phpscriptjs

v0.1.0

Published

a month ago

PHPScript — real PHP syntax, compiled to JavaScript. Toy language + live browser playground.

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php phpscript compiler transpiler javascript template playground

PHPScript

Real PHP syntax, compiled to JavaScript. A toy language where you write actual .php files — <?php ... ?>, <?= ... ?>, HTML templates, classes, foreach, the whole vibe — and the compiler spits out portable JavaScript you can run with Node or in the browser.

<?php
$langs = ['PHP', 'JS', 'TypeScript'];
foreach ($langs as $l): ?>
  <li><?= strtoupper($l) ?></li>
<?php endforeach; ?>

Install

npm install -g phpscriptjs

This installs a php binary.

Heads up — the CLI is literally named php. That's part of the joke. If real PHP is already on your $PATH, whichever comes first wins. If you want both, alias PHPScript to something else:
alias phps='$(npm bin -g)/php'   # or wherever npm put it

Quick start

# Run a file
php hello.php

# Or explicitly
php run hello.php

# Compile to .js
php build src/ -o dist/

# Watch mode
php watch src/

# Launch the live browser playground at http://localhost:5173
php serve

Inline one-liners work too:

php -e '<?php echo "Hello " . strtoupper("world") . "!";'

Browser playground

The repo ships with a live playground: PHPScript on the left, rendered HTML (or raw output, or compiled JS) on the right, recompiled as you type.

npm run dev
# or: php serve --port 5173

Then open http://localhost:5173. Share a snippet by clicking Share link — the code is encoded into the URL hash.

Language features

Tags & output

<?php ... ?>, <?= expr ?>, short <? ... ?>
echo, print
Trailing ?> is optional

Literals

Numbers, true/false/null
'single' strings (no interpolation)
"double" strings with $var and {$expr} interpolation
Arrays: [1, 2, 3] -> JS array, ['a' => 1] -> JS object, mixed -> object

Variables

$name maps 1:1 to JS $name
Reserved-word collisions (e.g. $class) are mangled safely

Operators

Arithmetic, comparison (==, ===, !=, !==), logical (&&, ||, !, and, or, xor)
String concat . compiles to JS + with string coercion
Null coalescing ??, ternary ?:, Elvis ?:, spaceship <=>
Pre/post ++/--, compound assigns (+=, .=, ...)

Control flow

if / elseif / else, both brace and alternative if: / elseif: / else: / endif; forms
while, do-while, for, foreach (both as $v and as $k => $v)
switch/case/default, break, continue, return

Functions & classes

function f($a, $b = 1, ...$rest) — defaults + rest
Anonymous: function ($x) use ($y) { ... }, arrow: fn ($x) => $x * 2
class Foo extends Bar { public $x = 1; function m() { $this->x; } } → ES6 class
$obj->m(), $obj->prop, Foo::staticM(), new Foo(...), self::, parent::, static::, $this

Superglobals & builtins (in `src/runtime.js`)

$_GET, $_POST, $_SERVER, $_ENV (populated from process.env in Node, empty in the browser)
Strings: strlen, strtoupper, strtolower, trim, ltrim, rtrim, str_replace, substr, explode, implode/join, sprintf (minimal), str_repeat, str_pad, str_contains, str_starts_with, str_ends_with, number_format, ucfirst, lcfirst, ucwords, htmlspecialchars
Arrays: count, array_map, array_filter, array_reduce, array_keys, array_values, in_array, array_push, array_pop, array_shift, array_unshift, array_merge, array_reverse, array_slice, array_sum, array_unique, range, sort
Types & misc: isset, empty, is_array, is_string, is_numeric, is_int, is_bool, is_null, intval, floatval, strval, boolval, abs, min, max, round, floor, ceil, print_r, var_dump, json_encode, json_decode, date, time

Example: `examples/template.php`

<?php
$users = [
  ['name' => 'Ada',  'age' => 36],
  ['name' => 'Alan', 'age' => 41],
];
function greet($u) { return "Hi, " . $u['name'] . "!"; }
?>
<!doctype html>
<h1>Users (<?= count($users) ?>)</h1>
<ul>
<?php foreach ($users as $u): ?>
  <li><?= greet($u) ?> — age <?= $u['age'] ?></li>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</ul>

Run it:

php examples/template.php

Compiles to (roughly):

const { __echo, __str, __entries, count } = require('/abs/path/to/runtime.js');
let $users = [
  { name: 'Ada',  age: 36 },
  { name: 'Alan', age: 41 },
];
function greet($u) { return __str('Hi, ') + __str($u['name']) + __str('!'); }
__echo("<!doctype html>\n<h1>Users (");
__echo(count($users));
__echo(")</h1>\n<ul>\n");
for (const $u of __values($users)) {
  __echo("\n  <li>");
  __echo(greet($u));
  __echo(" — age ");
  __echo($u['age']);
  __echo("</li>\n");
}
__echo("\n</ul>\n");

Not supported (explicit non-goals)

PHPScript is a demo, not a migration tool. It doesn't implement:

PHP's full type-juggling rules for == (JS == is used as an approximation)
References (&$x) — parsed, treated as normal bindings
Traits, interfaces, enums, attributes
Generators / yield
preg_* regex family, full sprintf format specifiers
Namespaces, use imports, autoloading
Any of the standard PHP extensions (MySQL, GD, curl, ...)

If you need real PHP, use real PHP.

Architecture

.php source
   │
   ▼
┌──────┐   tokens   ┌────────┐   AST   ┌─────────┐   JS
│Lexer │──────────▶│ Parser │────────▶│ Codegen │───────▶ Node (stdout)
└──────┘            └────────┘         └─────────┘        Browser (iframe)
                                                          │
                                           runtime.js ────┘

Lexer (src/lexer.js): dual-mode. Emits RAW_TEXT tokens for HTML between PHP tags; flips into code mode on <?php / <?= / <? and back on ?>.
Parser (src/parser.js): hand-written recursive-descent + Pratt expression parser with proper PHP precedence.
Codegen (src/codegen.js): walks the AST and emits JavaScript. Variable hoisting, string interpolation to template literals, foreach to for ... of, classes to ES6 classes, etc.
Runtime (src/runtime.js): the PHP standard library, implemented in plain JS. Imported by generated code, inlined into the browser bundle.
CLI (src/cli.js): run, build, watch, serve.
Playground (web/): static HTML + CodeJar editor + Prism highlighting + sandboxed <iframe> preview. Recompiles on every keystroke.

Scripts

npm test            # run the example test suite
npm run build:web   # bundle the browser-safe compiler via esbuild
npm run dev         # shortcut for `php serve`

License

MIT