Request for Comments
This page gives an overview of the current RFCs for PHP.
To create a new RFC, see How To Create an RFC.
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In voting phase
- array_change_keys()
Add method to simplify re-keying an array (Created 2016-05-29) - Throwable code's type generalization
Change Throwable::getCode() & co. so that they can be of any type (Created: 2016-12-18)
Under Discussion
This section is for RFCs that have been announced on the PHP “internals” mail list.
- list() Reference Assignment
This RFC proposes a new syntax to enable reference assignment with list(). (Created 2013/10/25, withdrawn 2014-05-15, Commandeered and Reopened: 2016-12-30) - Server-Side Request and Response Objects
This RFC proposes request and response objects that are wrappers for existing global PHP variables and functions, with some limited additional convenience functionality. (Created: 2016/12/21) - HashContext as Object
Change Hash Contexts to use Objects instead of Resources - SoapClient getLocation
Add getLocation method to SoapClient (Created: 2016-12-06) - Distrust SHA-1 Certificates
Distrust SHA-1 starting in PHP 7.2 (Created: 2016-11-25) - ArrayIterator improvements
Proposes addingArrayIterator::seekKey()
andArrayIterator::prev()
(Created: 2016-11-21) - Parameter No Type Variance
Allow subclasses to drop parameter type constraints. (Created: 2016-11-21) - Abolish Narrow Margins
Proposal to abolish 50%+1 votes (Created 2016-11-17) - Deprecations for PHP 7.2
Functions and features to be deprecated in PHP 7.2 (Created 2015-12-28) - Namespace-scoped declares
Add ability to specify declare directives at the namespace level. (Created: 2016-09-20) - Improve uniqid() uniqueness.
Improve uniqid() uniqueness (Created: 2016-09-12) - Deprecate PEAR/PECL & Replace with composer/pickle
Proposes replacing pear/pecl with composer/pickle (Created: 2016-09-01) - umaintained_extensions
Cleaning up unmaintained extensions - remove_utf_8_decode_encode
Remove utf8_decode() and utf8_encocde() - Add str_begins() and str_ends() functions
Add functions to check if a string begins with, or ends with, a given substring (Created 2016-08-01) - Exception on constant redefintion
Throw Exception on Attempt of Constant Redefinition (Created 2016-06-10) - Intersection Types (Discussion began 2016-04-28)
- Anonymous Class Lexical Scope
Anonymous Class Lexical Scope (Created 2016-04-19) - Callable constructors
Allow constructors to be called as a callable (Created 2015-02-25) - Traits with interfaces
Allow traits to explicitly implement interfaces (Created 2016-02-17) - Adopt Code of Conduct
This RFC proposes that the PHP project should adopt a formal code of conduct for its members. (Re-created 2016-01-21) - Class Friendship
A proposal to add class friendship (Created 2015-12-10) - Normalize token_get_all() output
Allows specifying flag to normalize output of token_get_all() - On-demand Name Mangling
Replaces automatic super-global name mangling with an on-demand approach for those apps requiring it. (Updated 2016-01-08) - Add array_key_(first|last|index) functions
Add functions to get the first/last/indexed array key and value. (Created 2016-01-01) - Secure serialization by authentication code
Add authentication code protection to serialization. - Default Value in List Assignment Syntax
Allow set default values when using list assignment - Trailing commas in list syntax
Allow for trailing commas in all list syntax (Created 2015-11-03) - Automatic SQL injection protection
This RFC enables automatic detection of SQL queries that are issued with a non-constant query parameter-string, with configurable evasive action on detection (i.e. ignore/log/throw). - Improved Error Callback Mechanism
This RFC aims to give extensions that intercept errors a better way to register their callbacks. (Created 2015-03-13) - Introduce consistent function names
This RFC proposes to have consistent function names that accord CORDING_STANDARDS. - Introduce Design by Contract
This RFC is vote only RFC for 2 Design by Contract introduction proposals. - Native Design by Contract support as annotation
This RFC proposes native Design by Contract support to PHP (Created 2015/02/04) - Native Design by Contract support as definition
This RFC proposes native Design by Contract support to PHP (Created 2015/02/10) - Introduce script only require/include
Introduce script only include/require to prevent script inclusion. (Created 2015-02-10) - Precise URL include control
This RFC proposes precise URL include control. - Comparable
A proposal to add a Comparable interface for userspace object comparisons. - Deprecate INI set/get aliases
This RFC proposes INI set/get alias function deprecation. (Created 2015-01-28) - Additional splat operator usage
Allow splat operator to be used in array literals. (Created 2014-11-03) - GitHub Pull Requests Triage Team
Define a process for triaging GitHub pull requests. (Created 2014-10-30) - Change checkdnsrr() $type argument behavior
This RFC proposes that the default behavior of the checkdnsrr() function be changed such that it no longer checks only for MX records by default. (Created 2014-09-19) - Loosening heredoc/nowdoc scanner
More permissive scanner rules for heredoc/nowdoc (Created 2014-08-29) - Binary String Comparison
Non-strict binary string comparison - password_hash function behavior
Current password_hash()'s hash function has password length limitation. (Created 2014-07-23) - ReflectionParameter Typehint accessors
New API for accessing typehints on a reflection parameter. - Secure Session Options
This RFC proposes secure options for session module as default (Vote period: 2014/02/14 - 2014/02/21) (Created: 2014/02/01) - Unify crypto source INI setting
This RFC proposes unified crypto source settings. (Created 2014/02/13) - Make PHP open tag optional for better security
This RFC proposes option (php.ini and CLI opts) for removing PHP tags (<?php and so forth) from PHP scripts.(Vote period: 2014/02/16 - 2014/02/22) (Created 2012/04/12) - Build OpenSSL module by default
This RFC proposes building openssl module by default. - Module API introspection
