[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #33381: Strategize the updating of minimum PHP version.

WordPress Trac noreply at wordpress.org
Mon Aug 17 10:10:57 UTC 2015


#33381: Strategize the updating of minimum PHP version.
-------------------------------+-------------------------
 Reporter:  alexander.rohmann  |       Owner:
     Type:  enhancement        |      Status:  closed
 Priority:  normal             |   Milestone:
Component:  General            |     Version:
 Severity:  normal             |  Resolution:  maybelater
 Keywords:                     |     Focuses:
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Changes (by pento):

 * keywords:  close =>
 * status:  new => closed
 * version:  trunk =>
 * resolution:   => maybelater
 * milestone:  Awaiting Review =>


Comment:

 I don't really want to have this argument again, but I just can't help
 myself. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 So, here's the deal. WordPress is committed to backwards compatibility,
 because dealing with compatibility breaking changes is not something a
 user should ever have to do. This is a fundamental rule of the WordPress
 project. We tried setting a date years ago, back when we dropped PHP 4
 support. All it resulted in was people's sites being broken, it didn't
 hurry the transition to PHP 5.

 There's nothing in PHP 5.3 or later that's particularly useful in
 WordPress Core, so it's not like we need to force an upgrade for a
 language feature. Hosts that I've spoken to aren't using vanilla PHP 5.2
 for their sites that are still on it, anyway - they have custom builds
 with security patches back ported. If you're a host using vanilla PHP 5.2
 when security patches are so readily available, you probably want to give
 all of your customers their money back, along with a heartfelt apology,
 then close your doors forever.

 This year, we've been speaking to several major hosts about updating their
 PHP versions - in the last three months alone, this has resulted in about
 a million sites being upgraded from PHP 5.2 and 5.3, to 5.5 and 5.6.
 Setting a hard deadline won't improve this rate, because it's not a thing
 that can be improved through threats.

 If this upgrade rate keeps up, we might be able to drop PHP 5.2 by the end
 of the year. Or maybe not, because we're not in the business of breaking
 millions of sites on a whim.

 tl;dr:

 * There is no deadline, there won't be a deadline.
 * We're not going to put users in the middle of this, so don't even ask.
 * Progress is being made. It will continue to be made, but throwing out
 arbitrary dates won't make it happen faster.

 PS: I know status wars are exciting, but please don't re-open this. You
 can continue discussion, of course, but anyone re-opening it will have
 their comments deleted.

--
Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/33381#comment:30>
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