Turck mmCache no more?

Following @Dani's question and the observations from @pcpalct and @GaryKing, here is a concise, actionable update and migration checklist for anyone still running Turck mmCache today. The goal is to help identify mmCache, stop using it safely, and pick a maintained alternative that fits modern PHP.

Check whether mmCache is active
Run these on the server or put phpinfo() on a test page and look for mmcache entries.

php -m
php -i | grep -i mmcache

If mmCache appears, comment out or remove its extension=/zend_extension= line from the PHP config, restart the web server, and confirm it is gone with php -m.

Choose a maintained replacement
For current PHP versions, use the built-in Zend OPcache (bundled since PHP 5.5). For user-data caching, use APCu. Older projects such as eAccelerator or XCache exist for legacy PHP but are less recommended for new deployments. Official reference pages:

• Zend OPcache: https://www.php.net/manual/en/book.opcache.php
• APCu: https://www.php.net/manual/en/book.apcu.php
• eAccelerator (source): https://github.com/eaccelerator/eaccelerator
• General overview (opcode caches): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opcode_cache

Basic migration steps

1. Move to a staging server.
2. Disable mmCache in php.ini and restart.
3. Enable and configure OPcache (or chosen alternative). Minimal example for OPcache:

zend_extension=opcache.so
opcache.enable=1
opcache.memory_consumption=128
opcache.max_accelerated_files=10000
opcache.revalidate_freq=2

1. Deploy to staging, run functional tests and performance benchmarks, and verify cache invalidation behavior. Use opcache_reset() or opcache_invalidate() to clear OPcache on deploy instead of frequent restarts.

Cautions
Do not remove the cache on a live server without testing. If an app relied on mmCache-specific user cache APIs, plan code changes to use APCu or another user-cache API. Always keep backups and verify extension compatibility with your PHP version before switching.