[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #57345: Bump the minimum required PHP version to 7.2

[WordPress Trac]

#57345: Bump the minimum required PHP version to 7.2
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 Reporter:  SergeyBiryukov            |       Owner:  (none)
     Type:  task (blessed)            |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal                    |   Milestone:  6.2
Component:  General                   |     Version:
 Severity:  normal                    |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  has-patch has-unit-tests  |     Focuses:
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Comment (by jrf):

 Replying to [comment:25 SergeyBiryukov]:
 > Replying to [comment:12 costdev]:
 > > The last minor in the PHP 7.2 branch is
 [https://www.php.net/ChangeLog-7.php#PHP_7_2 7.2.34].
 > >
 > > do we have data on PHP 7.2 minor usage? If so, we could just start
 from the first 7.2 minor with 5%+ usage.
 >
 > Yes, I have collected the [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d
 /1eRt8r2iiseOyZ4RnIa1LsUz1vMW-G8l_SZg-2NIjX-8/edit#gid=0 stats for PHP
 7.2.x usage] across all WordPress sites.
 >
 > This spreadsheet is similar to the stats previously shared in
 comment:2:ticket:46594 for PHP 5.6.x, with a notable difference that the
 latter was limited to WP 5.x. We could probably limit the PHP 7.2.x data
 to WP 6.x, but I have not yet figured out where the PHP stats for a
 particular WP version are stored.
 >
 > Based on the above:
 >  * 94.78% of all WP sites are on 7.2.24 or later.
 >  * 95.74% of all WP sites are on 7.2.20 or later.
 >
 > Would 7.2.20 be a good candidate? I see comment:22 mentions 7.2.24, that
 seems like a good option too.

 Thanks for collecting that data and setting up the spreadsheet
 @SergeyBiryukov !

 IMO either are a viable option, but there are other aspects to take into
 account for which no information has been added to this thread yet:
 * Security considerations - which PHP 7.2 version is a reasonable
 candidate given publicly known security vulnerabilities in various PHP 7.2
 versions ?
 * Bug fixes - I think the [https://github.com/php/php-
 src/blob/PHP-7.2.34/NEWS changelog of PHP 7.2] will need to be scrutinized
 to verify if there are any critical bug fixes which should be considered a
 "must have" and in which PHP 7.2.x patch version those were included.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/57345#comment:27>
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