Phar
The phar extension provides a way to put entire PHP applications into a single file called a "phar" (PHP Archive) for easy distribution and installation. In addition to providing this service, the phar extension also provides a file-format abstraction method for creating and manipulating tar and zip files through the PharData class, much as PDO provides a unified interface for accessing different databases. Unlike PDO, which cannot convert between different databases, Phar also can convert between tar, zip and phar file formats with a single line of code. see Phar::convertToExecutable() for one example.
What is phar? Phar archives are best characterized as a convenient way to group several files into a single file. As such, a phar archive provides a way to distribute a complete PHP application in a single file and run it from that file without the need to extract it to disk. Additionally, phar archives can be executed by PHP as easily as any other file, both on the commandline and from a web server. Phar is kind of like a thumb drive for PHP applications.
Phar implements this functionality through a Stream Wrapper. Normally, to use an external file within a PHP script, you would use include()
We have not found any host with the "Phar Extension" enabled!
You can also view the list of all php extensions on this page.
