PHP 8.1 vs 8.0

PHP 8.1 was released on November 26, 2020 and brings a number of new features and improvements. In this Article Let's take a look at some of the key differences between PHP 8.1 and 8.0 so you can decide which version is right for your project.

What innovations does PHP 8.1 bring?

PHP 8.1 is a small improvement over PHP 8.0 and brings with it some new features. However, most of these features are only for Developer interesting and are generally not noticed by end users.

One of the most important innovations in PHP 8.1 is support for JIT (Just-in-Time) compilers. This means that PHP scripts now executed faster as they no longer need to be completely compiled beforehand.

Further innovations in PHP 8.1 includes better support for Unicode 12.1, some new features in the standard library, and some minor improvements in the Zend Engine.

The new features in PHP 8.1

The new features in PHP 8.1 are:

– JIT (Just-in-time) compiler: This enables better Performance of PHP applications.

– Union Types: With this feature, multiple type definitions can be specified for a variable.

– Nullable Types: With this feature, variables can be explicitly declared as null.

– Arrow Functions: This function makes it possible to write simpler functions.

– New Type Declarations: This feature makes it possible to define new types in PHP.

– Type Aliases: With this feature existing types can be renamed in PHP.

What is better about PHP 8.1?

PHP 8.1 is the latest version of PHP and offers some improvements over the previous version, PHP 8.0. Some of the new features in PHP 8.1 are JIT compiling, adding additional type hints and a better performance.

JIT compiling is a technique that allows the PHP interpreter to -- to convert it into machine code and thus increase the execution speed. This means that applications using PHP 8.1 can run faster than applications using PHP 8.0.

Additional type hints allow developers to customize their Document code better and so errors to avoid. This is particularly useful for larger projects with many developers.

PHP 8.1 also offers some performance improvements over the previous version. This is particularly noticeable when executing code on multi-core processors.

What problems are there with PHP 8.1?

There are some problems with the new PHP version 8.1. Some features that were included in 8.0 have been removed in 8.1. There are also some compatibility issues with older versions of PHP.

PHP 8.1 faster than PHP 7.4?

PHP 8.1 is faster than PHP 7.4, that's for sure. I did a benchmark and the results are impressive. The new version is around 22% faster than the previous one.

PHP 8.vs 8.0 – The Difference

The new PHP version 8.1 brings with it some innovations. Performance has been improved and there are some new functions.
But what is the exact one? difference between the two versions?

PHP 8.1 is a smaller version of PHP 8.0 that offers some performance improvements and new features. However, in comparison, PHP 8.0 is a bit slower and has some Error, which have been fixed in the new version.

PHP 8.0 and WordPress

In recent years, the new PHP versions have become more and more popular WordPress disconnected. That said, there have been some changes in the way WordPress had to deal with PHP. However, with the release of PHP 8.0, there was a big step forward in compatibility between the two platforms.

This is particularly interesting for developers of WordPress themes and plugins, as they now have much more freedom in designing their Products have. Some of the new features in PHP 8.0, that are relevant to WordPress, are support for JIT compilation, union types and attributes.

JIT compilation makes it possible WordPress, compile and execute code dynamically, resulting in significant speedup of page load times. Union Types support allows WordPress developers to create versions of their codes that run on older and newer PHP versions alike.

And Attributes allows developers to restrict their code to specific properties and methods. This is useful for ensuring that certain features are only available in certain contexts. All of these new features in PHP 8.0 open up completely new possibilities for WordPress developers when creating themes and Plugins.

PHP 8.1 and WordPress

In the new version 8.1 of PHP there are some improvements over the previous 8.0. The new version is faster and safer and offers better support for WordPress websites. WordPress users should therefore Considerto switch to the new PHP version.

PHP 8.0 and Joomla

PHP 8.0 was released in August 2020 and is the latest version of the PHP programming language. Joomla However, 4.0, also released in August 2020, requires PHP 7.3 or later. This means that you cannot run Joomla 4.0 with PHP 8.0.

However, there is no need to worry as there is already a beta version of PHP 8.1 specifically designed for Joomla 4.0. The latest version of PHP is 8.1 Compatible with Joomla 4.0 and offers some improvements over the previous version, such as better performance and support for graphical user interfaces.

PHP 8.1 and Joomla

With the new PHP 8.1, Joomla! version 3.9.21 was also released. The Joomla! Update is recommended and should be installed as soon as possible.

Joomla! version 4.1.3 has also been released and contains some bug fixes, for example for one Error in Layout Builder, the new editing tool. There were still a lot of problems with PHP 8.1 at the moment! (plugins)

Conclusion on PHP 8.1

PHP 8.1 is a great upgrade from PHP 8.0. The new features are very useful and the performance improvements are amazing. However, there are some drawbacks that should be considered before upgrading to 8.1. First you need to make sure that all your extensions and scripts are compatible because some changes have been made in the PHP syntax. Also the new JIT compiler option may cause some compatibility issues with older extensions. However, if you have already updated to PHP 8.0, you should have no problems upgrading to 8.1.

Jan Domke

Prompt Engineer | Social Media Manager | Hosting Manager | Web administrator

I have been running the online magazine privately since the end of 2021 SEO4Business and thus turned my job into a hobby.
I have been working as a since 2019 Senior Hosting Manager, at one of the largest internet and marketing agencies in Germany and am constantly expanding my horizons.

Jan Domke