Version: v0.8.0 - Beta.  We welcome contributors & feedback.
THT vs PHP

THT is a modern re-design of PHP, making it more secure & easier to use.

 PHPTHT
Easy to learn
Simple workflow
Cheap to host
Fast with PHP 8+
Organized library
Friendly error pages
Built-in security
Web framework

A Quick Look

THT's streamlined syntax makes your code easier to read and write.

// THT code is 15% smaller than PHP.

fun getCartTotal {

    $total = 0

    $items = [
        { id: 123, name: 'T-Shirt'    }
        { id: 456, name: 'Teddy Bear' }
    ]

    foreach $items as $item {
        if !$item.name.contains('Not in Stock') {
            $total += Catalog.getPrice($item.id)
        }
    }

    return '$' ~ $total
}
// THT code is 15% smaller than PHP.

function getCartTotal() {

    $total = 0;

    $items = [
        [ 'id' => 123, 'name' => 'T-Shirt'    ],
        [ 'id' => 456, 'name' => 'Teddy Bear' ],
    ];

    foreach ($items as $item) {
        if (!str_contains($item['name'], 'Not in Stock')) {
            $total += Catalog::getPrice($item['id']);
        }
    }

    return '$' . $total;
}
Toggle THT vs PHP

Read More:  Syntax Cheat Sheet  |  Full Language Tour

Key Language Features

Organized Library

PHP's massive library (2,000+ functions) is curated and organized into modules & classes.

// PHP
in_array('needle', $hayStack)

// THT
$hayStack.contains('needle')
Lists & Maps

PHP arrays are split into distinct List and Map types.

// PHP
[ 'name' => 'Toni', 'age' => 33 ]

// THT
{ name: 'Toni', age: 33 }
Module System

Code is organized via modules, which are automatically namespaced and have controls for outside access.

// PHP
require_once('Some/Module.php');
\Some\Module\doSomething();

// THT
load('Some/Module')
Module.doSomething()
Unicode Support

String functions work with UTF-8 by default.

// PHP
strlen('清潔な場所')   //= 15 (✖ Wrong)

// THT
'清潔な場所'.length()  //= 5  (✔ Correct)
Cleaner Code

A compile-time Format Checker helps keep your code clean and consistent.

// Valid PHP
if($Some_VAR==$DBrow [ 'column' ]){
$A =$B *3;
 }

// THT
if $someVar == $dbRow['column'] {
    $a = $b * 3
}
Friendly Errors

The error pages are easy to read, and include full stack traces, suggested fixes, and links to documentation.

Read More:  How THT Compares to PHP

Web Framework

Clean URLs

The URL router makes it easy to give every page a clean URL.

// PHP
/blog/posts.php?postId=1234

// THT
/blog/posts/1234/my-favorite-things
Templates

Template functions let you cleanly organize your view-level code in a way that is both flexible and fast.

Templates support HTML-C shortcuts, and automatically escape variables to prevent XSS attacks.

// PHP
function messagesHtml($messages) { ?>
    <div class="messages">
    <?php foreach ($messages as $m) { ?>
        <div class="message"><?= $m['subject'] ?></div>
    <?php } ?>
    </div>
<?php }

// THT
tem messagesHtml($messages) {

    <.messages>
    --- foreach $messages as $m {
        <.message> {{ $m.subject }}
    --- }
    </>
}
Safe Input

THT validates all user input by default, including secure file uploads.

// PHP - No validation  (✖ Unsafe)
$userId = $_GET['userId'];

// THT - Validate as a positive (i)nteger
$userId = Input.get('userId', 'i')
Forms

The Form module makes it easier to build mobile-friendly forms. Input fields are validated on both the client (for usability) and the server (for security).

We won't spam you.
Sessions

The Session module is built with secure defaults and has methods for common tasks like setting fire-and-forget flash data.

$cartKey = 'shoppingCart'

Session.addToList($cartKey, 'T-Shirt')
Session.addToList($cartKey, 'Teddy Bear')

Session.get($cartKey)
//= ['T-Shirt', 'Teddy Bear']
Database

The Database module has convenience methods for CRUD operations.

It uses SQL TypeStrings to prevent injection attacks.

$query = sql'select * from posts where userId = {}'
$query.fill(123)

Db.selectRows($query)
Email

The Email module makes it easy to send email (HTML or plaintext) through a third-party email sender.

Email.send({
    from: 'you@yoursite.com'
    to: 'user@mail.com'
    subject: 'Welcome!'
    body: '''
        Thanks for joining!
    '''
})
CSS Framework

THT comes with an optional lightweight CSS framework with reset styles, a responsive grid system, and SVG icons.

Success This is a success alert with an icon.
Litemark

THT introduces Litemark, a Markdown variant that supports different authoring modes (e.g. user comments vs documentation) and the creation of custom tags.

# Heading

Bullets:
- Here is __italic text__
- Here is **bold text**
- Here is an [image /some/image.png]
- Here is a [/some/url | link to another page]

Built-In Security

THT is designed from the ground up with security best practices and secure defaults, protecting your app against the most common security risks.

Unlike other programming languages that rely on third-party frameworks and manual effort for security, THT builds safeguards into the language itself so that fewer vulnerabilities can slip through the cracks.

TypeStrings

TypeStrings are compile-time templates that are used to prevent injection attacks, which is one of the top security vulnerabilities for web apps.

// SQL TypeString
$q = sql'select name from users where id = {}'
     ^^^

// Fill in the placeholder {}
$q.fill(123)

// Other types include 'url', 'cmd', etc.
$u = url'/users?sort={}'
     ^^^

Other Safeguards

Read More:  All Security Enhancements

Performance

THT runs on PHP 8, which has been significantly optimized for speed, and can handle thousands of requests per second.

In a basic speed test, THT runs 14x faster than the Laravel framework.

Framework Requests/sec (More = Faster)
Laravel 352
THT 5,188

On a MacBook Pro, the core THT unit tests (1,200+ tests) run in about 40 milliseconds.

THT also has built-in performance tools:

How It Works

Same Simple Workflow

THT keeps the same easy “edit & refresh” workflow of PHP.

Under The Hood

PHP Integration

You can call PHP functions from THT via the PHP Interface.

Get Started

THT is still in Beta, so it’s currently only recommended for early adopters.

You can also follow THT's ongoing progress here: