Xdebug 2.1.0beta1 released

It has been two years since I released Xdebug 2.0.0. Since then I've added many new features to Xdebug. For some of those new features you can find a little description below—I will write more about these, and other features later.

Besides the features, I also fixed a whole array of bugs and Xdebug 2.1.0 comes with PHP 5.3 support. From now on I will not be supporting any PHP versions less than PHP 5.1 anymore. But now on to the descriptions:

Header Setting Interception

All functions that set HTTP headers such as with header() and setcookie() are now intercepted by Xdebug. The intercepted headers are stored internally in an array that can be retrieved by calling the xdebug_get_headers() function. This is very useful in cases where you need to test certain functionality that sets headers somewhere deep in code. This function is also used in eZ Components' test suite to test whether the correct HTTP headers are set in the MvcTools component.

Variable Assignment Tracing

Allows you to record changes to variables in scripts to trace files. I've already written more about it in Variable tracing with Xdebug.

"Scream" Support

The scream PECL extension disables the @ (shut-up) operator to actually see all notices, warnings and errors that PHP generates. The scream extension's functionality have been duplicated as Xdebug's xdebug.scream php.ini setting. Why disabling the @-operator is a good thing, I've already outlined in Five reasons why the shut-op operator (@) should be avoided.

What's Next?

There are still a few bugs left that need some attention, but this first beta should have most of them fixed. Please test the beta as much as you can and provide feedback in the issue tracker. After this initial beta it is like that one more more betas will follow before I prepare a release candidate. Xdebug 2.1.0beta1 can be obtained through the Xdebug website and a full changelog is also available. You can also follow Xdebug on twitter to be kept up-to-date with the latest developments.