So how long do you expect web hosts to keep supporting PHP 5.6?

paulk7737514  wrote This brings up another issue which is how to protect yourself from these inevitable advances in languages, etc. I certainly have no clause in my contracts stating, "Website guaranteed to function perfectly despite advancements in programming languages which may make previous versions obsolete."

It will all depend on what is considered a resonable time period for a web site to work correctly, and as a web developer you are the one that should know what is happening, and what the best practices and recommendations are for what you are using.

The dropping of the database connection for MySQL was publicised on the php org site 10 years ago, and the recommendation not to use for new sites about 8 years ago, plus if i remember correctly the short tag being made obsolete and do not use, was a few years before that.

If you have used anything after that, even if it was in a cms, it would be seen as your responsibility to have known about the recommendations and not to have used them.

You would not expect a mechanic to service your car/auto and not know the latest recommendations would you.

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Rob+Hecker2  wrote Migrating to PHP7 involves more than just changing the database connection. There are some functions and syntax that have been dropped. If you ever start a PHP script with just <? instead of <?php it will break on PHP7. Zend Studio had a nice inspector routine that can check a whole site for PHP7 readiness.

Fortunately I got into the habit of using <?php

Where does one look for a simple list of php changes that are commonly likely to be used?

pziecina  wrote I still have the option to use php 4.x and all versions up to 7, but only php 7 will be maintained beyond the end of this year.

Yes, the host may penalise you and start charging for security updates if you dont shift onto the version it wants you to.