Zend Engine
The Zend Engine is the core of the PHP programming language, serving as its scripting engine. It was first introduced in 1999 by Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski, who were students at the time, while they were working on improving the performance of PHP. Here are some key points about the Zend Engine:
- Origin: The name "Zend" comes from the first letters of the creators' first names, Zeev and Andi.
- Versions:
- Zend Engine 1: Introduced with PHP 4, focusing on performance improvements over the original PHP/FI.
- Zend Engine 2: Released with PHP 5, it brought object-oriented programming capabilities, improved performance, and memory management.
- Zend Engine 3: Launched with PHP 7, it significantly enhanced performance, added new features like return type declarations, and introduced a new abstract syntax tree (AST).
- Functionality:
- Compiles PHP code into opcodes, which are then executed by the virtual machine.
- Handles memory management, type juggling, and reference counting.
- Provides the infrastructure for object-oriented programming in PHP, including inheritance, interfaces, and exception handling.
- Supports just-in-time (JIT) compilation since PHP 8.
- Extensions and Enhancements: Over time, the Zend Engine has been extended with various enhancements:
- Commercial Products: The Zend Technologies company, founded by Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski, develops commercial products based on the Zend Engine, like Zend Server and Zend Studio.
Historical Context: The creation of the Zend Engine was pivotal for PHP, transforming it from a simple tool for web developers into a robust, object-oriented language capable of handling complex applications. The engine's development has paralleled PHP's growth, incorporating features that have kept PHP competitive in the web development landscape.
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