PHP Reads - Curated PHP writing worth your time

Issue #2

Language Design Meets the Runtime

10 March 2026

Good ideas in software often appear long before the ecosystem is ready for them. What seems obvious today was often an experiment a long time ago.
— Stefan & Sebastian

thephp.foundation

A Pragmatic Path to Compile-Time Generics

Compile-time generics could bring many of the benefits of generics to PHP without the runtime complexity they usually require. Restricting generics to interfaces and abstract classes and resolving type parameters during compilation is a pragmatic approach that might deliver most of the value developers want, without fundamentally changing how PHP works.

Picked by Sebastian Bergmann – "Gina and Larry have produced outstanding research that provides an excellent background for understanding the challenges of implementing generics in a dynamic language."

tideways.com

Performance Improvements in PHP 8.5

The PHP performance experts at Tideways highlight several improvements in PHP 8.5. Rather than explaining flashy new syntax, their overview focuses on practical changes that help developers better understand performance behavior, diagnose issues more quickly, and run PHP applications more reliably in modern environments.

Picked by Stefan Priebsch – "The faster TLS handshake implementation is a good example of how PHP evolves through behind-the-scenes improvements that benefit developers in everyday use."

npopov.com

Cooperative Multitasking in PHP

Flashback: In this article, written as early as 2012, Nikita Popov demonstrates how PHP generators (introduced in PHP 5.5) can be used to implement coroutines and build a simple cooperative multitasking scheduler.

Picked by Stefan Priebsch – "Following his early contributions to PHP 5, Nikita Popov became one of the language's most influential contributors and played a key role in making PHP 7 possible."

Issue #1

PHP in Motion: Setting Direction

03 March 2026

The PHP community produces thoughtful, durable writing. We felt it deserved a reliable signal amid the noise.
— Stefan & Sebastian

phpreads.com

Introducing PHP Reads

Stefan Priebsch and Sebastian Bergmann introduce PHP Reads, a curated, ads-free and tracking-free weekly selection of PHP blog posts worth reading. In response to the growing flood of low-value, AI-generated content, they aim to highlight thoughtful articles that offer real insight, practical reasoning, and fresh perspectives.

Written by Stefan Priebsch and Sebastian Bergmann.

thephp.foundation

The PHP Foundation has a new executive director

The PHP Foundation has appointed Elizabeth Barron as its new Executive Director. She brings a background in open-source community governance, fundraising, and developer outreach. Founding Executive Director Roman Pronskiy moves to a board role while continuing his work at JetBrains.

Picked by Sebastian Bergmann – "Disclosure: I was part of the committee that selected Elizabeth. We selected this post because the PHP Foundation's long-term health matters to everyone in this community."

laravel-news.com

Laravel 13 is around the corner

Paul Redmond of Laravel News maintains this page as a continuously updated summary of everything confirmed for Laravel 13. It's distilled directly from official sources. A reliable single reference to check back on until the release documentation is complete. This is expected for March 2026.

Picked by Stefan Priebsch – "One page that is kept up to date and comes straight from the source. We felt this is all that's needed."

Excellent PHP writing, hand-picked. No buzzwords. No ads. No nonsense. Curated by Stefan Priebsch and Sebastian Bergmann of thePHP.cc as a free service to the PHP community.