Advanced

Level: Advanced | PHP: 8.1–8.3 | Docker-Verified

This series covers PHP's most powerful modern features: Fibers, enums, generators, SPL data structures, the Reflection API, PHP Attributes, streams, OPcache/JIT, security hardening, Composer, testing, event-driven architecture, PSR-7/15 APIs, and a complete microservice capstone.

Each lab uses Docker (php:8.3-cli) for verification — no local PHP install required.

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Lab Index

#	Lab	Topics	Time
01	Fibers & Async	new Fiber(), start()/resume()/suspend(), cooperative multitasking, coroutine scheduler	40 min
02	Readonly & Enums	readonly properties/classes, pure/backed enums, from()/tryFrom(), cases(), enum in match	40 min
03	Named Args & Types	Named arguments, intersection types (A&B), DNF types, never, first-class callables, string-key spread	40 min
04	Advanced Generators	yield from, send(), getReturn(), bidirectional generators, lazy pipelines, memory benchmarks	40 min
05	SPL Data Structures	SplStack/SplQueue/SplPriorityQueue/SplFixedArray/SplMinHeap/SplObjectStorage, benchmarks	40 min
06	Reflection API	ReflectionClass/ReflectionMethod/ReflectionProperty, dynamic proxy, DI container	40 min
07	PHP Attributes	#[Attribute] declaration, built-in attrs, custom Route/Validate attributes, attribute reading	40 min
08	Streams & Contexts	stream_context_create, fopen wrappers, stream filters, zlib, custom stream wrapper	40 min
09	OPcache & JIT	opcache_get_status(), JIT modes (1205/1255), preloading, benchmarks with/without JIT	40 min
10	Security Hardening	Argon2id, CSRF tokens, hash_hmac/hash_equals, session hardening, CSP headers, PDO safety	40 min
11	Advanced Composer	Path repositories, custom scripts, classmap autoload, platform requirements, composer audit	40 min
12	PHPUnit 11 Testing	#[DataProvider], createMock/createStub, test doubles, SQLite integration tests	40 min
13	Event-Driven PHP	PSR-14 dispatcher, stoppable events, subscribers, async queue, Symfony Messenger concepts	40 min
14	API Design with PSR	PSR-7/15/17/18, middleware pipeline, API versioning, OpenAPI attributes, REST handler	40 min
15	Capstone Microservice	Slim 4, JWT auth, SQLite PDO, PSR-14 events, PHPUnit, full Docker verification	40 min

Total estimated time: ~10 hours

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Quick Start

# Verify PHP 8.3 is available
docker run --rm php:8.3-cli php --version

# Run any lab example inline
docker run --rm php:8.3-cli php -r "
\$fiber = new Fiber(fn() => Fiber::suspend('hello'));
echo \$fiber->start(); // hello
"

# Interactive PHP 8.3 shell
docker run -it --rm php:8.3-cli bash

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Learning Path

Fibers (01) ──────────────────────────────► Async patterns
Readonly + Enums (02) ────────────────────► Immutable value objects
Named Args + Types (03) ──────────────────► Modern PHP syntax
Generators (04) ──────────────────────────► Memory-efficient data
SPL (05) ─────────────────────────────────► Right data structure
        │
        ▼
Reflection (06) + Attributes (07) ────────► Framework internals
Streams (08) ─────────────────────────────► I/O programming
OPcache/JIT (09) ─────────────────────────► Performance tuning
Security (10) ────────────────────────────► Production hardening
        │
        ▼
Composer (11) + Testing (12) ─────────────► Professional workflow
Events (13) + PSR APIs (14) ──────────────► Architecture patterns
        │
        ▼
Capstone Microservice (15) ───────────────► Everything together

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Prerequisites

• Completed PHP Intermediate series (or equivalent experience)

• Familiarity with OOP: classes, interfaces, traits, abstract classes

• Basic composer usage (require, install)

• Docker installed for lab verification

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Docker Commands Reference

# Run inline snippet
docker run --rm php:8.3-cli php -r "echo PHP_VERSION;"

# Run a file
docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/app php:8.3-cli php /app/script.php

# Interactive bash session
docker run -it --rm php:8.3-cli bash

# With Composer
docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/app composer:2 composer install

# Check extensions
docker run --rm php:8.3-cli php -m