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PHP 5.5 added generators, the finally keyword, a simplified password hashing API, new syntax conveniences and bundled Zend OPcache. Released on 20 June 2013, it is now a historical PHP branch—not a suitable target for a new deployment. Its features remain useful context when reading or maintaining code written for that era.
What changed in PHP 5.5?
PHP 5.5.0 was released on 20 June 2013, according to the PHP 5.5.0 release announcement and the PHP release archive. The changes span language control flow, syntax, runtime caching and compatibility. The sections below distinguish new language features from migration concerns.
Language and control flow
Generators and coroutines
PHP 5.5 introduced generators and coroutines. A generator can produce values incrementally rather than requiring a function to build and return an entire collection at once. This gives developers a way to express iteration in a function-like form while yielding values as iteration proceeds. The release announcement summarizes the addition as “Added generators and coroutines.”
The finally keyword
The release added finally for code that should run after a try block, whether execution leaves through normal completion or an exception. It complements try/catch control flow when cleanup or other follow-up work must be kept in one place. The PHP Development Team’s announcement says, “Added the finally keyword.”
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Simplified password hashing API
PHP 5.5 introduced a simplified password hashing API. The release announcement describes it as a new API; it does not establish that password hashing first became possible in this release. This is a historical feature summary, not a recommendation to use PHP 5.5 for password handling today.
Syntax changes for everyday code
PHP 5.5 also added several syntax conveniences. These matter when encountering code that uses them, but they are separate from the larger control-flow and runtime changes.
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- Constant array and string dereferencing: access an element or character directly from an array or string literal or expression.
- Class-name resolution with
::class: obtain a class name through the class-name operator, including for scalar class-name references. - More expressions accepted by
empty(): useempty()on function-call results and other expressions, rather than only on variables. - More flexible
foreachsyntax: non-scalar iterator keys became possible, andlist()constructs could be used inforeach.
These items are listed in the PHP 5.5.0 release announcement.
Zend OPcache was bundled
PHP 5.5.0 bundled Zend OPcache for opcode caching. The OPcache manual describes its mechanism: it stores precompiled script bytecode in shared memory, avoiding the need to load and parse scripts on every request. The manual says OPcache is bundled with PHP 5.5.0 and later. This explains what the feature is designed to do; it does not establish a particular speed-up for an application.
Compatibility changes and migration concerns
Platform and name-matching changes
The PHP 5.5.0 announcement identifies several compatibility changes. Support for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 was dropped. Case-insensitive matching of function, class and constant names became locale-independent and followed ASCII rules. The announcement also notes removal of PHP logo GUIDs. Applications or deployment environments from that period could be affected by these changes.
The original mysql extension was deprecated
The original mysql extension was deprecated in PHP 5.5.0 and removed in PHP 7.0.0. PHP’s MySQL requirements and API documentation points developers to MySQLi or PDO_MySQL instead. For a legacy application, calls to the old extension are therefore a migration issue—not a new PHP 5.5 capability.
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PHP 5.5’s release and support context
PHP 5.5.38 was announced on 21 July 2016. The announcement calls it a security release and the final planned release in the 5.5 branch, while allowing that another release might follow for an important security issue. It advised users at the time to plan a move to PHP 5.6 or PHP 7.0. That was guidance issued in 2016, not current version advice. The release history and announcement are available in the PHP release archive and the PHP 5.5.38 release announcement.
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