PHP 8.5, released on November 20, 2025, brings a host of new features and improvements aimed at enhancing the language’s capabilities and user experience. A key addition in this release is the pipe operator, which facilitates cleaner function chaining by eliminating the need for nested statements and temporary variables. This operator is geared towards users favoring functional programming paradigms, providing a more streamlined approach to function execution.
Another significant enhancement is the introduction of a modern URI extension. This extension supports RFC 3986 and WHATWG URL parsing, addressing the limitations of the legacy <code>parse_url()</code> function with a more standards-compliant and secure parsing approach.
Additionally, PHP 8.5 debuts the ‘Clone With’ functionality, allowing developers to efficiently update properties of cloned objects, thereby enhancing object manipulation capabilities. The release includes the <code>#[NoDiscard]</code> attribute, which aims to alert developers of unused return values to prevent unintended outcomes.
Performance improvements are also a focus, with persistent cURL handles now available for multi-request sharing, optimizing resource utilization. New array utility functions, <code>array_first()</code> and <code>array_last()</code>, have been introduced, simplifying operations on arrays. Support for closures in constant expressions further enhances the flexibility of defining constants within the code.
PHP 8.5 also introduces several visibility and attribute enhancements, including asymmetric visibility for static properties and final properties enabled via constructor promotion. Developers can now place attributes on constants, offering more robust metadata handling. Backtraces have been added to fatal errors, aiding in debugging efforts.
Notably, the release includes several deprecations, including non-standard cast names, the backtick operator for <code>shell_exec()</code>, and constant redeclaration, marking a move towards a more standardized and future-proof language structure.

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PHP 8.5 introduces a pipe operator for cleaner function chaining, modern URI parsing compliant with RFC 3986 and WHATWG standards, and Clone With functionality for efficient object property updates. The release adds the #[NoDiscard] attribute to catch unused return values, persistent cURL handles for better performance, and new array utility functions array_first() and array_last(). Additional improvements include asymmetric visibility for static properties, attributes on constants, backtraces in fatal errors, and several deprecations moving toward standardization.

PHP 8.5 Released: Key Features and Enhancements