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paulk7737514
paulk7737514
Inspiring
May 26, 2018
Question

Still developing in PHP 5.6

  • May 26, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 2191 views

I noticed that the PHP version in the cPanel of a website I am currently developing was set by default at version 7. I have been using 5.6 in my version of XAMPP I donwnloaded new roughly 1 1/2 years ago which is not very long. Has everyone moved on to version 7 but me?

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    3 replies

    BenPleysier
    Community Expert
    BenPleysierCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 27, 2018

    There are a number of reasons to move to PHP 7, most notably

    it is faster

    it is less bloated

    it is more secure

    it promotes better coding practices

    It is true that the uptake of PHP 7 has been slow. This is due to the many PHP framework websites that have been built with PHP 5, in particular WordPress. Many, if not the majority, of these sites were created by people with little coding knowledge, giving the flow-on effect that results in the why-change-the-record-when-its-not-broke mentality. Others may call it sheer laziness.

    Having said that, there is a more practical reason to change. In many aspects, PHP 7 is not backward compatible, which means it is either/or. Future development of a site using PHP 5 is akin to palliative care, while developing in PHP 7 is future proofing the site.

    Wappler is the DMXzone-made Dreamweaver replacement and includes the best of their powerful extensions, as well as much more!
    O
    osgood_
    Legend
    May 27, 2018

    BenPleysier  wrote

    that results in the why-change-the-record-when-its-not-broke mentality. Others may call it sheer laziness.

    Factor in the cost of the migration of older websites, millions of them, and its nothing to do with sheer laziness at all in the majority of cases. You could apply that thought to developers who use Bootrstrap, is that sheer laziness, lack of coding knowledge, or is it in many cases about costs. If you are going to comment at least say something sensible. I agree on the other points you made about speed but considering the crap which is usually associated with many Wordpress template driven sites, bloated Bootstrap, bloated plugins etc, the speed needs to be more optiomised for those amatuer constructed sites, no?

    BenPleysier
    Community Expert
    BenPleysierCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 27, 2018
    If you are going to comment at least say something sensible.

    Yes sir! I will keep that in mind.

    Edit: Not sure why Bootstrap has been mentioned.

    Wappler is the DMXzone-made Dreamweaver replacement and includes the best of their powerful extensions, as well as much more!
    pziecina
    pziecina
    Legend
    May 26, 2018

    The main problem with using version 5.6, is that it will not be updated, (even for security problems) after the end of this year. So if you are looking to stay in this game for a number of years yet, it is certainly better to start learning and using version 7 now.

    O
    osgood_
    Legend
    May 26, 2018

    According to stats only 14% of php sites use v7 so its a slow uptake given that v7 came out in dec 2015 l think. It might gather more pace once the security updates for 5.6 stop coming at the end of the year.

    I guess its a case of why change the record when its not broke, no developer l know wants to give themselves unecessary headaches until it is broke. No client will understand or even want to pay for the migration if it cant or doesnt run smoothly.

    The only thing l would advise is any new project going forward should use v7 hosting, There doesnt look to be any great changes apart from of course the defunct mysql function and a few others which l cant say lve ever used in my worflow.

    When l get my new machine later this year l will download a more up to date version of Mamp. At the moment while everything is functioning l dont want to risk upsetting the apple cart.

    O
    osgood_
    Legend
    May 26, 2018

    No, l think my mamp is 5.6 or even 5.4.

    Quite a few of my websites are still hosted on php 5.6.or maybe some even 5.4. I dont see a reason to move onto php v7 unless it just happens. There are literally millions of sites out there stuck on 5.6 or less as they use the deprecated mysql function.

    I dont know enough about php 7 to even kmow if l would use what new funtions are available and how they might benefit my workflow or if the code l produce now would not be compatible with php 7. l code using mysqli so whatever l code l assume would work on php 7, l dont use anything too advanced just the standard php stuff.

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