Phars are PHP Archives. Kind of like a Java JAR file, but for PHP uses. They're great for distributing executable command line utilities written in PHP. However, creating one is not the simplest thing ever.

1. Creating a PHAR
for Greater Good!
http://bit.ly/1jnCGcu

2. ● Software Architect at
Linio
● All around nerd
● Systems Administrator
for 7 years
● @aramonc in all the
places
About Me

3. like a Java JAR, but for PHP
PHp ARchive

4. Available since PHP 5.3

5. ● Composer
● PHPUnit
● Magento
● Pear
● phpDox
● Phing
Used by ...

6. Common Uses ...
● Command Line Utilities
● Libraries
● Whole Applications
● Frameworks
● Creating Tar & Zip files

7. Composed of ...
● A Stub
● A manifest describing the contents
● The file contents
● A signature (optional, phar format only)

8. phar.readonly = Off

9. <?php
$baseDir = realpath(dirname(__DIR__));
$saveLoc = $baseDir . “/build/backup.phar”;
$alias = “backup”;
$flags = FileSystemIterator::CURRENT_AS_FILEINFO |
FileSystemIterator::KEY_AS_PATHNAME;
$phar = new Phar($saveLoc, $flags, $alias);
The Compiler Script

10. <?php
$phar->startBuffering();
$autoload = $baseDir . '/vendor/autoload.php';
$runner = $baseDir . '/bin/backup_runner.php';
$phar->addFile($autoload, '/vendor/autoload.php');
$phar->addFile($runner, '/bin/backups.php');
The Compiler Script

11. <?php
/** @var SPLFileInfo $file */
foreach($files as $file) {
$path = $file->getRealPath();
$path = str_replace($baseDir . ‘/’, '', $path);
$path = strtr($path, '', '/');
The Compiler Script

12. <?php
if($file->isDir()) {
$phar->addEmptyDir('/' . $path);
}
if($file->isFile() && !$file->isDir()) {
$phar->addFile($file->getRealPath(), $path);
}
}
The Compiler Script

13. <?php
$phar->buildFromDirectory($baseDir);
// OR
$phar->buildFromIterator($dirIterator);
The Compiler Script … an Alternative

14. <?php
$stub = file_get_contents($baseDir . '/bin/stub.php');
$phar->setStub($stub);
$phar->stopBuffering();
The Compiler Script

15. #!/usr/bin/env php
<?php
set_time_limit(3000);
Phar::mapPhar("backup");
require "phar://backup/bin/backups.php";
__HALT_COMPILER();
The Stub

16. $> php backup.phar
Using the PHAR
<?php
include 'phar://coollibrary.phar/internal/file.php';
header('Content-type: image/jpeg');
// phars can be accessed by full path or by alias
echo file_get_contents('phar:///fullpath/to/coollibrary.
phar/images/wow.jpg');

17. $> phar help-list
add compress delete extract help
help-list info list meta-del meta-get
meta-set pack sign stub-get
stub-set tree version
Debugging

18. Creating a Tar or Zip file
● Can be done with phar.readonly = 1
● Should not have a stub or alias
● Should use tar or zip extensions

19. <?php
$tar = new Phar($saveLoc, $flags, $alias, Phar::TAR);
$tar->compress(Phar::GZ)
$zip = new Phar($saveLoc, $flags, $alias, Phar::ZIP);
$zip->compress(Phar::BZ2)
Creating a Tar or Zip file

20. The box Project
● https://github.com/box-project/
● Framework for creating Phar files
● Lots of utility functions & classes for the
compiler script
● Not part of your project
● Box 3 has been in development for over a
year

21. A word on performance
● APC does not support PHAR
● Using the PHAR format is faster than Tar or
Zip
● Avoid compression if you’re going to use it
on the web

22. Resources
● PHP.net PHAR Manual
● Composer Compiler
● WebPhar Tutorial
● Working with .phar files
● Iterators in PHP - by Jake Smith @jakefolio
● Backup Project

23. Thank you!!