Opcode Specialisation

Opcode specialization refers to the process of optimizing how PHP’s Zend Engine executes opcodes, by tailoring them to specific contexts, data types, or execution paths. This is part of PHP’s internal optimization strategy, especially in recent versions, such as 8.0 and more recent, to improve performance and reduce overhead.

See also What’s new in PHP 8.5 in terms of performance, debugging and operations.

Related : Opcode, Monomorphization