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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Are PECL modules preferable?
From: rowan.collins@gmail.com (Rowan Tommins)

On 21/03/2020 22:52, Mike Schinkel wrote:
>> On Mar 21, 2020, at 5:59 PM, tyson andre<tysonandre775@hotmail.com>  wrote:
>> FROM: Re: [PHP-DEV] [RFC] is_literal()
>>
>> And if it can be implemented as a PECL module, that would be more preferable to me than a core module of php.
>>   If it was in core, having to support that feature may limit optimizations or implementation changes that could be done in the future.
> Just wanted to address this comment which was made on another thread (I did not want to hijack that thread.)
>
> A large number of PHP users have no control over the platform they run on, so the option to use PECL modules is a non-starter for them.


Even if a module is "bundled", that doesn't mean it automatically 
becomes available to all vanilla builds of PHP.

I know that a lot of Linux distributions break up their PHP packages so 
that pretty much every module can be installed separately; conversely, 
they provide pre-compiled packages for a lot of PECL and third-party 
extensions. So there's very little difference between installing, for 
example, "php-zip" (bundled) and "php-redis" (PECL).

I glanced at a couple of the WordPress hosts you mentioned, and couldn't 
find a clear description of their PHP configurations, but I suspect it's 
similar - some "bundled" extensions won't be enabled (e.g. various 
database drivers), and some PECL extensions will be installed as 
standard (e.g. Redis).

In practice, I think there are four types of extension, not two:

A) Core, and either can't be disabled, or disabling is very rare
B) Bundled, but optional; may be packaged separately; may be optional or 
not supported by managed hosting
C) Not bundled, but widely available pre-built as well as through PECL; 
may be included or available in managed hosting
D) Not bundled, and not widely pre-built; mostly available only via PECL

Type B and C enjoy similar availability to users, but type C allows a 
package maintainer more freedom to maintain and evolve the extension; 
type B trades that for a rubber-stamp of official approval.

Regards,

-- 
Rowan Tommins (né Collins)
[IMSoP]