Developer/Operations command-line API for checking module versions (Created 2014/01/24) - Add support for GMP floating point numbers
Separate out floating point change from gmp_number (Created 2014/01/04) - Normalizing increment and decrement operators
This RFC proposes to make ++ and – operators to work more intuitively. (Created 2013-12-19) - Named Parameters
This RFC proposes introducing named parameters. (Created 2013/09/06) - Internal Serialize API
This RFC proposes API for internal generating of serialization. (Created 2013/07/27) - unset(): return bool if the variable has existed
Add to unset a return value if the deletion was successful (Created 2013/03/06) - Integrate voting polls in PHP.net
This RFC talks about integration of voting polls into PHP.net (Created 2013/02/23) - Escaping RFC for PHP Core
Implementing a core anti-XSS escaping class and possibly functions for the more procedurally inclined programmers. (Created 2012/09/18) - Add is_cacheable() stream-wrapper operation
Adds a generic way for opcode caches to determine if a given URI is cacheable or not. (Created 2015/01/03) - Add cyclic string replace to str_[i]replace() functions (Created 2015/01/05)
- Add generic class and method support (Created 2015/04/28)
- Add resource typehint (Created 2015/11/11)
- Short Ternary Assignment Operator
Allow shorthand for self assigning short ternary expressions (Created: 2016-03-10) - Pipe Operator
Syntactic sugar for chaining expressions (Created: 2016-04-29) - Allow loading extensions by name (Created: 2016-05-10)
- Simple Annotations (Created: 2016-05-13)
- Libsodium
Make Libsodium a Core Extension (Created 2016-01-07) - Deprecate and remove INTL_IDNA_VARIANT_2003 (Created: 2017-01-07)
In Draft
This section is for early drafts of RFCs that have NOT been announced on the PHP “internals” mail list.
- Comparison Chains
Implement arbitrary chaining of comparator operations - Binary String Deprecation
Proposes the deprecation of the b prefix and binary cast (Created: 2016-12-11) - Create URLParser and URLBuilder Classes
Proposed improvement beyond what parse_url() allows Created: 2016-10-04) - Comparator interface
Proposes introduction of Comparator interface (Created: 2016-09-27) - Immutable classes and properties
Proposes introduction of immutable classes and properties (Created: 2016-08-12) - Arrow Functions
A short form of closures similar to ES6's arrow functions (Created: 2016-08-14) - Automatic CSRF protection
Extend session module to provide automatic CSRF protection (Created 2016-05-10) - Extending Exception backtraces to provide 'object'
Extending Exception backtraces to provide 'object' (Created 11/04-2016) - Add foreach iteration of keys without values
Add new syntax to enable foreach iteration without retrieving values (Created 2016-01-09) - Consistent callables
Consistent Callables (Created 2015-09-28) - Enumerated Types
A proposal to add enumerated types (Created 2015-04-08) - Type Affinity
This RFC proposes type affinity for inputs - Parser Extension API
This RFC proposes a userland API to fetch an AST for code and to provide parser extensions (Created 2015/02/17) - Nullsafe operator
This RFC proposes a new operator for propagating forward failures in a computation composed of method calls without the need for lots of boilerplate. (Created 2014-12-09) - Support linking in stream wrappers
Add support for links in stream wrappers by adding appropriate hooks - Normalize string bitwise shifts
Bitwise shifts to operate on string bytes instead of casting to integer. - Consistent names for legacy functions/classes
This RFC proposes to use alias to provide both legacy and consistent names. - Inconsistent behaviors
This RFC is to discuss/document inconsistent behaviors. - Platform and extension-independent API to the system CSPRNG
Request for Comments: Platform and extension-independent API to the system CSPRNG. - Loop+Else control structure
This RFC proposes an optional “else” clause that can be used after while, for, and foreach loops. - Restrict parameter parsing rules
Restrict rules to accept and implicitely convert internal function input arguments. - Sourcemaps
Add support for Source Maps Revision 3 - Static class constructor
Introduce a class constructor to initialize class state - Property Type-hints
Introduce optional static type-hints and type-checking for properties. - Simplified Named Arguments
Introduce syntax for named arguments - Typesafe Callable
Allow typesafe callables (Created 2016-04-04)
Accepted
Process and Policy
- Security Issue Classification
Ratify reformed security issue classification. (Accepted 2016-11-18) - PHP 5 Support Timeline
Determine the Active & Support timelines for PHP 5. - Reserve Even More Types in PHP 7
A proposal to reserve even more type names in PHP 7 (Created 2015-02-20) - PHP 7.0 Timeline
Define an agreed-upon timeline and milestones for PHP 7.0. - Keeping the tests green
This RFC proposes a policy for keeping PHP CI tests green. - Define PHP 5.3 end of life
The purpose of this RFC is to define when the PHP 5.3 series will no longer be supported. - Release Process
PHP release process. - Voting Process
PHP voting process. - Magic Quotes
This RFC proposes how we deal with magic quotes from PHP 5.3.0 to 6.0.0. - Choosing a distributed version control system for PHP
This RFC proposes to migrate the PHP SVN repo to a DVCS. - PHP Version Control System
This RFC discusses the switch from CVS to some other version tracking system - Name of Next Release of PHP
To settle what the name of the next major release of PHP shall be. (Created 2014-07-05)
Pending Implementation
- APXS LoadModule
This RFC proposes the addition of an option to the configure script that allows the user to specify whether the main Apache .conf file should be appended with the LoadModule entry. - DateTime and Daylight Saving Time Transitions
Defines expected behaviors and new features to improve how DateTime handles Daylight Saving Time transitions. - Null Coalesce Equal Operator
Allow shorthand for self assigning null coalesce operator (Created 2016-03-09) - E_WARNING for invalid containers
Raise E_WARNING for array access on invalid containers (Created 2016-07-27)
Implemented
Order in these sections: Language changes first, library changes later.
