ReadWriteWeb (emphasis by GQJ):
CONFIRMED: Facebook Gets Faster, Debuts Homegrown PHP Compiler [Update]
Written by Mike Melanson / February 2, 2010 1:09 AM
The rumors have been flying over what's going on over at Facebook headquarters. The word has been that a PHP team was brought in and made to sign non-disclosure agreements before discussing a PHP project that has been in development for the past two years. Alex Handy, senior editor of the Software Development Times Blog, predicted last Saturday that Facebook "has rewritten the PHP runtime from scratch," and several sources have confirmed for us tonight that Facebook has indeed been making some changes to the basic PHP runtime environment.
According to our sources, Facebook has been working on a PHP compiler that will increase speed by around 80% and offer a just-in-time (JIT) compilation engine that will offer a number of advantages. The project is very similar to Google's Unladen Swallow project, which rebuilt the Python compiler, boosting the speed fivefold and opening the door for multi-language integration. [Read more]
posted by: gqjournal
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