Comments on: PHP5 Issues http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/ Unlucky in Cards Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:53:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4-alpha-19904 By: WordPress Wednesday: Easter Eggs, Editor Extras, WordPress Plugins, and more WordPress 2.1 at The Blog Herald http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-414247 WordPress Wednesday: Easter Eggs, Editor Extras, WordPress Plugins, and more WordPress 2.1 at The Blog Herald Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:58:22 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-414247 [...] upgraded PHP and it seems that PHP 5.2 is lacking some backwards compatibility. Neville Hobson, Matt Mullenweg, and others have shared information on this. According to Dreamhost, any version of WordPress under [...] [...] upgraded PHP and it seems that PHP 5.2 is lacking some backwards compatibility. Neville Hobson, Matt Mullenweg, and others have shared information on this. According to Dreamhost, any version of WordPress under [...]

]]> By: "links for 2007-02-13" by Bob Plankers, The Lone Sysadmin http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-414160 "links for 2007-02-13" by Bob Plankers, The Lone Sysadmin Tue, 13 Feb 2007 06:20:47 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-414160 [...] Photo Matt » PHP5 Issues Amen. I hate, hate, hate it when I can’t move customers forward to newer releases of things like PHP because all the old stuff breaks. Major versions are where you remove things, not .X releases. [...] [...] Photo Matt » PHP5 Issues Amen. I hate, hate, hate it when I can’t move customers forward to newer releases of things like PHP because all the old stuff breaks. Major versions are where you remove things, not .X releases. [...]

]]> By: Matt http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-414132 Matt Mon, 12 Feb 2007 22:58:40 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-414132 Nothing, they're both equally bad. That's why, for example, we reinstated the $table* variables that have been deprecated for 2 years now. However it's a lot harder for us because WP wasn't originally designed to build applications on top of, where PHP was. They deal with things at a much more primitive level, where it's a lot easier to maintain backward compat if it was a priority. Nothing, they’re both equally bad. That’s why, for example, we reinstated the $table* variables that have been deprecated for 2 years now. However it’s a lot harder for us because WP wasn’t originally designed to build applications on top of, where PHP was. They deal with things at a much more primitive level, where it’s a lot easier to maintain backward compat if it was a priority.

]]> By: Michael Bishop http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-414116 Michael Bishop Mon, 12 Feb 2007 20:55:06 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-414116 What's the difference between WP upgrading its code that breaks many popular plugins, and a host upgrading it's version of PHP that breaks popular scripts? What’s the difference between WP upgrading its code that breaks many popular plugins, and a host upgrading it’s version of PHP that breaks popular scripts?

]]> By: hugh http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-414111 hugh Mon, 12 Feb 2007 20:03:20 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-414111 You can run any version of PHP you want on DreamHost, and it won't change unless you update it. See http://wiki.dreamhost.com/index.php/Installing_PHP5#Compiling_a_Customized_PHP_5 You can run any version of PHP you want on DreamHost, and it won’t change unless you update it. See http://wiki.dreamhost.com/index.php/Installing_PHP5#Compiling_a_Customized_PHP_5

]]> By: Stephanie Booth http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-414079 Stephanie Booth Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:28:33 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-414079 wow, I guess it was a good thing I was sluggish and haven't upgraded yet, then! wow, I guess it was a good thing I was sluggish and haven’t upgraded yet, then!

]]> By: Simon Willison http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-414061 Simon Willison Mon, 12 Feb 2007 09:43:41 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-414061 Virtual servers are definitely the way forward. Unfortunately they require significantly more sysadmin knowledge to manage than a regular shared hosting account - but there's great scope for hosts to offer pre-packaged VM images with PHP + MySQL + WordPress already set up, for example. Virtual servers are definitely the way forward. Unfortunately they require significantly more sysadmin knowledge to manage than a regular shared hosting account – but there’s great scope for hosts to offer pre-packaged VM images with PHP + MySQL + WordPress already set up, for example.

]]> By: Around the web | alexking.org http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-414016 Around the web | alexking.org Sun, 11 Feb 2007 18:48:16 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-414016 [...] PHP5 Issues - guess I need to do some extra PHP 5.2 testing, though I haven’t had any bug reports yet. [...] [...] PHP5 Issues – guess I need to do some extra PHP 5.2 testing, though I haven’t had any bug reports yet. [...]

]]> By: Importante actualización de PHP en Dreamhost « Javier Aroche http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413993 Importante actualización de PHP en Dreamhost « Javier Aroche Sun, 11 Feb 2007 06:50:07 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413993 [...] Importante actualización de PHP en Dreamhost Publicado 9/02/07 wordpress , Security Actualización: Al parecer es más una cagada de Dreamhost que un problema de los scripts y php5.2, como era de esperarse. Matt confirma que no debe haber problemas con php5.2. [...] [...] Importante actualización de PHP en Dreamhost Publicado 9/02/07 wordpress , Security Actualización: Al parecer es más una cagada de Dreamhost que un problema de los scripts y php5.2, como era de esperarse. Matt confirma que no debe haber problemas con php5.2. [...]