PHP Next (7.2)
- Debugging PDO Prepared Statement Emulation v2
Another approach to allowing the output of this feature to be examined in userland. (Created: 2016-11-17) - Convert numeric keys in object/array casts
Fix an edge case in casting objects to arrays and vice-versa. (Created: 2016-10-21) - get_class() disallow null parameter
Prevent get_class() having astonishing behaviour - Counting of non-countable objects
Raise a warning when counting invalid objects. (Created: 2016-10-04) - Deprecate png2wbmp() and jpeg2wbmp()
Deprecate and later remove the png2wbmp() and jpeg2wbmp() functions. (Created: 2016-10-15) - Implement socket_getaddrinfo()
Implement getaddrinfo() to socket extension. (Created: 2016-08-08) - Argon2 in password hash
Introduce Argon2 hashing algorithm to password functions (Created: 2016-07-10) - Debugging PDO Prepared Statement Emulation
Allow the output of this feature to be examined in userland. (Created: 2016-10-17)
PHP 7.1
- Session ID without hashing
Remove hash usage from session ID generation. (Created 2016-04-06) - Asynchronous Signal Handling
Asynchronous Signal Handling without TICKs and any additional overhead. (Created 2016-06-24) - Fix inconsistent behavior of $this variable
Fix all known inconsistencies related to special variable $this (Discussion began 2016-05-23) - Replace "Missing argument" warning with "Too few arguments" exception
(Created 2016-06-01) - Nullable Types
Allow a type check to be of some type or null (Discussion began 2016-04-13) - Square bracket syntax for array destructuring assignment
An alternative syntax tolist()
(Created 2016-04-07) - Warn about invalid strings in arithmetic
Produce E_NOTICE or E_WARNING when using invalid numeric strings with arithmetic operators (Created 2016-01-08) - Allow specifying keys in list()
Adds syntax to help unpacking associative arrays into variables (Created 2016-01-17) - Iterable
Iterable pseudo-type accepting arrays or objects implementing Traversable (Created 2016-06-10) - Generalize support of negative string offsets
Add support for negative string offsets everywhere it makes sense (Created 2016-01-23) - Closure from callable function
Add a function to create closures from callables without reflection - Deprecate mb_ereg_replace eval option
This RFC aims at deprecating the e option that mb_ereg_replace and mb_eregi_replace provide. - Deprecate (and remove) Mcrypt
Let's get rid of ext/mcrypt, which is abandonware and inhibits the growth of the language, as soon as humanly possible. (Created 2016-01-09) - OpenSSL AEAD support
Adds support for AEAD cipher modes (GCM and CCM) to openssl_decrypt and openssl_encrypt. - Void Return Type
Adds a void return type to require that a function does not return a value. (Revived 2015-10-04, originally created 2015-02-14) - Class constant visibility modifiers
Introduce class constants visibility modifiers that mirror properties and methods. (Created 2015/09/13) - Octal Overflow Protection
Stop quietly ignoring overflows in octal number parsing (Created: 2016-04-12) - RNG fixes and changes
Fixes and improvements to the random number generation subsystems (Created 2016-06-14) - Add HTTP/2 Server Push support to ext/curl (Created 2015/10/01)
- TimeZone::getWindowsID (Created (2016/03/15)
- Multi catch
Catching multiple exception types in a single catch statement (Created 2016/03/06) - Forbid dynamic calls to scope introspection functions (Created 2016-05-01)
- Add curl_multi_errno(), curl_share_errno() and curl_share_strerror() (Created: 2016-04-29)
- Throw Error in Extensions
Convert E_ERROR and E_RECOVERABLE_ERROR to throw Error in extensions (Created 2016-06-14) - More precise float value handling
This RFC proposes more precise float value handling. - Additional Context in pcntl_signal Handler
Adds a second array argument topcntl_signal
handler (Created 2016-06-14) - Add session_create_id()
Add session_create_id() function (Created 2016-04-07) - Add session_gc()
Add session_gc() function (Created 2016-04-06)
PHP 7.0
- Random Functions throwing Exceptions
This RFC proposes that the random_* functions should throw exceptions on failure. - Throwable Interface
Proposes a modification to the exception hierarchy for PHP 7, introducing a Throwable interface and Error class. - Context Sensitive Lexer
Proposal to have a context sensitive lexer for PHP with support for semi-reserved words (Created 2015-02-15) - Add preg_replace_callback_array function
A RFC proposing each pattern can easily have a specific callback. - Reliable User-land CSPRNG
A proposal to add a reliable CSPRNG (Created 2015-02-20) - Anonymous Class Support
This RFC proposes support for anonymous classes. - Generator Delegation
This RFC proposes new syntax to delegate generator function operations to sub-iterators/generators (Created 2015-03-01) - Reserve More Type Names in PHP 7
Reservesint
,float
,string
,bool
,true
,false
andnull
in class names or namespaces. (Created 2015-02-18) - Constructor behaviour of internal classes
Cleanup undesirable behaviour of constructors internal classes. (Created 2015-03-01) - Reclassify E_STRICT notices
This RFC proposes to reclassify our few existing E_STRICT notices to different categories. (Created 2015-02-22) - Remove PHP 4 Constructors
