Objects were not always a key part of the PHP project. In fact, they were once described as an afterthought by PHP’s designers.
As afterthoughts go, this one has proved remarkably resilient. In this chapter, I introduce this book’s coverage of objects by summarizing the development of PHP’s object-oriented features.
We will look at the following:
PHP/FI 2.0: PHP, but not as we know it.
PHP 3: Objects make their first appearance.
PHP 4: Object-oriented programming grows up.
PHP 5: Objects at the heart of the language.
PHP 7: Closing the gap.
PHP 8: The consolidation continues.
