Description:
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PHP should support 64 bit long data type. Currently
there are two choices for integer arithmetic -

* 32 bit signed integer and
* 64 bit float.

In some cases the translation between these types
is handled automatically but the behavior is not consistent.
e.g. integers operands are automatically converted to
float, but integers represented as strings are not.

The main problem is - even if integers are seamlessly
converted to float, that only extends the range to
2^53. So there is really no way to handle integer values
between 2^53 and 2^64.

gmp extension is an option of course, but it is cumbersome
to use.

The lack of 64 bit long support causes incorrect behavior
elsewhere in the language - e.g. PHP SOAP extension cannot
accurately translate xsd:long data type to PHP.