FrankenPHP: a modern app server for PHP and Symfony apps

FrankenPHP is a modern application server for PHP built in Go. FrankenPHP gives superpowers to your PHP apps: Early Hints, worker mode, real-time capabilities, automatic HTTPS, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3 support...

How does Symfony fit with FrankenPHP? What benefits does it bring to the Symfony ecosystem?

Symfony Runtime, Symfony HttpFoundation, Symfony Mercure, Symfony Local Web Server... let's see how the Symfony ecosystem can leverage FrankenPHP for the sake of performance and simplicity!

This is a variant of: https://dunglas.dev/2022/10/frankenphp-the-modern-php-app-server-written-in-go/

Transcript

1. A modern app server
   for PHP and Symfony
   https://frankenphp.dev
   

   View Slide

2. ➔ PHP
   API Platform creator,
   Symfony maintainer
   ➔ GO
   Go core contributor, Mercure.rocks
   and Vulcain.rocks creator
   ➔ C
   PHP core contributor
   Kévin Dunglas:
   Polyglot Dev
   @dunglas
   

   View Slide

3. Web and Cloud Experts
   ➔ 100% employee-owned co-op ✊
   ➔ Democratically managed 💬
   ➔ 70 people 🦄
   ➔ Distributed company 🌎
   ➔ contact@les-tilleuls.coop 💌
   

   View Slide

4. FrankenPHP
   A modern app server for PHP
   and Symfony
   ➔ Built for containers
   ➔ Worker mode
   ➔ 103 Early Hints support
   ➔ Real-time support (Mercure module)
   ➔ Compatible with all existing PHP apps:
   progressive enhancement
   

   View Slide

5. Symfony and Containers
   

   View Slide

6. Containers: Which SAPI?
   Server Application Programming
   Interface: interface between the PHP
   interpreter and web servers
   ➔ Apache module
   ➔ FPM (FastCGI Process Manager)
   ➔ CGI (Common Gateway Interface)
   ➔ NGINX Unit (not the NGINX
   you’re used to)
   ➔ …
   

   View Slide

7. ➔ Simple
   ➔ Web server + PHP = 1 service
   ➔ Default solution for containers
   DRAWBACKS:
   ➔ Works only with Apache
   ➔ Less performant than FPM
   Apache Module
   

   View Slide

8. FPM
   ➔ Most popular SAPI
   ➔ Supported by most web servers:
   Caddy, NGINX, Apache…
   DRAWBACKS:
   ➔ External service
   ➔ Require a UNIX or a TCP socket
   ➔ Hard to containerize
   

   View Slide

9. © sergioska
   FPM and
   containers
   

   View Slide

10. Can We Do
    Better?!
    

    View Slide

11. ➔ Perfect for containers
    ◆ Just 1 service
    ◆ No external dependencies
    ◆ Batteries included
    ➔ Contains the Caddy web server
    ◆ All Caddy features and modules
    ◆ Benefits from Go features
    ◆ Extensible: in Go, in C, in PHP
    ➔ Prod, CI and dev
    FrankenPHP: Modern PHP App Server
    

    View Slide

12. ➔ Standalone Go library
    ➔ Embed PHP in your Go programs
    ➔ New SAPI for Go net/http
    ◆ Caddy, Symfony CLI, Traefik, K8S…
    ◆ Your custom Go app
    ➔ Caddy module using the library
    ➔ Unique features
    The ❤ of FrankenPHP: A New SAPI For Go
    

    View Slide

13. ➔ Easy to configure
    ➔ Cloud native:
    API, hot config reloading…
    ➔ Automatic HTTPS
    ➔ HTTP/2, HTTP/3, Early Hints…
    ➔ Extensible with modules:
    Mercure, Vulcain, OAuth, OIDC…
    ➔ Prod ready
    ➔ Server of Symfony Docker
    ➔ Written in Go 😻: secure and fast
    Caddy: The New Kid on the Block
    

    View Slide

14. ➔ Compatible with existing PHP apps!
    ➔ 1 service, 1 minimal Docker image 😍
    ➔ Also works without Docker
    ➔ Entirely configurable
    ◆ Caddyfile
    ◆ php.ini
    ➔ Free software
    (as in free speech ✊, and free beer 🍺)
    FrankenPHP: At a Glance
    

    View Slide

15. Getting Started
    

    View Slide

16. Getting Started
    

    View Slide

17. Alternative: Symfony CLI
    ➔ Simple local web server
    ➔ Built-in TLS support
    ➔ Dev environments only
    ➔ Auto-detects and auto-configures:
    ● PHP FPM and CLI
    ● Docker Compose services: Postgres, MySQL,
    Mailcatcher, Redis, RabbitMQ…
    ➔ Works with any PHP app (even if not using SF)
    ➔ Written in Go 😻
    @dunglas
    

    View Slide

18. 🧪 Symfony CLI X FrankenPHP
    

    View Slide

19. FrankenPHP Superpower: The Worker Mode
    ➔ Boot your application once
    ➔ Keep it in memory
    ➔ Process incoming requests without having to
    boot your app again
    ➔ Relies on goroutines and channels
    ➔ Compatible with Symfony Runtime
    ➔ Somewhat similar to RoadRunner
    ➔ Unlike RoadRunner
    ◆ runs in process: no network calls,
    no gRPC
    ◆ uses plain old superglobals: no PSR-7
    

    View Slide

20. Worker Script
    

    View Slide

21. Starting the Worker Mode
    By default, one worker per CPU is started.
    

    View Slide

22. The Runtime Component
    

    View Slide

23. Symfony App in Worker Mode
    

    View Slide

24. FrankenPHP: Worker Benchmark 🧪
    ➔ Setup:
    ◆ Hello World Symfony app (prod mode)
    ◆ Caddy Web Server (HTTP/2)
    ◆ 3000 requests, 100 connected users
    ◆ Benchmark tool: K6
    ➔ Average request duration:
    ◆ FPM: 9.45ms
    ◆ FrankenPHP (worker): 2.53ms
    ➔ Take it with a grain of salt, run your own!
    

    View Slide

25. 103 Early
    Hints
    

    View Slide

26. Typical
    Web Page
    © Google
    

    View Slide

27. 103 Early
    Hints
    © Google
    

    View Slide

28. Early Hints: Not Possible With PHP
    

    View Slide

29. Early Hints: Possible With Go
    👋
    

    View Slide

30. Early Hints: Supported by FrankenPHP ⚡
    

    View Slide

31. Early Hints: Symfony 6.3 ⚡
    

    View Slide

32. Real-time
    

    View Slide

33. FrankenPHP includes a Mercure hub!
    

    View Slide

34. ➔ Symfony (worker mode)
    ➔ API Platform (worker mode)
    ➔ Sulu (worker mode)
    ➔ Drupal
    ➔ Shopware
    ➔ WordPress
    ➔ All tested PHP extensions, including
    opcache and parallel
    Projects Known to Work With FrankenPHP
    

    View Slide

35. ➔ Test, test and test again
    ➔ Release a stable version when PHP
    8.2 will be out
    ➔ 🚧 Add Windows support
    ➔ Add a built-in distributed HTTP cache
    server
    ➔ Add a built-in distributed cache
    system (like Memcache)
    ➔ Conquer the (PHP) world
    ➔ Contributions welcome!
    What’s next?!
    

    View Slide

36. Try it,
    give it a star on GitHub...
    … and win Laury’s merch
    at our booth!
    Thanks!
    frankenphp.dev
    @dunglas
    

    View Slide