]]> By: Chris Lea http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413982 Chris Lea Sun, 11 Feb 2007 00:33:36 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413982 For what it's worth, we had <strong>exactly</strong> this same problem when we initially upgraded to 5.2.0 at <a href="http://www.mediatemple.net" title="(mt) Media Temple" rel="nofollow">work</a> on the (gs) Grid Server. Fortunately, rolling back is an extremely fast process for us. It is indeed sad that things can break that substantially for a point release. For what it’s worth, we had exactly this same problem when we initially upgraded to 5.2.0 at work on the (gs) Grid Server. Fortunately, rolling back is an extremely fast process for us. It is indeed sad that things can break that substantially for a point release.

]]> By: Robert Accettura http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413977 Robert Accettura Sat, 10 Feb 2007 23:44:26 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413977 This is a problem every shared hosting provider has to deal with. But how long is too long? PHP 5.x has been out for quite some time now. Yet many are still on 4.3, 4.4. When do you make the cutoff? Quite a few attempt a transition (such as the ability to still run an older version as a cgi), but that still will cause a few clients to break. It's a complicated issue. It's not just PHP. MySQL upgrades aren't always perfect either. For whatever reason a script or two will break when moving between major releases (3.x --> 4.x, 4.x --> 5.x). Just part of the pain of web hosting. Having a dedicated server is a great solution... kind of. You then have the worry about YOUR old scripts breaking during upgrades, and making sure you keep your box up to date and secure. Web hosts do a lot about these that most people never think of. More often that not, people are either too upgrade happy... or quite lax with updates. This is a problem every shared hosting provider has to deal with. But how long is too long? PHP 5.x has been out for quite some time now. Yet many are still on 4.3, 4.4. When do you make the cutoff?

Quite a few attempt a transition (such as the ability to still run an older version as a cgi), but that still will cause a few clients to break.

It’s a complicated issue. It’s not just PHP. MySQL upgrades aren’t always perfect either. For whatever reason a script or two will break when moving between major releases (3.x –> 4.x, 4.x –> 5.x).

Just part of the pain of web hosting.

Having a dedicated server is a great solution… kind of. You then have the worry about YOUR old scripts breaking during upgrades, and making sure you keep your box up to date and secure. Web hosts do a lot about these that most people never think of. More often that not, people are either too upgrade happy… or quite lax with updates.

]]> By: Rust http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413966 Rust Sat, 10 Feb 2007 20:06:48 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413966 I still have several v1.5 WP blogs running on PHP 5.2 on both Windows/Apache and Linux/Apache with no problems... maybe these hosts are setting something in the php.ini file that's breaking compatibility? Secondly, and I'm not pointing fingers directly at WP (or Matt) on this one, but it seems that a LOT of open-source web apps that rely on PHP and MySQL will break during certain upgrades due to their curious reliance on using features of those packages that are, in even the current versions, deprecated. WP had a huge problem with MySQL 5 in strict mode for this reason - you're not supposed to write INSERT queries a certain way, but MySQL 4 allowed it (with warnings). MySQL 5 didn't. So while upgrading the back-end tech can break things, it's not always the cause of breakage. Sometimes the web applications are using deprecated functions or features, or are doing things incorrectly to begin with. I still have several v1.5 WP blogs running on PHP 5.2 on both Windows/Apache and Linux/Apache with no problems… maybe these hosts are setting something in the php.ini file that’s breaking compatibility?

Secondly, and I’m not pointing fingers directly at WP (or Matt) on this one, but it seems that a LOT of open-source web apps that rely on PHP and MySQL will break during certain upgrades due to their curious reliance on using features of those packages that are, in even the current versions, deprecated. WP had a huge problem with MySQL 5 in strict mode for this reason – you’re not supposed to write INSERT queries a certain way, but MySQL 4 allowed it (with warnings). MySQL 5 didn’t.

So while upgrading the back-end tech can break things, it’s not always the cause of breakage. Sometimes the web applications are using deprecated functions or features, or are doing things incorrectly to begin with.

]]> By: Edward O'Connor http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413961 Edward O'Connor Sat, 10 Feb 2007 18:58:27 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413961 I've found the Python guys have a really well-thought-out method for staging the introduction of features over several releases. I’ve found the Python guys have a really well-thought-out method for staging the introduction of features over several releases.

]]> By: Jason http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413955 Jason Sat, 10 Feb 2007 17:28:09 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413955 I recently had this issue with another shared host provider and it forced me to rewrite some of the admin plugins I was making use of. People could still view my site, but I could not log into the admin pages. After working these issues out, I managed to get things working again. It would have been nice to have a warning email, though ... I've never met a developer that didn't have a problem with an administrator changing their platform unannounced. PHP is a great platform to work with. It's quick, efficient, and has a huge user base with very intelligent people. Hopefully situations such as this will not be common. I recently had this issue with another shared host provider and it forced me to rewrite some of the admin plugins I was making use of. People could still view my site, but I could not log into the admin pages.

After working these issues out, I managed to get things working again. It would have been nice to have a warning email, though … I’ve never met a developer that didn’t have a problem with an administrator changing their platform unannounced.

