commandprompt · jdatcmd · Jul 6, 2026 · Jul 6, 2026 · Jul 6, 2026
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,13 +5,13 @@ All notable changes to PL/php are documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and the project aims to follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
 
-## [Unreleased]
+## [2.4.0] - 2026-07-06
 
 ### Fixed
 
 - **Per-function memory contexts.** Each compiled function's descriptor and
   subsidiary data (fmgr info records included) now live in their own memory
-  context, deleted wholesale on redefinition — implementing a FIXME as old
+  context, deleted wholesale on redefinition, implementing a FIXME as old
   as the file. This also closes a use-after-free window: the compiled-
   function cache used to briefly point at freed memory during recompilation,
   which an unluckily timed statement cancel could have hit.
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ and the project aims to follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
   fields of composite arguments, and composites inside arrays now arrive as
   associative PHP arrays (recursively, arrays included), and PHP arrays
   convert back to composite values on return, in `return_next` rows, and
-  through trigger `MODIFY` — completing the structural-conversion work begun
+  through trigger `MODIFY`, completing the structural-conversion work begun
   with array columns in 2.3.0.
 - `anycompatible` and `anycompatiblearray` are accepted as polymorphic
   argument/return types on PostgreSQL 13 and newer.
@@ -55,16 +55,16 @@ and the project aims to follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
   (`doc/benchmarks.md`) comparing PL/php with PL/pgSQL and PL/Perl: within a
   few percent on scalar and string work, 1.75× PL/Perl on SPI row loops.
 
-## [2.3.0] — 2026-07-06
+## [2.3.0] - 2026-07-06
 
 ### Added
 
-- **Continuous integration** — a GitHub Actions matrix building and running
+- **Continuous integration**: a GitHub Actions matrix building and running
   the full regression suite (core + `jsonb_plphp`) on PostgreSQL 11-18 and
   PHP 8.1/8.2/8.3/8.4 for every pull request.
 - **VARIADIC parameters.** A variadic function's collected arguments arrive
   as a single PHP array, matching every other PL (`VARIADIC "any"` remains
-  unsupported and is rejected with a clear error). Previously any VARIADIC
+  unsupported and is rejected with an error). Previously any VARIADIC
   declaration failed.
 
 ### Changed
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ and the project aims to follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
   several are installed (see INSTALL for a packaging caveat about shared
   SONAMEs).
 
-## [2.2.0] — 2026-07-05
+## [2.2.0] - 2026-07-05
 
 ### Added
 
@@ -99,24 +99,24 @@ and the project aims to follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
   errors inside `subtransaction()` callbacks are now catchable too.
 - **Whole-array set-returning functions.** An SRF may return the entire result
   set as one array with one element per row (PL/Perl's "return a reference to
-  an array" form), instead of — or in addition to — calling `return_next`.
+  an array" form), instead of or in addition to calling `return_next`.
   This had been PL/php 1.x behavior that 2.0 silently broke (such functions
   returned zero rows).
-- **`spi_each(query, callable)`** — invoke a callback once per row, streaming
+- **`spi_each(query, callable)`**: invoke a callback once per row, streaming
   over a cursor; returning `false` stops early. The inline-loop equivalent of
   PL/Tcl's `spi_exec -array a $query { body }`.
-- **`plphp.on_init`** — a snippet of PHP source executed when the interpreter
+- **`plphp.on_init`**: a snippet of PHP source executed when the interpreter
   is first initialized in a session, before modules and `plphp.start_proc`;
   the counterpart of `plperl.on_init`.
-- **`jsonb_plphp` transform extension** — with `TRANSFORM FOR TYPE jsonb`,
+- **`jsonb_plphp` transform extension**: with `TRANSFORM FOR TYPE jsonb`,
   jsonb arguments arrive as native PHP values (arrays/int/float/bool/null)
   and PHP values convert straight back to jsonb, like `jsonb_plperl` (which
   PL/Tcl has no equivalent of). PL/php core gained the `TRANSFORM FOR TYPE`
   protocol support this builds on.
 
