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Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2024 22:35:19 +0100
To: internals@lists.php.net
Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] bikeshed: Typed Aliases
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From: imsop.php@rwec.co.uk ("Rowan Tommins [IMSoP]")



On 10 September 2024 19:32:19 BST, Mike Schinkel <mike@newclarity=2Enet> w=
rote:
>BTW, why has nobody ever mentioned Zephir on this list (that I am aware o=
f?)

Zephir is an interesting idea that has never quite fulfilled its aims=2E T=
he Phalcon developers hoped that creating a more PHP-like language would al=
low more people to work on extensions such as their framework, but it doesn=
't seem to have worked out that way=2E=20

 The worse problem was that Zephir itself had very few contributors=2E A f=
ew years ago, the project came close to shutting down as there was nobody l=
eft to maintain it; Phalcon was to be rewritten in PHP=2E <https://blog=2Ep=
halcon=2Eio/post/the-future-of-phalcon> Since then, somebody has stepped up=
, but Phalcon work is still focussed on the PHP rewrite, with the intention=
 of a smaller, optional, extension providing performance-critical component=
s=2E <https://blog=2Ephalcon=2Eio/post/phalcon-roadmap>

Meanwhile, PHP 7 and 8 have massively increased both the performance and t=
he capability of code written in PHP, and even FFI to bridge to existing na=
tive binaries (although I gather there's a lot that could be improved to ma=
ke that more useful)=2E

The overall trend is to have only what's absolutely necessary in an extens=
ion, and there have even been suggestions that some built-in functions woul=
d be better off implemented in PHP itself, if the right low-level features =
were included=2E

All of which is drifting a long way off topic, except to say that I think =
we should be aiming to reduce the difference between what can be done in ex=
tensions and what in PHP code, rather than planning any new such difference=
s=2E

Regards,
Rowan Tommins
[IMSoP]