Stop recognizing methods with the same name as the defining class as constructors. (Created 2014-11-17; Voting closed 2015-03-10) - Remove the date.timezone warning
(Created 2015-01-27) - Combined Comparison (Spaceship) Operator
Proposes a new comparison operator,<=>
(Created 2014-02-12, revived 2015-01-19) - Fix "foreach" behavior
The RFC defines foreach statement behavior for the cases where is wasn't defined before and implementation provided inconsistent results. (Created 2015-01-29) - Removal of dead SAPIs and extensions
Consideration about removing the unsupported SAPIs and extensions with unsupported dependencies. - Remove deprecated functionality in PHP 7
Proposes to remove functionality that has been deprecated in the PHP 5.x cycle in PHP 7. (Created 2014-09-11) - Jsond
Whether jsond should replace the current json extension. (Created 2015-01-11) - Preserve Fractional Part in JSON encode
Adds a new option for JSON encode to preserve fractional part on float numbers. - Return Type Declarations
Adds return types to functions, methods and closures. (Created 2014-03-20) - Fast Parameter Parsing API
Fast API in addition to zend_parse_parameters(). (Created 2014-05-23) - Unicode Codepoint Escape Syntax
Adds an escape sequence syntax for Unicode codepoints to string literals. (Created 2014-11-24) - Native TLS
Native TLS for internal globals in TS mode - Integer Semantics
Improves cross-platform consistency in PHP for some operations dealing with integers - ZPP Failure on Overflow
Makezend_parse_parameters
fail if a float value out of bounds, or NaN, is passed where an integer is expected. (Created 2014-09-22) - Move the phpng branch into master
Embrace the phpng codebase as the basis for the future major version of PHP. (Created 2014-07-20) - Abstract Syntax Tree
Proposes the introduction of an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) as an intermediary structure in our compilation process. - Uniform Variable Syntax
Introduces an internally consistent and complete variable syntax. - 64 bit platform improvements for string length and integer
Integer and String modifications for full 64 bit support - Closure::call
Proposes a new method on theClosure
class to allow calling bound to an object without pre-binding - Fix list() behavior inconsistency
Enable or disable string handling in list() operator - Remove alternative PHP tags
Removes ASP and script tags - switch.default.multiple
Disallow multiple defaults in switch statements - Catchable "call to a member function of a non-object"
Turns this fatal error into E_RECOVERABLE (Created 2014-04-26) - Filtered unserialize()
Add option to ignore all or some objects to unserialize() (Created 2013/03/30) - ICU IntlChar class
Adds an IntlChar class an intl_char_*() functions to the Intl extension. - Introduce session_start() INI options as array
Introduce session_start() options - Remove hex support in numeric strings
Removes support for hexadecimal numbers in numeric string conversions. (Created 2014-08-19) - Expectations
This RFC proposes adding BC zero-cost assertions. (Created 2013-11-01) - Group Use Declarations
The RFC adds improvements to current PHP namespace implementation by introducing group use declarations. (Created 2015-01-28) - Exceptions in the engine
This RFC proposes to allow the use of exceptions in the engine. (Created 2014-09-30) - Generator Return Expressions
This RFC proposes the ability to specify and access return values from Generator functions - Scalar Type Hints v0.5
This RFC proposes a mixed-mode scalar type system - Continue output buffering
Let the output buffer stack be usable despite an aborted connection - intdiv()
This RFC proposes adding an intdiv() function for integer division. (Created 2014-07-15) - Fix handling of custom session handler return values
Make false actually mean failure, not success. - Turn gc_collect_cycles into function pointer
Proposes to turn gc_collect_cycles into function pointer for extensions to hook into. (Created 2012-12-11)
PHP 5.6
- __debugInfo() magic method
Support get_debug_info hook for userspace classes - Exponential operator
Exponential operator - Importing namespaced functions
Proposes to allow importing namespaced functions through a new `use function` sequence. - Constant Scalar Expressions (with constants)
This RFC proposes adding support for Constant Scalar Expressions with support for constants being operands. - Remove calls from incompatible context
Calls from incompatible context deprecated in 5.6 (will be removed in next version). - Dedicated syntax for variadic functions
This RFC introduces a dedicated syntax for variadic functions. - Argument unpacking
This RFC proposes a syntax for argument unpacking. - Internal operator overloading and GMP improvements
Add support for operator overloading in internal classes and improve GMP using it - phpdbg
Distribute phpdbg with PHP, a PHP debugger - Slim POST data
Use a temp PHP stream for HTTP payload. - Crypt() function salt
This RFC proposes changing crypt() function's salt parameter treatment. - Apparmor change_hat functionality for php-fpm
Proposes to add the possibility to change to a different hat under the apparmor LSM - TLS Peer Verification
Enable peer verification by default for encrypted client streams. - Improved TLS Defaults