-- **A tested cookbook** (`doc/cookbook.md`): practical recipes — `filter_var`
+- **A tested cookbook** (`doc/cookbook.md`): `filter_var`
   CHECK constraints, bcrypt passwords, HMAC tokens, recursive JSON reshaping,
-  regex set-returning functions, a generic JSON-diff audit trigger, batch
+  regex set-returning functions, a JSON-diff audit trigger, batch
   processing with periodic commits, streaming scans that stop early, CSV and
   XML shredding, and zlib compression. Every recipe in the "Tested" section
   runs in the new `cookbook` regression test.
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ and the project aims to follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
 - **INOUT parameters in procedures work.** `CALL` on a PL/php procedure with
   INOUT parameters used to fail ("function returning record called in
   context that cannot accept type record"): a procedure's result is always a
-  record — even with a single INOUT parameter — which broke both the
+  record (even with a single INOUT parameter), which broke both the
   single-OUT scalar-return shortcut and the record descriptor lookup (which
   needed a `ReturnSetInfo` that `CALL` never supplies; it is now derived
   from the parameter declarations via `get_call_result_type`). The usual
@@ -151,11 +151,11 @@ and the project aims to follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
   of the old "value starts with `{`" heuristic, so a `text` argument whose
   value happens to start with a brace is no longer misparsed as an array.
 
-## [2.1.0] — 2026-07-05
+## [2.1.0] - 2026-07-05
 
 ### Added
 
-- **Cursor-streaming SPI** — `spi_query(query)` opens a cursor and returns its
+- **Cursor-streaming SPI**: `spi_query(query)` opens a cursor and returns its
   name, `spi_fetchrow(cursor)` fetches one row at a time (returning `false`
   and closing the cursor at exhaustion), and `spi_cursor_close(cursor)`
   abandons a cursor early. Large result sets can now be scanned in constant
@@ -170,25 +170,25 @@ and the project aims to follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
   result resource); code that relied on the alias should call
   `spi_exec_prepared` instead.
 
-## [2.0.0] — 2026-07-01
+## [2.0.0] - 2026-07-01
 
 A ground-up modernization of PL/php (the previous release, 1.4, dates from 2010)
 for current software. Tested on **PostgreSQL 11 through 18** with **PHP 8.3**
 (embed SAPI, non-thread-safe).
 
 ### Added
 
-- **Anonymous `DO` blocks** — `DO $$ ... $$ LANGUAGE plphp`, via an inline
+- **Anonymous `DO` blocks**: `DO $$ ... $$ LANGUAGE plphp`, via an inline
   handler.
-- **Event trigger functions** — `RETURNS event_trigger`, with `$_TD['event']`
+- **Event trigger functions**: `RETURNS event_trigger`, with `$_TD['event']`
   and `$_TD['tag']`.
-- **Prepared statements** — `spi_prepare`, `spi_exec_prepared`,
+- **Prepared statements**: `spi_prepare`, `spi_exec_prepared`,
   `spi_query_prepared`, and `spi_freeplan`.
-- **Transaction control** in procedures — `spi_commit` and `spi_rollback`.
-- **Explicit subtransactions** — `subtransaction(callable, ...)`.
-- **Quoting helpers** — `quote_literal`, `quote_nullable`, `quote_ident`.
+- **Transaction control** in procedures: `spi_commit` and `spi_rollback`.
+- **Explicit subtransactions**: `subtransaction(callable, ...)`.
+- **Quoting helpers**: `quote_literal`, `quote_nullable`, `quote_ident`.
 - **`elog(level, message)`** supporting `DEBUG`/`LOG`/`INFO`/`NOTICE`/`WARNING`/`ERROR`.
-- **Session initialization** — module autoloading from a `plphp_modules` table
+- **Session initialization**: module autoloading from a `plphp_modules` table
   and a `plphp.start_proc` configuration setting.
 - Packaging as a first-class extension (`CREATE EXTENSION plphp`) and a
   regression test for every new feature.
@@ -228,21 +228,21 @@ for current software. Tested on **PostgreSQL 11 through 18** with **PHP 8.3**
   the `TRUSTED` attribute; only superusers may install the extension or create
   PL/php functions.
 
