Doesn't seem like this ever got commited.
Can we include this in PHP 5.2.2? It doesn't break existing APIs so I
think it's a good idea.
I think adding bignum functions is OK (though it duplicates GMP to a measure) - while we are at it, why not add implementation for btwoc(number) also?
I'd suggest making big_int (in PECL) into a bundled extension. I know the original author hasn't touched it since 2005, but I've been using the underlying library in a few applications and would be willing to take over maintenance on it (Alexander Valyalkin released it into the public domain -- So bundling it is not an issue).
I'd also like to expand it with things like DSA/RSA implementations and some additional number theory applications like euclidean inversion and the like.
I know that bc would be a reasonable candidate for this kind of exploitation, but the fact is that bc was designed with base10 in mind and isn't particularly performant when comparsed against gmp/openssl/big_int.
Of those three, big_int is the only one with the clean licensing (and ultra-small footprint) to make bundling it feasible.
-Sara
P.S. - Not that there's anything wrong with the OpenSSL implementation Wez did... Just tossing out my thoughts on the long-term direction to take with big number libraries.