Implement more secure defaults for encrypted stream transfers - Default character encoding
Default character encoding handling in PHP. - 64 bit format codes for pack() and unpack()
Adds format codes for converting 64 bit integers to and from binary strings. - Timing attack safe string comparison function
New function to perform time-constant string comparison (Created 2013/12/22)
PHP 5.5
- Generators
This RFC proposes adding generators as a simple and boilerplate-free way of defining iterators. - support finally keyword
Add try catch finally supporting - Resolve class names to scalars via class keyword
A proposal to use ::class after type names to resolve FQ class names as scalar - foreach_variable supporting T_LIST
This extends PHP's language parser to support T_LIST in foreach_variable - Const array/string dereference
A little improvement to make things consistent - Allow arbitrary expression arguments to empty() and isset()
Proposes to allowempty(getArray())
etc. - Integrating Optimizer+ into the PHP distribution
This RFC proposes to integrate the Zend Optimizer+ opcode cache into the PHP distribution - Adding hash_pbkdf2 function
This RFC proposes adding a hash_pbkdf2 function to the hash package - Add Simplified Password Hashing
This RFC proposes adding 3 new functions to the core to expose a much simplified password hashing API. - Remove preg_replace /e modifier
This RFC aims at deprecating and subsequently removing the /e modifier (PREG_REPLACE_EVAL) that preg_replace provides. - Add UConverter
A proposal to add ICU::UConverter functionality to ext/intl - ext/mysql deprecation
Formally deprecating ext/mysql in PHP. - Cookie Max-Age attribute
Cookie Max-Age attribute - Fix cURL file uploading API
Fix insecure cURL file uploading API - Add recvmsg() and sendmsg() to ext/sockets
Wrap sendmsg() and recvmsg(), with support for a limited number of message types - PHP CLI changing process title support
Setting PHP CLI process titles for visibility in 'top' or 'ps' - Allow non-scalar keys in foreach
This RFC proposes to remove the type restrictions on foreach iteration - Add array_column() function
This RFC proposes a new array function that returns the values of the specified column from a multi-dimensional array. - Removal of curl-wrappers
This RFC is about removing the curl stream wrappers of the PHP as of 5.5 and to move it on PECL for any eventual improvements. - Strict Sessions
This RFC proposes an additional security measure for preventing session fixation.
PHP 5.4
Note: Many RFCs in this list have been mass voted.
- Instantiating a class and calling methods/accessing properties on same command
A proposal to add support to instantiating a class and calling its methods or accessing its properties on same command. - Traits
Traits is a mechanism for code reuse in single inheritance languages such as PHP. A Trait is intended to reduce some limitations of single inheritance by enabling a developer to reuse sets of methods freely in several independent classes living in different class hierarchies. This RFC proposes a basic version of Traits. - Closures: Object Extension
How to extend closures to work with $this and objects. - Short syntax for arrays
This RFC will discuss an language enhancement for simple and easy array definition. - Function array dereferencing
You know, like foo()['bar'] - Short tags in templates
This RFC discusses ways to enable short tags template syntax in a way that would be easy for users and compatible with XML users' requirements. - Indirect method call by array variable
$arr = array('Class', 'method'); $arr(); - Supporting Binary Notation for Integers
This extends PHP's syntax to support binary notation for integers just as it already does for decimal, octal, and hexadecimal representations. - Built-in web server
This RFC discusses the web server that is built into PHP itself, for development purpose. - Removal of deprecated features
RFC about removing legacy features in the next version of PHP - Improve parser error messages
Improve parser error message readability. - Session upload progress
Using sessions to provide upload progress feedback to users. - Object oriented session handlers
A proposal to allow session_set_save_handler() to accept an object, and expose the original session handler. - Allow Multiple Simultaneous Syslog Connections
This RFC propose enhancement to syslog function in order to allow multiple simultaneous connections by using resources. - Stream meta-data
RFC defines handler for setting metadata on stream URL. - Error message formatting for development
This RFC discusses error message formatting to aid developers. - Zend Engine Performance Improvements
Proposes Zend Engine changes which together make up to 20% performance improvement on synthetic benchmarks and some real-life applications - Run Time Cache
offers an implementation of run-time caching technique which may improve performance of repeatable code - Zend Signal Handling
Improve stability and speed when running under any forking SAPI by adding deferred signal handling to the Zend Engine. - DTrace Probes for PHP
Provide DTrace probes for PHP. - New Output API
An RFC about the New Output API - Callable type hint
Callable type hint - LDAP: Add ldap_modify_batch
This RFC proposes adding a lower-level modification function to the LDAP extension.