-## [1.4] — 2010-07-12
+## [1.4] - 2010-07-12
 
 ### Added
 
 - Support for PostgreSQL 8.4 and 9.0.
 - Support for PHP 5.3.
 
-## [1.3.5-beta1] — 2007-10-15
+## [1.3.5-beta1] - 2007-10-15
 
 ### Added
 
 - Support for parameter names.
 - Support for PostgreSQL 8.3.
 
-## [1.3.3] — 2007-03-29
+## [1.3.3] - 2007-03-29
 
 ### Added
 
@@ -258,31 +258,31 @@ for current software. Tested on **PostgreSQL 11 through 18** with **PHP 8.3**
 - Several memory leaks.
 - Bugs in argument handling.
 
-## [1.3.2] — 2007-03-01
+## [1.3.2] - 2007-03-01
 
 ### Changed
 
 - Link against the PHP embed SAPI instead of Apache's `mod_php`, making the
-  build far more robust against internal PHP changes.
+  build robust against internal PHP changes.
 
 ### Added
 
 - `configure` support for detecting required utilities and libraries.
 
-## [1.3.1] — 2006-12-01
+## [1.3.1] - 2006-12-01
 
 ### Changed
 
 - Minor Makefile cleanups.
 
-## [1.2] — 2005-12-13
+## [1.2] - 2005-12-13
 
 ### Added
 
 - Set-returning functions.
 - Support for PostgreSQL 8.0.
 
-## [1.1] — 2005-12-05
+## [1.1] - 2005-12-05
 
 Supports PostgreSQL 8.0 and 8.1.
 

diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ MODULE_big = plphp
 OBJS = plphp.o plphp_io.o plphp_spi.o
 
 EXTENSION = plphp
-DATA = plphp--2.3.sql plphp--2.0--2.1.sql plphp--2.1--2.2.sql plphp--2.2--2.3.sql
+DATA = plphp--2.4.sql plphp--2.0--2.1.sql plphp--2.1--2.2.sql plphp--2.2--2.3.sql plphp--2.3--2.4.sql
 
 # PHP embed SAPI compile/link flags, discovered via php-config.
 PHP_CONFIG ?= php-config

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 
 PL/php is a procedural-language handler that lets you write database functions in
 **PHP**, stored and executed inside PostgreSQL. You get the convenience of PHP's
-standard library with the full power of a native PostgreSQL function — plain
+standard library as a native PostgreSQL function: plain
 functions, set-returning functions, triggers, event triggers, and procedures
 with transaction control.
 
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ regression suite with `make installcheck`.
 > [!WARNING]
 > **PL/php is an untrusted language.** On modern PHP there is no sandbox
 > (`safe_mode` was removed in PHP 5.4), so a PL/php function can do anything the
-> PostgreSQL server's operating-system user can — read and write files, open
+> PostgreSQL server's operating-system user can: read and write files, open
 > network connections, run shell commands, and so on.
 
 The language is created **without** the `TRUSTED` attribute, so only superusers
@@ -133,8 +133,8 @@ roles you would trust with the server's OS account.
 ## Documentation
 
 - [Language reference](doc/plphp.md)
-- [Cookbook — tested recipes](doc/cookbook.md)
-- [Benchmarks](doc/benchmarks.md) — within a few percent of PL/pgSQL on scalar work; 1.75× PL/Perl on row loops
+- [Cookbook: tested recipes](doc/cookbook.md)
+- [Benchmarks](doc/benchmarks.md): within a few percent of PL/pgSQL on scalar work; 1.75x PL/Perl on row loops
 - [Installation](INSTALL)
 - [Changelog](CHANGELOG.md)
 - [PL/php vs PL/Perl](doc/plperl-comparison.md)
@@ -143,4 +143,4 @@ roles you would trust with the server's OS account.
 ## License
 
