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PHP Observability API

PHP Observability API

1
posts
2021

Datadog, in collaboration with the PHP internals community, contributed to the development of the new observer API in PHP 8. This API addresses limitations of previous observability hooks like zend_execute_ex and custom opcode handlers, such as stack limitations, performance overhead, and incompatibility with the JIT compiler. The new API provides a more robust and performant way for tracers, profilers, and debuggers to instrument PHP applications, enabling better observability without negatively impacting runtime performance.

2021

PHP 8: Observability baked right in | Datadog

2/2/2021

This post details Datadog's collaboration with the PHP internals community to develop and ship the new observer API in PHP 8. It outlines the limitations of previous observability hooks (zend_execute_ex, custom opcode handlers, Zend Extension hooks) and explains how the new observer API overcomes these challenges, particularly in relation to stack limitations, performance overhead, and compatibility with the JIT compiler. The post highlights the contributions of key community members and the technical design choices made to ensure broad applicability across various observability tools.