PHP 5.3
- Closures
This RFC proposes Closures and lambda functions for PHP. - HEREDOC with double quotes
This RFC is about allowing double quote syntax similar to single-quotes in NOWDOC as a HEREDOC syntax variant (in PHP 5.3) - LSB parent::/self:: forwarding
Changes how parent:: and self:: work with LSB by making them forwarding. - call_time_pass_by_reference
This RFC proposes that call_time_pass_by_reference be switched off by default in PHP 5.3. - New error level E_USER_DEPRECATED
This RFC proposes to introduce a new userspace error level similar to E_DEPRECATED for user level deprecation warnings - Rounding in PHP
Make round() produce predictable results on all platforms and fix some problems in the process. - Alternative to include/require for autoloaders
This RFC aims to offer an alternative solution to the well known fopen() “hack” used in autoloaders in order to verify the existence of files inside the include path - FPM SAPI
This RFC discusses FPM SAPI and its inclusion to the core PHP distribution. - FPM INI syntax
This RDV discusses the replacement of FPM configuration file from XML to INI. - New INI Files
A proposal for two new INI files which will replace the current INI's packaged with PHP. One focused on production deployments and the other focused on development deployments. - count_elements handler vs count()
Internal change to allow some optimization and add consistency.
Declined
- User defined session serializer
Implement user defined session serializer interface (Created: 2016-11-17) - Add PHP Engine Identifier Constant (Created 2016/02/03)
- Add validation functions to filter module
Add functions suitable for input validations. (Created 2016-08-03) - New operator for context-dependent escaping
New operator <?* ?> for HTML escaping and other contexts. (Created 2016-07-14) - Enable session.use_strict_mode by default
Enable session.use_strict_mode by default. (Created 2016-07-05) - ReflectionTypeImprovements
Improve ReflectionType's support for nullable and named types. - Typed Properties
Allow class properties to be typed (Created 2016-03-16) - Union Types
A proposal to add union types (Discussion began 2016-04-13) - Callable prototypes
Callable prototypes (Created 2015-08-27) - Functional Interfaces
Functional Interfaces (Created 2016-04-17) - PHP Attributes
Native support for annotation (Discussion began 2016-04-22) - Precise Session Management
Make session management precise. (Created 2015/03/21 ) - Number Format Separator
Enable for numerical literals to be formatted for better readability (Created 2015-12-20) - JSON numeric as string
Proposes new options for dealing with the JSON number conversion problem by converting data to string. - In Operator
This RFC proposes a new operator for contains checks. - Coercive Scalar Type Hints
A proposal to add user-land coercive scalar type hints, and change internal function behavior to align with them (Created 2015-02-21) - Make empty() a Variadic
A proposal to make empty() accept any number of arguments (Created 2015-02-20) - Allow error_handler callback parameters to be passed by reference
(Created 2015-01-26) - pecl_http
Whether to add pecl_http v2 to the core - Skipping optional parameters
Skipping optional parameters in function calls (Created 2012-04-13) - PHP 5.7
Proposes a final minor version of PHP 5, PHP 5.7, with no new features but added deprecation notices. (Created 2014-12-15) - Using objects as keys
Allows to use objects as keys for arrays. (Created 2014-10-26) - Abstract final classes / Static classes
Language enhancement to support “abstract final classes” or “static classes”. (Created 2014-11-26) - Access to aliases definition by reflection
Extends reflection for a getDefinedAliases() methods. (Created 2014/10/09) - Safe Casting Functions
Adds a set of safe casting functions for scalar types (Created 2014-10-21) - Loop + or control structure
Adds a default block to loops to be executed in the event that the loop is never entered. - Bare Name Array Literal
A shorter new syntax for array key-value pairs (Created 2014-06-01) - Bare Name Array Dereference
A shorter new syntax for dereferencing arrays with string keys (Created 2014-06-01) - Array Of
Proposed syntax for Type-Hinting against the contents or an array (Created 2014/01/15) - Improve HTML escape
This RFC proposes more secure HTML escape by escaping “/” (Vote period: 2014/02/16 - 2014/02/22) (Created 2014/02/02) - Multibyte Char Handling
This RFC proposes the way to handle multibyte chars. (Created 2014/01/16) - Alternative mbstring implementation using ICU
A proposal to completely rewrite mbstring extension with ICU. (Created 2011/04/06) - 64 bit platform improvements for string length and integer
Integer and String modifications for full 64 bit support - Alphanumeric Decrement
This will add support for decrementing alphanumeric strings (“ab”, for example) to complement the existing incrementing behaviour. (Created 2013/12/16) - Exceptions in the engine
This RFC proposes to allow the use of exceptions in the engine. (Postponed to PHP 6.) - Extended keyword support