 PL/php is copyright © Command Prompt, Inc. and is distributed under a permissive,
-PostgreSQL-style license — see the notice at the top of each source file.
+PostgreSQL-style license; see the notice at the top of each source file.
diff --git a/doc/benchmarks.md b/doc/benchmarks.md
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ warm session, Ubuntu 24.04 container on x86-64. Higher is better; treat
 - **Row iteration is PL/pgSQL's home turf.** Its `FOR ... IN SELECT` loop
   iterates natively without crossing a language boundary per row. PL/php
   pays a C-to-PHP conversion per row (one output-function call and one zval
-  per column) — and is still **1.75× faster than PL/Perl**, which
+  per column) and is still **1.75x faster than PL/Perl**, which
   materializes the entire result into Perl structures up front.
 - **Repeated SPI statements** carry a per-call subtransaction in both PL/php
   and PL/Perl (that is what makes their errors catchable); PL/pgSQL's
@@ -43,12 +43,12 @@ per row) measured as a no-op: the row-loop cost lives in per-cell value
 conversion, not key handling. The optimization was dropped rather than
 carried as complexity without benefit. A future fast path worth exploring is
 converting common scalar types (int/float/bool/text) from their binary Datum
-form instead of through the type output functions — that requires threading
+form instead of through the type output functions; that requires threading
 type metadata into `spi_fetch_row`'s result handling.
 
 ## Guidance
 
-- For pure computation, use whichever language reads best — the overhead
+- For pure computation, use whichever language reads best; the overhead
   differences are negligible.
 - For tight loops over large results, prefer a set-based SQL statement (or
   PL/pgSQL) when the logic allows; when you need PHP's expressiveness per

diff --git a/doc/cookbook.md b/doc/cookbook.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 Practical, self-contained recipes showing where PL/php earns its keep over
 `plpgsql`: PHP's standard library. Everything in the first section is run by
-the `cookbook` regression test on every supported PostgreSQL version — if it's
+the `cookbook` regression test on every supported PostgreSQL version: if it's
 on this page, it works.
 
 The embedded interpreter ships with `json`, `pcre`, `openssl`, `sodium`,
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ is available too if libargon2 was compiled in.
 
 ### HMAC-signed tokens
 
-Issue and verify tamper-proof tokens with a server-side secret — no extension
+Issue and verify tamper-proof tokens with a server-side secret, no extension
 needed:
 
 ```sql
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ otherwise, and uses constant-time `hash_equals`.
 
 ### Reshape JSON recursively
 
-Deeply redact keys anywhere in a document — awkward with `jsonb` operators,
+Deeply redact keys anywhere in a document. Awkward with `jsonb` operators,
 three lines of PHP:
 
 ```sql
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ CALL process_queue(1000);
 
 ### Stream a big scan, stop early
 
-A cursor (`spi_query`) reads rows one at a time in constant memory — close it
+A cursor (`spi_query`) reads rows one at a time in constant memory. Close it
 as soon as you have your answer instead of materializing millions of rows:
 
 ```sql
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ $$;
 
 ### Read a CSV file into rows
 
-Server-side file ETL without `COPY`'s format restrictions — `fgetcsv` handles
+Server-side file ETL without `COPY`'s format restrictions: `fgetcsv` handles
 quoting/escaping, and `RETURNS TABLE` + `return_next(array)` does the rest:
 
 ```sql
@@ -257,10 +257,10 @@ SELECT gunz(gz(long_text)) = long_text FROM documents;   -- true
 ```
 
 (PostgreSQL TOAST already compresses transparently; this is for when you want
-the compressed bytes explicitly — to hand to a client, or with `SET STORAGE
+the compressed bytes explicitly, to hand to a client or use with `SET STORAGE
 EXTERNAL`.)
 
-## Doc-only recipes (side effects — use with care)
+## Doc-only recipes (side effects: use with care)
 
 These work but are deliberately not in the regression test: they touch the
 outside world, and they run **inside your transaction on the backend**. A slow
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ write to a queue table instead and let a worker drain it.
 
 ### HTTP webhook from a trigger
 
-No curl needed — PHP's HTTP stream wrapper does POSTs, and a short timeout is
+No curl needed: PHP's HTTP stream wrapper does POSTs, and a short timeout is
 mandatory:
 
