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PHP 8.5 New Features

Official Documentation: PHP 8.5 Release

1. URI Extension​

PHP 8.5 introduces a new built-in extension for URI parsing and manipulation, supporting both RFC 3986 and WHATWG URL standards.

RFC 3986 Example:

use Uri\Rfc3986\Uri;

$uri = new Uri('https://thephp.foundation:443/sponsor/');
echo $uri->getHost(); // thephp.foundation
echo $uri->getPort(); // 443

WHATWG Example:

use Uri\WhatWg\Url;

$url = new Url('https://example.com/path/../other');
echo $url->getPathname(); // /other

2. Pipe Operator (|>)​

The pipe operator allows for a more readable syntax when chaining function calls. The result of the left-hand expression is passed as the first argument to the right-hand callable.

$result = "  hello world  "
    |> trim(...)
    |> strtoupper(...)
    |> (fn($str) => str_replace('WORLD', 'PHP 8.5', $str));
// Result: "HELLO PHP 8.5"

3. Clone With​

The clone keyword now supports an optional array of properties to update during the cloning process. This is particularly useful for immutable objects and readonly properties.

final readonly class Response {
    public function __construct(
        public int $statusCode,
        public string $reasonPhrase,
    ) {}

    public function withStatus(int $code, string $reasonPhrase = ''): self {
        return clone ($this, [
            'statusCode' => $code,
            'reasonPhrase' => $reasonPhrase,
        ]);
    }
}

4. #[\NoDiscard] Attribute​

A new built-in attribute that signals that the return value of a function or method must not be ignored.

#[\NoDiscard]
function validateUser(): bool {
    // ...
    return true;
}

// Warning: Return value of validateUser() is ignored.
validateUser();

// To explicitly ignore, use (void) cast:
(void) validateUser();

5. Closures and First-Class Callables in Constant Expressions​

Static closures and first-class callables (e.g., strlen(...)) can now be used in constant expressions, such as attribute parameters and class constants.

class Formatter {
    public const string_formatter = strtoupper(...);

    #[MyAttribute(value: fn() => 'default')]
    public string $data;
}

6. New array_first() and array_last() functions​

Native functions to get the first and last values of an array, returning null if the array is empty.

$arr = ['a' => 1, 'b' => 2, 'c' => 3];
$first = array_first($arr); // 1
$last = array_last($arr);   // 3

7. Attribute Improvements​

  • #[\Override] can now target properties.
  • #[\Deprecated] can be used on traits and constants.
  • Attributes can now target constants.

8. Constructor Property Promotion: final Properties​

Properties promoted in the constructor can now be marked as final.

class User {
    public function __construct(
        public final string $id,
        public string $name,
    ) {}
}

9. Notable Deprecations​

  • Terminating case statements with a semicolon (use a colon : instead).
  • Backticks as an alias for shell_exec().
  • __sleep() and __wakeup() magic methods (prefer __serialize() and __unserialize()).
  • Non-standard cast names like (boolean) and (integer) (use (bool) and (int)).
  • PIE (PHP Installer for Extensions) is now the recommended tool over PECL.