PHP Doku:: Changes to INI file handling

Changes to INI file handling

PHP 5.3.0 has significantly improved performance and parsing of INI files, and adds several new syntax features.

The standard php.ini files have been re-organized and renamed. php.ini-development contains settings recommded for use in development environments. php.ini-production contains settings recommended for use in production environments.
There is now support for two special sections: [PATH=/opt/httpd/www.example.com/] and [HOST=www.example.com]. Directives set in these sections cannot be overridden by user-defined INI files or at runtime. More information about these sections can be found here.
zend_extension_debug and zend_extension_ts have been removed. Use the zend_extension directive to load all Zend Extensions.
zend.ze1_compatibility_mode has been removed. If this INI directive is set to On, an E_ERROR error is emitted at startup.
It is now possible to use the full path to load modules using the "extension" directive.
"ini-variables" can now be used almost anywhere in a php.ini file.
Runtime tightening of open_basedir restrictions is now possible.
It is now possible to use alphanumeric or variable indices in INI option arrays.
get_cfg_var() is now able to return "array" INI options.
A new directive, mail.add_x_header, has been added.
user_ini.filename is new
user_ini.cache_ttl is also new
exit_on_timeout is new too
open_basedir is now PHP_INI_ALL

The following new ini directives have been added:

user_ini.filename and user_ini.cache_ttl for the new .htaccess-style user INI file mechanism.
Added mbstring.http_output_conv_mimetype. This directive specifies the regex pattern of content types for which mb_output_handler() is activated.
Added request_order. Allows controlling which external variables will be available in $_REQUEST.

The following ini directives have new default values: