[uf-discuss] Re: Parsing XFN in PHP

[Ryan Parman]

On Apr 10, 2008, at 5:45 AM, Toby A Inkster wrote:
> Michael MD wrote:
>
>> There are still lots of people stuck with php4 on shared servers ...
>
> I suspect that won't be the case much longer after security updates  
> for
> PHP4 are discontinued in August.
>
>> What did they expect? ... changing a language in ways that breaks
>> existing code is hardly the way to encourage people to upgrade to a  
>> new
>> version!
>
> There are virtually no changes in PHP5 that break existing PHP4 code.
>
> Some things like register_globals and auto-escaping of incoming  
> variables
> are turned off by default in PHP5 (they were on by default in PHP 4.0
> IIRC) but can be switched on in php.ini or a .htaccess file in a  
> matter of
> seconds.

1) PHP 4.x users/developers have also had *years* to upgrade outdated  
code, or change to similar software that's been updated this century.

2) There are things that can be done faster, more efficiently, with  
less code in PHP 5.x than in 4.x. As a developer, I favor less code.

3) If your shared hosting provider only has PHP 4.x support, change  
your host. There are lots and lots of PHP5-capable hosts out there for  
cheap. (Make sure the host has at least 5.1.x though. 5.0.x was  
ridiculously buggy.)

4) If this were an existing project with PHP 4.x support, then sure,  
maintain support if the cost is reasonable. But for any new project,  
I'd say to start on a 5.x codebase.


--
Ryan Parman
<http://ryanparman.com>