PHP 8.5.0 RC5 released
PHP 8.5 is moving closer to its final release with the latest announcement from Daniel Scherzer, who has made available the fifth release candidate for PHP 8.5.0.
So, what does this latest RC actually bring? The main focus of this latest RC is to refine the codebase by implementing a series of significant bug fixes.
One significant fix deals with how memory limits work. Before, there was a sneaky issue where the max_memory_limit setting wouldn't properly cap things like memory usage. The situation could lead to unexpected problems during development or testing when hitting that limit wasn't anticipated correctly. Contributors have now addressed this long-standing problem, making sure PHP respects the configured memory boundaries more reliably.
Then there's something about output buffering, specifically related to ob_gzhandler. Recently, modifications to the handling of user output have also inadvertently disrupted the functionality of ob_gzhandler. Good news for those relying on compression handlers: these recent adjustments have been rolled back (patch GH-18932). This brings back the expected behavior without the unwanted side effects.
PHP's handling of URLs, particularly through its URI component libraries, also saw some updates. There was a specific bug concerning Uri\Rfc3986\Uri::setHost(null). If you set the host to null, it would unexpectedly convert an empty path into a full URL starting with "/". To fix this issue and improve things generally, the underlying uriparser library has been updated. This change not only resolves that particular oddity but also boosts how URLs are handled overall in PHP 8.5, making it more accurate and efficient.
Finally, another crucial refinement involves telling apart an empty query or fragment from one that is simply missing. The functions Uri\WhatWg\Url::getQuery() and Uri\What.org\Url::getFragment() now correctly differentiate between these two states. This level of detail helps developers parse URLs with greater precision.
Essentially, each step towards PHP 8.5 RC5 brings the language closer to being stable and ready for general use by tackling specific problems that users encounter in their daily coding work.
Release php-8.5.0RC5
Tag for php-8.5.0RC5
