1.0.0

Added

• Implemented .zept (Zephir Test) format and a zephir test <path> command: a single file bundles the Zephir implementation (--FILE--, repeatable), the PHP usage (--USAGE--) and the expected output (--EXPECT--/--EXPECTF--). Each case is compiled into a throwaway extension (pure-PHP parser forced) and its output checked, so a .zept doubles as an end-to-end parser test. A dependency-free runner (Zephir\Zept\) backs both the CLI and the tests/Zephir/BlackBox/ZeptSuiteTest.php bridge #1098
• Built-in pure-PHP Zephir parser, removing the hard dependency on the ext-zephir_parser PECL C extension. The parser produces the identical intermediate representation (IR) the compiler already consumes — verified byte-for-byte (json_encode equality) against the C extension over the full stub/ corpus, the extracted php-zephir-parser test snippets, and the entire Phalcon framework (930/930 .zep files). Building the bundled stub extension with the PHP parser generates a byte-identical C tree and passes the Extension test suite identically to the C-extension build #2495

Changed

• The ext-zephir_parser C extension is now optional: it is used as a fast path when loaded, otherwise the built-in PHP parser handles parsing. Set the ZEPHIR_FORCE_PHP_PARSER environment variable to force the PHP backend even when the extension is present (useful for differential testing and deterministic builds). Zephir\Parser\Manager::isAvailable() is now always true #2495

Deprecated

• The ! (strict type) modifier on argument types (e.g. int! a) now emits a deprecation notice during zephir generate. A future parser will no longer recognize it. Suppress with -Wdeprecated-strict-type #2274
• RedisCluster prototype (in prototypes/redis.php), so Zephir code can resolve its methods and constants when ext-redis is not installed