# PHP 8.4: New features & release date Published 30 October 2024 Last updated 21 November 2024 ## When will PHP 8.4 be released? PHP 8.4 was released on **November 21, 2024**. It contains some exiting new features. --- ## What new features can we expect in PHP 8.4? - Property hooks - Asymmetric visibility - New array functions - Parsing HTML 5 - Class instantiation without parentheses --- ## Property hooks PHP 8.4 introduces property hooks, marking one of the biggest shifts in how properties are managed in PHP. This feature lets developers attach “get” and “set” hooks directly to properties, reducing boilerplate code. ### Key benefits - **Less boilerplate**: Property hooks reduce the need for manual getters and setters. - **Interface support**: Property hooks can be defined in interfaces, allowing standardized class behavior. ### Example usage ```php class Product { public function __construct(private float $basePrice) {} public string $price { get => '$' . number_format($this->basePrice, 2); set (float $newPrice) { if ($newPrice < 0) throw new InvalidArgumentException("Price cannot be negative."); $this->basePrice = $newPrice; } } } ``` --- ## Asymmetric visibility In PHP, managing property access has always posed challenges, especially when balancing readability and immutability. PHP 8.4’s asymmetric visibility solves this by allowing different access levels for reading and modifying properties. ### Why use asymmetric visibility? - Allows public read access while restricting modifications to internal code. - Ideal for data structures that need validation but not full immutability. ### Example usage ```php class Example { public private(set) string $status = 'active'; } ``` --- ## New array functions PHP 8.4 introduces four new array functions for simpler searching and validation. Here’s a quick look at what each function does: - **`array_find`**: Returns the first value that satisfies the callback. - **`array_find_key`**: Returns the key of the first item that matches the callback. - **`array_any`**: Returns `true` if at least one item in the array passes the callback check. - **`array_all`**: Returns `true` only if *all* items in the array pass the callback check. --- ## Parsing HTML 5 With PHP 8.4, a new `\Dom\HTMLDocument` class enables easier HTML5 parsing, solving issues that existed with `\DOMDocument`. ### Example usage ```php $htmlContent = '

Hello, World!

'; $doc = \Dom\HTMLDocument::createFromString($htmlContent); ``` --- ## Chaining methods on class instantiation without parentheses PHP 8.4 improves method chaining by removing the need for parentheses around class instantiation, making code more readable. ### Before PHP 8.4 ```php $user = (new User())->setName('Alice')->setEmail('alice@example.com'); ``` ### With PHP 8.4 Now, you can write it without parentheses: ```php $user = new User()->setName('Alice')->setEmail('alice@example.com'); ``` --- ## Will Laravel support PHP 8.4? Yes, it will! Laravel 11 supports PHP 8.2 and higher, which means PHP 8.3 and PHP 8.4 are supported as well. Read this post in a browser: https://ranetrace.com/blogs/php-84-new-features-release-date