Most languages call it split when you break a string into an array, but PHP calls it explode(). PHP already has join() as an alias for implode(), yet there's no matching alias for explode(). This RFC from Vinicius Dias proposed adding split() as an alias of explode(), running the same code with the same parameters.
// The following lines would be equivalent $array = explode(' ', 'String with spaces'); $array = split(' ', 'String with spaces');
Why add it
The RFC argues that the alias helps developers coming from other languages. JavaScript, Python, Java, Rust, Ruby, Go and others all use split, and one less unusual name makes PHP feel more familiar.
PHP did have a split() function once. It came from the old ereg extension and used regular expressions, but that extension was deprecated in PHP 5.3 and removed in PHP 7.0, so the name has been free ever since.
The RFC also covers two similar names you might mix up. str_split() cuts a string into chunks of a fixed size rather than at a separator, and mb_split() works like the old regex-based split().
What it means for existing code
If your code defines its own global split() function, it would clash with the new alias. The RFC looked at uses of split on GitHub and found that most were in projects with no activity in over 10 years. Many of those calls would behave the same way with the new alias anyway.
The vote
Declined 3 to 28, with 4 abstaining, far short of the two-thirds majority it needed. Voting closed on September 19, 2025. The RFC targeted PHP 8.6.