What is aot-compiler?

Swoole Compiler is a commercial tool for PHP developers who want to protect their source code from being read or copied. PHP is an interpreted language, meaning its code is normally stored as plain text files that anyone with server access can open and read. Swoole Compiler solves this by converting that PHP code into an encrypted or compiled form that runs normally but cannot be easily reverse engineered. The project covers two major versions with different approaches. Version 3.2 works at the level of PHP's internal bytecode, the intermediate representation PHP uses when executing your code. It applies several layers of obfuscation: scrambling the control flow so the logic is hard to follow, inserting meaningless instructions, renaming variables and function names, and wrapping the code inside a virtual machine protection layer. The end result is an encrypted binary file that PHP can execute but that reveals nothing about your original source. Version 4.0 takes a more aggressive approach, compiling PHP code all the way down to native binary instructions and producing a standalone executable or a shared library. The README states this produces native executables or dynamic libraries for Windows, Linux, and macOS. This tool is aimed at PHP developers selling commercial software or products who need to distribute their application to customers without exposing their proprietary logic. It is commercial software rather than open source, and Swoole provides separate documentation for each version.