Does xdebug affect the PHP syntax (NOT its behaviour) in any way?

Question

Well I used to think I know xdebug well-enough but apparently not !

In another question someone pointed out that x-debug does indeed afect the PHP parser directly in a way that results in altering the PHP syntax. Is this true ? how ? some examples perhaps ?

How come XHP can alter PHP syntax and yet be wholly implemented as an extension?

Answer 1

Short answer: no, xdebug doens't change the syntaxis of PHP in any way. It allows to alter some behaviour (but that is not what you are interested in).

Therefore there is no special 'xdebug-style parser' needed.