This RFC proposes to widen keyword support. - Class instances counter
This RFC proposes a new function returning a list with class names and their instance counter. - trailing-comma-function-args
Allow a trailing comma in function calls, similar to array declarations - Add an array_part() function
Adds a function to extract multi-dimensional slices - SplClassLoader
Merge implementation of first proposal of PHP Standards Recommendation (PSR) into SPL core - Annotations
Class Metadata feature (aka Annotations) support in PHP - ifsetor() Operator
This RFC proposes an operator that efficiently implements (isset($foo) ? $foo : $bar) as ifsetor($foo, $bar) - Non-breakable Traits
This RFC is a extension to the basic proposal. It includes the notion of trait-local methods and properties. - Function getEntropy
Feature request for a new userspace function providing a truly random value. - Property Accessors Syntax
RFC for the addition of C#-style get/set accessors to PHP - Alternative typehinting syntax for accessors
Proposes an improved typehinting syntax for the accessors proposal. - Automatic Property Initialization
This RFC proposes automatic assignments of constructor arguments to properties. (Created 2013/09/27) - Default parent constructors
The RFC proposes that the parent constructors, destructors and clone operations were always callable even if not defined in parent class. (Created 2014-11-05)
Withdrawn
- Use php_mt_rand() where php_rand() is used
This RFC proposes replacing php_rand() function to php_mt_rand(). (Created 2014-07-17) - Revisit trailing commas in function arguments
Revisit trailing commas in function arguments (Created 2015-10-07) - Short Closures (''~>'' operator)
This RFC proposes an operator for shorter Closures. - ReflectionParameter::getClassName()
Add reflection method to access to a class name in a type hint (Created 2015-01-30) - Big Integer Support
Adds Big Integer support to PHP (Created 2014-06-20) - Scalar Type Hints
Adds four type hints for scalar types. (Created 2014-12-14) - Deprecate function that modify INI
There are number of functions that modify INI value. Let them deprecate and use ini_get()/ini_set(). (Other RFC is proposed) - pecl_sync
Whether PHP should support locking mechanism on its core - Function Referencing as Closures
Proposes a new syntax to allow referencing functions and methods as closures - Readonly Properties
Adds areadonly
specifier to make properties writeable within a class, but only readable from outside (Created 2014-10-24) - Strict Argument Count On Function Calls
This RFC proposes to sensibly add a strict argument count check for function calls on PHP7 (Created 2015-02-20) - Add scalar type hinting with casts
This RFC proposes adding scalar type hinting with casting to provide more robust parameter hinting. (Re-opened 2014-07-13) - Sessions: Improve original RFC about lazy_write
An attempt at redesigning the accepted solution from session-lock-ini. - Make GMP number work like PHP number
Make compatible PHP number - Constant Scalar Expressions (re-opening)
This RFC proposes adding support for Constant Scalar Expressions. - Function Autoloading
This RFC proposes to refactor the existing autoloading mechanism to support function and constant autoloading. - Structural Type Hinting
This RFC proposes a new type-hint format to allow run-time checking of Structural Types. - Constant Scalar Expressions
This RFC proposes adding support for Constant Scalar Expressions. - Modify tempnam() to handle directories and auto-cleanup
Add TEMPNAM_DIR and TEMPNAM_REQUEST options to tempnam() - Parameter Type Casting Hints
This RFC proposes adding type casting hints to function declarations. - Who can vote?
Define the participants of the voting process. - Magic Quotes in PHP, the Finalé
A safe, orderly manner for getting rid of Magic Quotes. - Return value type hint
Return type hinting - Cast and Assign Magic Methods
Feature request to expose object_cast, get and set to PHP land code via two new magic methods - Add mysqlnd.localhost_override option
This RFC proposes to add mysqlnd.localhost_override to more easily override localhost when connecting to a MySQL database. - Allow use T_AS in closure use statement
Allow user use a alias name for lexical variable of closure - strn(case)cmp supporting a negative length as its third paramter
This extends PHP's string function strn(case)cmp to support a negative length as parameter - Nested Class Support
This RFC proposes support for nested classes, following on from Anonymous Classes. - Extending the JsonSerializable interface
This RFC aims to allow creation of an object through JSON (Created 2015-07-13) - Improve array to string conversion
Proposes alternative behaviors for array to string zval conversion. (Created 2015/01/10) - IntlCharsetDetector
Wrap ICU's UCharsetDetector (Created: 2016-04-11)
Inactive
This section is for RFCs that have been deferred, obsoleted, or appear to have been abandoned. Sorry if your RFC is added here and you feel it is still active; please move it back to the appropriate section.
