Facebook refuses to use PHP

Facebook will translate its HHVM virtual machine from the PHP language to the Hack based on it. The reason is the poor compatibility of PHP 7 and PHP 5, as well as the presence of some of the flaws in PHP that are fixed in Hack.

Facebook will stop using the PHP language in its virtual machine Hip Hop Virtual Machine (HHVM), which is designed to run programs written in this language. Now HHVM will work with Hack - another language, based on PHP. The main reason for the failure of PHP in HHVM was the poor compatibility of PHP 7 with PHP 5. The version of HHVM 3.24, which is scheduled for release in early 2018, will be the latest release of the engine that supports PHP 5.

The version of PHP 7 was immediately followed by PHP 5, with no intermediate PHP 6. The language was changed significantly, including many of the shortcomings of PHP 5, but not all. In some cases, compatibility with the previous version of the language was lost.

CNews