 ```sql
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ Requires a working `sendmail` on the database server.
 ### Slugify with transliteration
 
 `iconv`'s `//TRANSLIT` is locale-dependent, so results can vary between
-systems — good for display, not for keys you need to be stable everywhere:
+systems: good for display, not for keys that must be stable everywhere:
 
 ```sql
 CREATE FUNCTION slugify(text) RETURNS text LANGUAGE plphp STRICT AS $$

diff --git a/doc/plperl-comparison.md b/doc/plperl-comparison.md
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ intentionally out of scope, with the rationale given.
 | `spi_cursor_close`            | `spi_cursor_close` **added** | Abandon a cursor early |
 | errors trappable with `eval`  | `try`/`catch (PgError $e)` **added** | PgError carries SQLSTATE, detail, and hint (richer than `$@`) |
 | SRF returns array reference   | return an array from the SRF **added** | One element per row, as an alternative to `return_next` |
-| —                             | `spi_each(query, callable)` **added** | Streaming per-row callback; PL/Perl has no equivalent |
+| (no equivalent)               | `spi_each(query, callable)` **added** | Streaming per-row callback; PL/Perl has no equivalent |
 | `elog(level, msg)`            | `elog` **added** | DEBUG/LOG/INFO/NOTICE/WARNING/ERROR; `pg_raise` remains as the older spelling |
 | `spi_prepare`                 | `spi_prepare` **added** | Type names given as SQL type strings |
 | `spi_exec_prepared`           | `spi_exec_prepared` **added** | |
@@ -42,24 +42,24 @@ intentionally out of scope, with the rationale given.
 | `quote_nullable`              | `quote_nullable` **added** | |
 | `quote_ident`                 | `quote_ident` **added** | |
 | `spi_commit` / `spi_rollback` | `spi_commit` / `spi_rollback` **added** | Transaction control in a procedure invoked by `CALL` (non-atomic) |
-| `looks_like_number`           | — | Use PHP's built-in `is_numeric()` |
-| `encode_bytea` / `decode_bytea` | — | Use PHP's `bin2hex` / `hex2bin`, `base64_encode`, etc. |
-| `encode_array_literal` / `encode_typed_literal` | — | Marginal; build literals with the quoting helpers |
+| `looks_like_number`           | (none) | Use PHP's built-in `is_numeric()` |
+| `encode_bytea` / `decode_bytea` | (none) | Use PHP's `bin2hex` / `hex2bin`, `base64_encode`, etc. |
+| `encode_array_literal` / `encode_typed_literal` | (none) | Marginal; build literals with the quoting helpers |
 
 ## Interpreter configuration
 
 | PL/Perl               | PL/php | Notes |
 |-----------------------|--------|-------|
 | `plperl.on_init`      | `plphp.on_init` **added** | PHP source run at interpreter initialization |
 | (start proc, PL/Tcl-style) | `plphp.start_proc` | Runs a named PL/php function once per session |
-| `plperl.use_strict`   | — | No PHP equivalent; PHP is always "strict" about undefined functions |
+| `plperl.use_strict`   | (none) | No PHP equivalent; PHP is always "strict" about undefined functions |
 
 ## Transforms
 
 | PL/Perl               | PL/php | Notes |
 |-----------------------|--------|-------|
 | `jsonb_plperl`        | `jsonb_plphp` **added** | `TRANSFORM FOR TYPE jsonb`: native values in both directions |
-| `bool_plperl`         | — | PL/php already maps `t`/`f`; a transform would add little |
+| `bool_plperl`         | (none) | PL/php already maps `t`/`f`; a transform would add little |
 
 ## Intentionally not implemented