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title: [RFC] Pure-code source files via the .phpc extension
description: A formal PHP RFC proposes a new `.phpc` file extension that allows PHP files to be parsed as pure code without requiring the `&lt;?php` opening tag. The lexer...
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# [RFC] Pure-code source files via the .phpc extension

**[externals.io](https://daily.dev/sources/externals)** · 14 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

A formal PHP 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, with UTF-8 BOM and CLI shebangs silently skipped. The change is strictly additive (~50 lines of C in the Zend lexer), leaving `.php` files completely untouched. The RFC addresses prior feedback on engine-vs-SAPI dispatch, backward compatibility, security risks (source exposure via misconfigured webservers), and alternative approaches. Community discussion is mixed: some see it as unnecessary complexity with no real-world benefit since `<?php` already works, 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), Windows/macOS case-sensitivity, and Phar/OPcache surface testing.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://externals.io/message/131311>

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