PHP 8.5 has been officially released, marking a significant update to the widely used scripting language. The release introduces a long-awaited pipe operator, a feature that allows developers to chain function calls more efficiently, reducing the need for extraneous variables and nested statements. This operator is designed to enhance code readability, drawing inspiration from languages like R, F#, Clojure, and Elixir, as well, as the proposed pipe operator in JavaScript. Additionally, the update includes a new URI parser that adheres to both RFC 3986 and WHATWG URL standards, addressing a critical need for developers working with web applications. The previous parse_url() function, which has been part of PHP since version 4, has been deprecated due to its lack of compliance with modern standards and potential security vulnerabilities. Other noteworthy additions to the language include Clone With for updating properties more efficiently, the #[\NoDiscard] attribute for warning when a return value goes unused, the ability to use static closures and first-class callables in constant expressions, and persistent cURL handles that can be shared across multiple PHP requests. These updates aim to improve developer productivity and enhance the language’s capabilities for modern web development.