ReferenceGlossary
Bytecode cache
A cache that keeps the compiled form of a script so the interpreter does not parse and compile the source on every run. PHP's OPcache keeps precompiled bytecode in shared memory, and Python writes .pyc files for the same reason.
Runtimes
In Quorum#
Without a bytecode cache, PHP compiles every script on every request. The OPcache Research (after PHP-FPM) multiplies the CPU speed of PHP App Servers by 2.5. A PHP box that restarts runs without OPcache at first and reaches the full 2.5× as it warms up.
Read next#
Process per request, JIT warmup, Cold start, Pre-fork worker model