The Polling API Is the Most Underrated RFC PHP Has Shipped in Years

Short summary

PHP 8.6 added the Polling API, a new RFC that provides native access to high-performance I/O multiplexing primitives like epoll and kqueue. While presented as a faster alternative to stream_select() for WebSocket servers, the real impact is internal: it gives PHP core a unified polling interface that extensions and async libraries can build on, setting the foundation for safer signal handling and better infrastructure. This quiet but consequential change fills a two-decade gap in PHP's networking capabilities.

• •PHP 8.6's Polling API provides native epoll/kqueue access, modernizing I/O multiplexing after decades relying on the 1983-era select() call
• •Userspace benefit is faster WebSocket servers; the primary benefit is a unified internal API that extends to signal handling, timers, and FPM improvements
• •Considered consequential by core PHP maintainers (33-1 RFC vote) but underreported because it's infrastructure, not a user-facing feature

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