# symfony/polyfill-php73

Symfony polyfill backporting some PHP 7.3+ features to lower PHP versions

Repository: https://github.com/symfony/polyfill-php73
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/polyfill-php73
Homepage: https://symfony.com/polyfill-php73
Language: PHP
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: symfony, polyfill, component, symfony-component, compatibility, javascript, portable, shim, symfony-polyfill
Last push: 2026-04-26T14:44:45+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 84/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 79, release rhythm 81, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3052, "days_push": 129, "days_rel": 129, "gap_med": 3, "n_releases_24m": 4}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2370, forks 6 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:41.765009+00:00)

## What it is
A Symfony polyfill component that backports PHP 7.3 core functions such as array_key_first, array_key_last, hrtime, is_countable, and JsonException to older PHP versions. It lets codebases use PHP 7.3 APIs while still running on earlier PHP runtimes.

## Use cases
- use array_key_first and array_key_last on PHP 7.1 or 7.2
- call hrtime for high-resolution timing on older PHP
- use is_countable before upgrading to PHP 7.3
- catch JsonException on PHP versions below 7.3
- write code targeting PHP 7.3 APIs while supporting legacy PHP runtimes

## When to choose
- your library or app must run on PHP versions older than 7.3 but uses 7.3 functions
- you maintain a widely distributed package that needs broad PHP version compatibility

## When to avoid
- your codebase already requires PHP 7.3 or newer
- you need polyfills for features from other PHP versions

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, programming-languages
- platform: php
- tags: polyfill, shim, php-73, compatibility, symfony-component

## Member repositories
- symfony/polyfill-php73 (main) score 84

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:41.765009+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:35:25.522352+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/symfony/polyfill-php73 (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:41.765009+00:00, sha 383c43a2d58c)
  - homepage: https://symfony.com/polyfill-php73 (fetched 2026-08-29T10:16:17.306119+00:00, sha bde85d9afbf5)
  - site_page: https://symfony.com/doc (fetched 2026-08-29T10:16:17.309003+00:00, sha 44889134f4fb)
  - site_page: https://symfony.com/releases (fetched 2026-08-29T10:16:17.311330+00:00, sha 2fd410222cfe)
  - site_page: https://symfony.com/blog/category/releases (fetched 2026-08-29T10:16:17.313664+00:00, sha a84b8a49342e)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.