Precompiled binaries are provided by the OS vendor and have been compiled into an executable. These binaries are usually optimized for performance and security, and may contain some OS vendor-specific patches and configurations. Since these binaries are already compiled into executables, their installation is usually easier than manually compiling the source code. However, these binaries may not contain all PHP extensions, or may not be the latest PHP version.
Manually compiling the PHP source code ensures you are using the latest PHP version and can be customized to suit your needs. Compiling the source code can provide better performance and better compatibility, and can include some PHP extensions that are not provided by the operating system vendor. However, manually compiling source code requires some basic knowledge of compilation and may require some dependencies and tools to be installed. Also, manually compiled PHP versions may have different performance and features than precompiled binaries due to different compilation options and configurations.
Performance differences between compiled and apt-installed PHP versions can be due to the following reasons:
Different compilation options: When compiling PHP source code, you can use different compilation options and configurations. These options and configurations can affect PHP's performance and features. Therefore, when compiling PHP source code, make sure to use the best compilation options and configurations.
Differences in PHP extensions: Precompiled binaries and manually compiled source code may contain different PHP extensions, which may affect the performance and characteristics of PHP scripts.
Difference in system resources: Precompiled binaries and manually compiled source code may require different system resources, which may cause PHP scripts to run slowly.