On the PECL-dev mailing list lately, there's been quite a discussion about adding a String object to PHP - a proposal from Jessie Hernandez.

There has been a fairly lengthy discussion on the PECL-dev email list about adding a String object to PHP (via PECL). The extension is being proposed by Jessie Hernandez as a way to handle strings in an object oriented way and to organize the plethora of core functions for working with strings. There may also be some memory advantages by allowing these String object to not create copies, but to overwrite the current buffer (it is a mutable string object that is being proposed). Read more from a new post on Jackson Miller's blog.

His proposal would make developers create a string object and perform the functions on that object - instead of just creating a variable and acting on that. He opposes the extension, stating that the additional features just might not be worth the overhead it would cause...

Thanks to PHP Magazine for the pointer.