.0 replaced docblock annotations with real syntax, checkable by static analysis.

#[Route('/users', method: 'GET')]
public function index(): Response { ... }

34. Property hooks (PHP 8.4)​

Define get and set behavior directly on property declarations, eliminating getter/setter boilerplate.

class User {
    public string $fullName {
        get => $this->firstName . ' ' . $this->lastName;
    }
}

39. Pipe operator |> (PHP 8.5)​

Left-to-right data flow for function chaining.

$slug = $title
    |> trim(...)
    |> strtolower(...);

43. #[\NoDiscard] (PHP 8.5)​

Warns when the return value of a function is ignored, essential for validation results or immutable operations.

#[\NoDiscard]
function validate(array $data): bool { ... }

44. Fatal error backtraces​

PHP 8.5 gives you stack traces on fatal errors like "Maximum execution time exceeded", making production debugging much easier.

45. URI extension — proper URL parsing at last​

PHP 8.5 introduces a standards-compliant URI extension with immutable URL objects.

use Uri\Rfc3986\Uri;
$uri = new Uri('https://example.com/path');

49. array_is_list() — finally answer "is this sequential?"​

Determines if an array is a list (indexed from 0 without gaps).

array_is_list(['a', 'b', 'c']); // true

50. FFI — call C libraries directly from PHP​

Foreign Function Interface (PHP 7.4) lets you call C functions without building extensions.

$ffi = FFI::cdef("double cos(double x);", "libm.so.6");
echo $ffi->cos(M_PI);

52. WeakMap (PHP 8.0)​

Maps with objects as keys that don't prevent garbage collection, perfect for per-object caches.

$cache = new WeakMap();
$cache[$obj] = $computedData;

53. Named capture groups in preg_match​

Regex captures can now be accessed by name instead of just numeric indices.

preg_match('/(?P<year>\d{4})/', '2024', $matches);
echo $matches['year'];

54. Spaceship operator <=> — three-way comparison​

PHP 7.0 operator that returns -1, 0, or 1, perfect for sorting.

usort($users, fn($a, $b) => $a->age <=> $b->age);

55. Array destructuring with keys — pattern matching for arrays​

Extract specific values from associative arrays easily.

['name' => $name, 'age' => $age] = $person;

58. PHPStan & Psalm — static analysis as a first-class citizen​

Tools that provide TypeScript-grade type safety with zero runtime overhead.

59. Numeric literal separators (PHP 7.4)​

Use underscores to make large numbers more readable.

$population = 8_000_000_000;

69. NativePHP — desktop and mobile apps, all in PHP​

Build native cross-platform apps using the PHP you already know.

Ecosystem and Performance​

  • Composer: Best-in-class dependency management.
  • OPcache & JIT: Significant performance boosts.
  • Symfony & Laravel: Mature, high-quality frameworks.