Major PHP Versions

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a server-side scripting language widely used for web development. Over the years, various versions of PHP have been released, and each version brought new features, improvements, and bug fixes. As of my knowledge cutoff in January 2022, here are some of the major PHP versions:

 

1. PHP 3: Released in 1998, PHP 3 was a significant improvement over PHP 2, featuring a rewritten parser and support for more platforms.

2. PHP 4: Released in 2000, PHP 4 included a new Zend Engine, which greatly improved performance. It also introduced support for object-oriented programming (OOP) and other features.

3. PHP 5: Released in 2004, PHP 5 brought substantial improvements to the language, including the introduction of the Zend Engine 2, a more robust object model, support for exceptions, and enhanced XML handling.

4. PHP 6 (unreleased): There were plans for PHP 6, which was expected to include native support for Unicode. However, due to various technical challenges, the PHP community decided to abandon PHP 6 development.

5. PHP 7: Released in 2015, PHP 7 was a major leap forward in terms of performance and efficiency. It introduced the Zend Engine 3, which significantly improved memory usage and performance. PHP 7 also brought new features like scalar type declarations, return type declarations, and the spaceship operator (<=>).

6. PHP 8: Released in November 2020, PHP 8 is the latest stable release as of my last update. It introduced several new features and optimizations, including the Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler, attributes, union types, and improvements to the type system.

 

It's important to note that PHP is a living language, and new versions may be released with additional features, improvements, and bug fixes. Always refer to the official PHP website or other reliable sources for the latest information on PHP versions and their features.

 

Thank you.