[wp-meta] [Making WordPress.org] #5279: Bump the recommended PHP version to 7.4

[Making WordPress.org]

#5279: Bump the recommended PHP version to 7.4
----------------------------+-----------------------------
 Reporter:  SergeyBiryukov  |       Owner:  SergeyBiryukov
     Type:  task            |      Status:  accepted
 Priority:  normal          |   Milestone:
Component:  API             |  Resolution:
 Keywords:                  |
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Description changed by SergeyBiryukov:

Old description:

> The `RECOMMENDED_PHP` value in
> [source:sites/trunk/wordpress.org/public_html/wp-content/mu-plugins/pub
> /servehappy-config.php servehappy-config.php] is currently at 7.3.
>
> It was bumped 18 months ago in [7990]. Per the comment, it's supposed to
> be "The latest branch of PHP which WordPress.org recommends".
>
> Per [https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/CKSU841L7/p1592563795363500
> discussion with @Clorith on Slack], given that [https://www.php.net
> /supported-versions.php PHP 7.3 support ends in 5 months], now seems like
> a good time to recommend 7.4 instead.
>
> The previous approach was to follow the recommendation on the
> [https://wordpress.org/download/ Download] page, however it just displays
> the `RECOMMENDED_PHP` value now as of [8066]. Before that, it was bumped
> to 7.2 two years ago: [7366].
>
> Some things to note:
> * The recommended version is mentioned on
> [https://wordpress.org/download/ Download] and
> [https://wordpress.org/about/requirements/ Requirements] pages.
> * Bumping `RECOMMENDED_PHP` to 7.4 also means that WP core would display
> a "Your site is running an older version of PHP" message for <= 7.3 in
> Site Health. However, this does not trigger the Dashboard nag, as that
> widget depends on the `ACCEPTABLE_PHP` value, which is currently set to
> 7.2 as of [9959].

New description:

 The `RECOMMENDED_PHP` value in
 [source:sites/trunk/wordpress.org/public_html/wp-content/mu-plugins/pub
 /servehappy-config.php servehappy-config.php] is currently at 7.3.

 It was bumped 18 months ago in [7990], following the 7.3 release on 6 Dec
 2018. Per the comment, it's supposed to be "The latest branch of PHP which
 WordPress.org recommends".

 Per [https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/CKSU841L7/p1592563795363500
 discussion with @Clorith on Slack], given that [https://www.php.net
 /supported-versions.php PHP 7.3 support ends in 5 months], now seems like
 a good time to recommend 7.4 instead.

 The previous approach was to follow the recommendation on the
 [https://wordpress.org/download/ Download] page, however it just displays
 the `RECOMMENDED_PHP` value now as of [8066]. Before that, it was bumped
 to 7.2 two years ago: [7366].

 Some things to note:
 * The recommended version is mentioned on [https://wordpress.org/download/
 Download] and [https://wordpress.org/about/requirements/ Requirements]
 pages.
 * Bumping `RECOMMENDED_PHP` to 7.4 also means that WP core would display a
 "Your site is running an older version of PHP" message for <= 7.3 in Site
 Health. However, this does not trigger the Dashboard nag, as that widget
 depends on the `ACCEPTABLE_PHP` value, which is currently set to 7.2 as of
 [9959].

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Ticket URL: <https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/5279#comment:2>
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