PHP 8.6 has reached RC3, giving Drupal teams another pre-release checkpoint for compatibility testing. The story looks at where Drupal support stands and what developers should verify before PHP 8.6 reaches stable.

www.thedroptimes.com/72829/php-86...

#Drupal #PHP86 #OpenSource

PHP 8.6 lands November 19. How are you trying it before then without breaking the setup you work in every day?

Docker, Herd, phpenv, Homebrew, a throwaway VM, or "I'll wait for the release"?

I'm using Docker. Curious what everyone else does.

#PHP #PHP86 #PHPC

#PHPC tip: on the PHP 8.6 beta, this is false:

version_compare(PHP_VERSION, '8.6.0', '>='); // "8.6.0beta2" < "8.6.0"

`version_compare()` ranks beta below the release. Gate on the integer instead:

if (PHP_VERSION_ID >= 80600) {
$page = clamp($page, 1, $totalPages);
}

#PHP #PHP86 #phparch

I wanted to test my PHP 8.6 code samples without putting a beta PHP on the laptop I use every day.

https://scott.keck-warren.com/blog/2026/running-php-8.6-beta-cli-in-docker?utm_source=social&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=scottkw&utm_content=2026-10-07

#PHP #PHP86 #Docker

I've written SO many string transformations full of temp variables and fn() wrappers. PHP 8.6's partial function application plus the pipe operator gets rid of both.

#PHP #PHP86 #CleanCode

https://www.phparch.com/2026/09/stop-writing-php-like-this-8-6-fixes-it/

#PHPC tip: PHP 8.6 lets you put `#[\Override]` on class constants.

Rename the parent constant, and the child fails at compile time instead of drifting into a separate, unused constant.

Video: https://youtu.be/U9Jrcg1Ns1k

#PHP #PHP86 #CleanCode

PHP 8.6 lands on November 19th, 2026, but you don't have to wait. I recorded my walkthrough on beta 3 with the official Docker image (php:8.6.0beta3-cli), so test your app now.

#PHP #PHP86 #Docker

https://www.phparch.com/2026/09/stop-writing-php-like-this-8-6-fixes-it/

Have you ever hit this fatal error?

In PHP 8.6, that line works. What did you do to get around it?

Video: https://youtu.be/U9Jrcg1Ns1k

#PHP #PHP86 #phparch

My PHP 8.6 video covers the features I think will make my personal life better. Which one should I have covered instead?

#PHP #PHP86 #phpc

https://www.phparch.com/2026/09/stop-writing-php-like-this-8-6-fixes-it/

What does the `1` mean in the first call?

PHP 8.6 adds a `SortDirection` enum to the core. The pull requests I approve fastest are the ones where I never have to open another file to understand an argument.

Video: https://youtu.be/U9Jrcg1Ns1k

#CareerDev #PHP #PHP86

Partial function application is a fancy computer science term for setting up a function with some of its parameters now and passing the rest later. PHP 8.6 makes it native syntax.

#PHP #PHP86 #FunctionalProgramming

https://www.phparch.com/2026/09/stop-writing-php-like-this-8-6-fixes-it/

#PHPC tip: PHP 8.6 adds `clamp()`, so the two-`if` range check goes away.

Swap min and max, and PHP throws a `ValueError`.

Video: https://youtu.be/U9Jrcg1Ns1k

#PHP #PHP86 #CleanCode

Two new symbols to learn in PHP 8.6: ? is the argument placeholder, and ... means zero or more parameters. Define the function up front and fill in the rest later.

#PHP #PHP86 #FunctionalProgramming

https://www.phparch.com/2026/09/stop-writing-php-like-this-8-6-fixes-it/

#PHP8.6 deprecates `is_integer()`, `is_long()`, `is_double()`, and `doubleval()`.

I ran this grep against my app directory and found 150 "problems".

Every call will fill your logs with deprecation notices the day you upgrade.

Video: https://youtu.be/U9Jrcg1Ns1k

#PHP #PHP86 #phparch

Pair the PHP 8.5 pipe operator with PHP 8.6 partial function application and you get some VERY concise code (and I expect Rector to help convert the old stuff).

#PHP #PHP86 #CleanCode

https://www.phparch.com/2026/09/stop-writing-php-like-this-8-6-fixes-it/

I've handwritten min/max range checks for the current page number more times than I can count. PHP 8.6 adds clamp(), and I might polyfill it in older projects.

#PHP #PHP86 #CleanCode

https://www.phparch.com/2026/09/stop-writing-php-like-this-8-6-fixes-it/

#PHP86: Partial Function Applications, which allow us to write the following.

The `?` is an argument placeholder, so `str_replace('Scott', 'Alice', ?)` builds a function with the first two arguments, and the pipe puts the value in '?'

Video: https://youtu.be/U9Jrcg1Ns1k

#PHP #PHPC #PHP86 #phparch

PHP 8.6's clamp() has a built-in range check, so you can't mix up the min and max values. I've done that more than once, so I'm VERY happy about this one.

#PHP #PHP86 #CodeQuality

https://www.phparch.com/2026/09/stop-writing-php-like-this-8-6-fixes-it/

array_multisort() takes SORT_ASC/SORT_DESC as ints, so 42 gets right through. PHP 8.6 adds a SortDirection enum in the global namespace, and the RFC hints at wider adoption.

#PHP #PHP86 #TypeSafety

https://www.phparch.com/2026/09/stop-writing-php-like-this-8-6-fixes-it/

In PHP 8.4, fulfilling an interface property meant redefining the whole property hook. PHP 8.6 lets a readonly property do it and keeps the class much tighter. Big win for value objects.

#PHP #PHP86 #OOP

https://www.phparch.com/2026/09/stop-writing-php-like-this-8-6-fixes-it/