A PHP internals RFC proposes a new `.phpc` file extension that allows PHP files to be parsed as pure code without requiring the `<?php` opening tag. The lexer would enter scripting mode on the first byte, silently skipping UTF-8 BOMs and CLI shebangs. The change is strictly additive — existing `.php` files are unaffected. The reference implementation is ~50 lines of C in the Zend lexer with 15 new tests and zero regressions across 9836 existing tests. Community feedback is mixed: some see it as unnecessary complexity since `<?php` is only 5 characters, while the author argues PHP is the only modern mainstream language requiring such an opener for pure-code files. Open issues include the final extension name (.phpc/.phpp/.pcode/.phpx), backward compatibility concerns, and security implications for misconfigured web servers.
