PHP 8.5 New Features: Advancing Web Development and Backend Performance

PHP continues to evolve as one of the most powerful languages in web development. The release of PHP 8.5 brings forward a suite of new capabilities aimed at improving backend development, debugging, and application performance. If you're a PHP developer or a backend engineer, this update is worth your attention.

👉 Learn the fundamentals of PHP: What is php?

Below are the key PHP 8.5 new features every developer should know:

1. Pipe Operator (|>)

This much-anticipated feature allows cleaner and more readable code by piping the result of one expression into the next function.

Benefits:

  • Enhances functional programming style

  • Reduces nested function call

$result = [1, 2, 3]
    |> array_map(fn($x) => $x * 2, ^)
    |> array_sum(^);
 

2. curl_multi_get_handles()

This new cURL function enables developers to retrieve all handles managed by a curl_multi session, simplifying the management of parallel HTTP requests.

Use Case:

$mh = curl_multi_init();
$handles = curl_multi_get_handles($mh);
 

This is a game changer for efficient API integrations and concurrent requests in backend systems.

3. PHP_BUILD_DATE Constant

This constant provides the build date of the PHP binary, aiding in debugging and version auditing.

Example:

echo PHP_BUILD_DATE;

4. get_exception_handler() and get_error_handler()

Previously, PHP only allowed setting error and exception handlers. Now, with these getter functions, you can retrieve the current ones, which is useful in complex applications.

$exceptionHandler = get_exception_handler();
$errorHandler = get_error_handler();
 

5. Stack Trace for Fatal Errors

A major improvement, PHP 8.5 now includes stack traces for fatal errors. This helps backend developers debug issues faster, especially in production environments.

6. locale_is_right_to_left() and Locale::isRightToLeft()

These functions allow checking whether a locale is written right-to-left, improving localization and internationalization support in web development.

Example:

$isRTL = locale_is_right_to_left("fa_IR"); // true
 

7. array_first() and array_last()

Two new helper functions for quickly accessing the first and last items in an array.

$array = [10, 20, 30];
echo array_first($array); // 10
echo array_last($array);  // 30

8. CLI Option: php --ini=diff

This new CLI argument shows differences between compiled and scanned configuration files, helping in debugging configuration issues.

php --ini=diff
 

9. IntlListFormatter Class

A new class for properly formatting internationalized lists, particularly useful for multilingual apps.

 
$formatter = new IntlListFormatter("en",
    IntlListFormatter::TYPE_CONJUNCTION,
    IntlListFormatter::STYLE_LONG);

echo $formatter->format(["apple", "banana", "cherry"]);
// Output: apple, banana, and cherry

👉 Revisit the PHP basics here: Web development with php

Conclusion

PHP 8.5 marks a critical milestone in backend and web development. Whether you're improving performance, debugging code, or building multilingual apps, these features are essential for modern development workflows. We recommend upgrading to PHP 8.5 to leverage its full power.