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PHP 4 vs 5 for development


Xeoncross

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We all know what a huge success PHP4 was and how badly PHP5 took too the masses. However, with php.net no longer supporting PHP4 soon and gophp5.com successfully getting over 200 web hosts to feature PHP5 by default, I was wondering if they time to drop PHP 4 for PHP 5 had come. Bluehost, 1and1, mediatemple, and dreamhost all default to PHP5 now so I wouldn't imagine that people would complain about not having a host that supports PHP5 - but you never know.

 

The reason that I would even consider it is that PHP5 has better (and it seams faster) OOP support. I want to build a CMS/Framework that others can use but I don't want to alienate anyone. If this was just a private venture I guess PHP5 wouldn't even be a question. But with PHP4 still strong I don't want to build something 1/2 people can't use.

 

So does anyone have any experience trying to get people to switch to PHP5? Is it just a bad idea still? Should we wait for PHP6 to catch on? Can I hear any thoughts on the matter?  ;)

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99.5% of the code that runs under the latest version of php4 will run under php5, assuming that the code was well written to begin with and did not specifically rely on any bugs, insecure features (register globals), or long ago depreciated functions. You can even write OOP under php5 and not use the PHP5 specific syntax and have code that functions under php4 and php5.

 

As the the php.net web site states in the announcement of the end of life of php4 - php5 was released three years ago and php6 will be released soon. That is more than enough time for people to test their code under php5 and eliminate dependencies on old, depreciated, and insecure methods present in php4.

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I agree. It is time to let php4 go, everybody. Php is dead, long-live php!

 

Seriously, how long is it going to take? People keep making php4 compatible apps. Cut it out already! Every respectable host will at very least offer php5, since there is demand.

 

We (the developers) create the demand by offering to the end user, though that wouldn't fly if php5 support was rare, but it isn't. Sounds a little like a chicken and the egg story, but it's more like a cycle. We make, they support. They support more often, we make more often. We make more often, they support more often. Etc, etc.

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