Deprecated Features

PHP Core

• If a parameter with a default value is followed by a required parameter, the default value has no effect. This is deprecated as of PHP 8.0.0 and can generally be resolved by dropping the default value, without a change in functionality:

  phpCopy

  <?php
  function test($a = [], $b) {} // Before
  function test($a, $b) {}      // After
  ?>

  One exception to this rule are parameters of the form Type $param = null, where the null default makes the type implicitly nullable. This usage remains allowed, but it is recommended to use an explicit nullable type instead:

  phpCopy

  <?php
  function test(A $a = null, $b) {} // Still allowed
  function test(?A $a, $b) {}       // Recommended
  ?>

• Calling get_defined_functions() with exclude_disabled explicitly set to false is deprecated and no longer has an effect. get_defined_functions() will never include disabled functions.

Enchant

• enchant_broker_set_dict_path() and enchant_broker_get_dict_path() are deprecated, because that functionality is neither available in libenchant < 1.5 nor in libenchant-2.
• enchant_dict_add_to_personal() is deprecated; use enchant_dict_add() instead.
• enchant_dict_is_in_session() is deprecated; use enchant_dict_is_added() instead.
• enchant_broker_free() and enchant_broker_free_dict() are deprecated; unset the object instead.
• The ENCHANT_MYSPELL and ENCHANT_ISPELL constants are deprecated.

LibXML

libxml_disable_entity_loader() has been deprecated. As libxml 2.9.0 is now required, external entity loading is guaranteed to be disabled by default, and this function is no longer needed to protect against XXE attacks, unless the (still vulnerable) LIBXML_NOENT is used. In that case, it is recommended to refactor the code using libxml_set_external_entity_loader() to suppress loading of external entities.

PGSQL / PDO PGSQL

• The constant PGSQL_LIBPQ_VERSION_STR now has the same value as PGSQL_LIBPQ_VERSION, and thus is deprecated.

• Function aliases in the pgsql extension have been deprecated. See the following list for which functions should be used instead:

  • pg_errormessage() → pg_last_error()
  • pg_numrows() → pg_num_rows()
  • pg_numfields() → pg_num_fields()
  • pg_cmdtuples() → pg_affected_rows()
  • pg_fieldname() → pg_field_name()
  • pg_fieldsize() → pg_field_size()
  • pg_fieldtype() → pg_field_type()
  • pg_fieldnum() → pg_field_num()
  • pg_result() → pg_fetch_result()
  • pg_fieldprtlen() → pg_field_prtlen()
  • pg_fieldisnull() → pg_field_is_null()
  • pg_freeresult() → pg_free_result()
  • pg_getlastoid() → pg_last_oid()
  • pg_locreate() → pg_lo_create()
  • pg_lounlink() → pg_lo_unlink()
  • pg_loopen() → pg_lo_open()
  • pg_loclose() → pg_lo_close()
  • pg_loread() → pg_lo_read()
  • pg_lowrite() → pg_lo_write()
  • pg_loreadall() → pg_lo_read_all()
  • pg_loimport() → pg_lo_import()
  • pg_loexport() → pg_lo_export()
  • pg_setclientencoding() → pg_set_client_encoding()
  • pg_clientencoding() -> pg_client_encoding()

Standard Library

• Sort comparison functions that return true or false will now throw a deprecation warning, and should be replaced with an implementation that returns an integer less than, equal to, or greater than zero.

  phpCopy

  <?php
  // Replace
  usort($array, fn($a, $b) => $a > $b);
  // With
  usort($array, fn($a, $b) => $a <=> $b);
  ?>

Zip

• Using an empty file as ZipArchive is deprecated. Libzip 1.6.0 does not accept empty files as valid zip archives any longer. The existing workaround will be removed in the next version.

• The procedural API of Zip is deprecated. Use ZipArchive instead. Iteration over all entries can be accomplished using ZipArchive::statIndex and a for loop:

  phpCopy

  <?php
  // iterate using the procedural API
  assert(is_resource($zip));
  while ($entry = zip_read($zip)) {
      echo zip_entry_name($entry);
  }
  
  // iterate using the object-oriented API
  assert($zip instanceof ZipArchive);
  for ($i = 0; $entry = $zip->statIndex($i); $i++) {
      echo $entry['name'];
  }
  ?>

Reflection

• ReflectionFunction::isDisabled is deprecated, as it is no longer possible to create a ReflectionFunction for a disabled function. This method now always returns false.
• ReflectionParameter::getClass, ReflectionParameter::isArray, and ReflectionParameter::isCallable are deprecated. ReflectionParameter::getType and the ReflectionType APIs should be used instead.