- Basic Scalar Types
A RFC proposing pure scalar types (Created 2015-03-11) - PECL versioning
This RFC, about tackling the versioning issues in PECL extensions, has been implemented across PECL for several months. But what should be done about extension versioning in the PHP core? - Improve consistency of protected member lookups
This RFC proposes to eliminate an inconsistency in the way protected class members are resolved. - Drop sql.safe_mode
Dropping a php.ini setting affecting two extensions - Get Random
This RFC talks about how to get a (better) random string in PHP - Error optimizations
A way to optimize the formatting of our errors - Function autoloading through spl_autoload*
This RFC introduces a potential implementation for function autoloading which would be consistent with what we have for autoloading classes. (Created 2011/08/05) - CLI options for strict and quiet modes
This RFC proposes a-W
option to turn on maximum error reporting, and a-Q
option for no error reporting. (Created 2011/07/05) - Add Logical Shift Operators
Add logical shift operators for bitwise shifting of strings (Created 2011/07/18) - Faster strtod algorithm
This RFC proposes to add the Grisu3 strtod algorithm as an optional feature to PHP. (Created 2011/07/15) - Isset Set Operator
This RFC proposes new operators for handling unset/falsey variables. - Scalar Type Casting Magic Methods
This RFC proposes a set of new scalar type casting magic methods for classes. - docBlock Parser
Proposal to add docBlock parsing to the Reflection extension - Annotations in doc block
Class Metadata feature (aka Annotations) support in PHP through DocBlock - Object and Array Literals
This RFC proposes first-class, inline object and array literals similar to JSON. - Weak References
This RFC proposes the introduction of Weak References in PHP via a new SPL class. - PDO Version 1 Improvements
This RFC proposes a set of improvements to be made to PDO. - Tainted variables
This RFC proposes an implementation of variable tainting in PHP. - Static classes
This RFC proposes the introduction of static classes for PHP - class casting to scalar
This RFC proposes a way to do like __toString(), for other scalar types - Autodefinition
This RFC proposes the ability to define missing definitions (generalization of autoload). - Line Markers in PHP
This RFC proposes the introduction of line markers in PHP. - Autoboxing
Autoboxing feature in PHP - Systemd socket activation
Systemd socket activation support for PHP-FPM (Created 2012/10/18) - Add a deprecated modifier for functions
Add a deprecated modifier for functions (Created 2012/12/25) - Clarifying/Improving the prototype checks
This RFC discusses the current state of prototype checks, and gives some directions for discussion and improvement. (Created 2011/09/19) - Introducing Jenkins
This RFC proposes using Jenkins as a Continuous Ingtegration environment for the php project. (Created 2011/11/01) - Support for anonymous catch-statements
This RFC proposes adding catch-statements without variables, and fully anonymous catches. (Created 2013/06/25) - Errors as Exceptions
This RFC discusses the conversion of errors to exceptions (Created 2011/04/06) - Proposed modifications to traits
This RFC proposes three modifications to traits: increasing separation and consistency of inheritance vs. trait composition, adding trait-local scope, and extendinguse
syntax. (Created 2011/04/06) - Add toString to DateTime
A proposal to add toString to DateTime (Created 2012/09/01) - Property get/set syntax
This RFC proposes to add a C# style property get/set syntax to PHP classes. (Created 2011-12-21 - document index) - Make T_FUNCTION in method declarations optional.
A proposal for removing the requirement to use T_FUNCTION in method declarations. (Created 2011/04/06) - Jsonable interface
Feature request to allow support json_(encode|decode) to handle Object instance conversions. - Siberia
This RFC proposes to create a cemetery for dead extensions (PECL or core). - array_delete
This RFC proposes adding array_delete() as an intuitive API for array element deletion. (Created 2012/08/22) - Enhanced Error Handling
This offers a concept and implementation to let the user (php coder) choose between php_error, exception et al while retaining backwards compatibility (Created 2009/12/27) - Parameter (and Return) value type hints/checks
Several RFC that propose to complete the actual parameter type hints/checks (and an implementation for return value type hints). (Created 2009/07/03) - Native TLS in ZTS
Improving performance of ZTS builds by using native thread local storage. (Created 2008/08/24) - Better benchmarks for PHP
A proposal for replacing current bench.php benchmarking script. (Created 2009/04/03) - Remove reliance of Zend API
A proposal to remove the use of the Zend API in PHP libraries. (Created 2009/03/29) - PHP Native Interface
Provide complete alternative to writing libraries interfaces using the Zend API libraries. (Created 2009/04/05) - Function call chaining
Function call chaining implementation. (Created 2010/01/30) - Source files without opening tag
This RFC proposes a way to support source code files without <?php at the top. - New File Type for Pure-Code PHP Scripts
This RFC proposes the creation of a new .phpp file type for scripts that contain only PHP code without a <?php or ?> tag. - Lemon as a language parser
This RFC discusses the switch from YACC/Bison to lemon for the main language parser - Moving to an AST-based parsing/compilation process (obsolete)
Proposal for AST-based compilation process. Superseded by the Astract Syntax Tree RFC. (Created 2012/09/04)
Obsolete
- Deprecate MCRYPT_RAND
This RFC proposes the deprecation of MCRYPT_RAND in favor of selecting cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generators.