The PHP development team has released Alpha 1 of PHP 8.5, kicking off the release cycle for a version that introduces syntax improvements many developers have requested for years.
Pipe Operator
PHP finally gains a native pipe operator via |>, letting you chain function calls cleanly:
$result = $input
|> strtolower(...)
|> trim(...)
|> explode("," ...);The first-class callable syntax func(...) integrates naturally. This eliminates awkward nested calls and makes functional pipelines idiomatic.
array_first() and array_last()
New helpers return the first/last value of an array without key knowledge: cleaner than reset()/end() which mutate internal pointers, and faster than array_values($a)[0].
Persistent Curl Share Handles
New curl_share_init_persistent() lets FPM workers share connection pools across requests, dramatically reducing TLS handshake overhead for apps that make many outbound HTTPS calls.
Final release is targeted for November 2026.
