The PHP4/5 Debate

[Chasingu]

What commercial software you makin?

[Ryan Ashbrook]

(11-02-2008 09:46 AM)_Tim Wrote:  Just out of interest, why would anyone run or develop for PHP 4 anyway? It's kind of like making programs specifically for windows 95?

Because a lot of hosts still do run on PHP4 (or last I could recall).

I've begun to switch to PHP5, but a lot of my main projects won't switch for some time (especially those which have dependencies that are also coded in PHP4).

[Chris Boulton]

(11-02-2008 05:10 PM)rcpalace Wrote:  I'd like too. The thing is, I'm developing some commercial software. If hosts are running PHP4, then if I develop it in PHP5 it would be a big waste of time. However, since everyone's feedback & my search at hosting companies, it seems as if they nearly all upgraded to PHP5 and still offer PHP4 as an option. Another problem with PHP4 is, some development techniques in it won't be compatible with PHP5, it's definitely a hard decision to make. However, I think I've made up my mind; PHP 5.2+ all the way!

I can't provide you with any sort of exact numbers, sales statistics etc - however I can assure you in our commercial applications at Interspire we haven't seen a drop in sales because of PHP 5+ support (5.1.3 minimum). Most customers who have PHP 4 when they contact us, we simply advise them and their host sets it up.

I can also tell you (from statistics from our customer base) that it's fairly safe to list 5.1.3 as your minimum version.

[Imad Jomaa]

Thanks for your input Mr. Boulton. It seems as if the majority of hosts have upgraded to PHP 5 since PHP 6 is right around the corner, The thing I like about PHP 5 is the OOP development, it was designed for it and a real necessary way for development when you start large projects. But hey, if people really want a software, they'd do all they can to get it. So hopefully it shouldn't be a problem at all.
Best Regards.