PHP is a great platform to work with. It’s quick, efficient, and has a huge user base with very intelligent people. Hopefully situations such as this will not be common.

]]> By: alex_t http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413953 alex_t Sat, 10 Feb 2007 17:11:06 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413953 PHP 5.2.1 was released two days ago - hopefully it will fix some of those problems (and will not break WordPress) ;-) PHP 5.2.1 was released two days ago – hopefully it will fix some of those problems (and will not break WordPress) ;-)

]]> By: CT http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413947 CT Sat, 10 Feb 2007 16:20:47 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413947 PHP upgrades on my old host (1&1) consistently knocked out my WP blog. They were rarely ever announced ahead of time. Combine that with legendarily inept customer service (every call resulted in an assessment that I was "running too many scripts", a stock answer), and I've got a new host now. With Fantastico installs of WP and the like, isn't this something that hosts should be putting top-of-mind before mucking with the PHP? Maybe some better communication/coordination for everyone involved would help. PHP upgrades on my old host (1&1) consistently knocked out my WP blog. They were rarely ever announced ahead of time. Combine that with legendarily inept customer service (every call resulted in an assessment that I was “running too many scripts”, a stock answer), and I’ve got a new host now.

With Fantastico installs of WP and the like, isn’t this something that hosts should be putting top-of-mind before mucking with the PHP? Maybe some better communication/coordination for everyone involved would help.

]]> By: Walter Jeffries http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413945 Walter Jeffries Sat, 10 Feb 2007 16:01:33 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413945 I just send my web host provider a copy of this and asked him to hold off. He is fortunately conservative about upgrades for exactly this reason. Cheers, -Walter Sugar Mountain Farm in the mountains of Vermont http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/ http://NoNAIS.org I just send my web host provider a copy of this and asked him to hold off. He is fortunately conservative about upgrades for exactly this reason.

Cheers,

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://NoNAIS.org

]]> By: The Nested Float » PHP5 Go Boom http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413943 The Nested Float » PHP5 Go Boom Sat, 10 Feb 2007 15:18:44 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413943 [...] That other Matt totally beat me to the punch on this one. [...] [...] That other Matt totally beat me to the punch on this one. [...]

]]> By: RT Cunningham http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413939 RT Cunningham Sat, 10 Feb 2007 14:29:27 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413939 Any port except perl! Any port except perl!

]]> By: Michal http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413938 Michal Sat, 10 Feb 2007 13:57:06 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413938 Every Dreamhost's customer can choose between PHP 4.x and 5.x solution. Every Dreamhost’s customer can choose between PHP 4.x and 5.x solution.

]]> By: PHP, rétrocompatibilité, ambulance et charité - Frédéric de Villamil .com http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413937 PHP, rétrocompatibilité, ambulance et charité - Frédéric de Villamil .com Sat, 10 Feb 2007 13:44:35 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413937 [...] Matt ce matin, on pouvait lire [...] [...] Matt ce matin, on pouvait lire [...]

]]> By: Gaming News http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413932 Gaming News Sat, 10 Feb 2007 09:19:43 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413932 Is there an ASP port of Wordpress? Is there an ASP port of WordPress?

]]> By: Problemy z nowym PHP at ITblog http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413930 Problemy z nowym PHP at ITblog Sat, 10 Feb 2007 07:30:32 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413930 [...] PHP5/Zend Optimizer może spowodować bÅ‚Ä™dne dziaÅ‚anie niektórych stron, choć jak twierdzi Matt (współtwórca Wordpress’a) - Wordpress 2.1 ma dostatecznie dużo obejść dla najnowszej [...] [...] PHP5/Zend Optimizer może spowodować bÅ‚Ä™dne dziaÅ‚anie niektórych stron, choć jak twierdzi Matt (współtwórca WordPress’a) – WordPress 2.1 ma dostatecznie dużo obejść dla najnowszej [...]

]]> By: Jonathan http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413927 Jonathan Sat, 10 Feb 2007 05:16:31 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413927 I've been using Wordpress on PHP 5.2 for quite some time now, even with Wordpress 1.5.x and it's always worked just fine. Dreamhost shouldn't have any issues unless they did something funky with the PHP install. I’ve been using WordPress on PHP 5.2 for quite some time now, even with WordPress 1.5.x and it’s always worked just fine.

Dreamhost shouldn’t have any issues unless they did something funky with the PHP install.

]]> By: Nemo http://ma.tt/2007/02/php5-issues/#comment-413926 Nemo Sat, 10 Feb 2007 05:14:08 +0000 http://photomatt.net/2007/02/09/php5-issues/#comment-413926 PHP is still a "relevant" language; the lesson here is not to upgrade prematurely just to be "modern". Security upgrades are one thing, but I'm constantly amazed how many "new feature" releases of just about *any* software has a lot of "features" that most people would call "bugs" - bugs, er, features, that weren't in previous versions, at that. Sometimes, it's better to be stable, than on the cutting edge. PHP is still a “relevant” language; the lesson here is not to upgrade prematurely just to be “modern”. Security upgrades are one thing, but I’m constantly amazed how many “new feature” releases of just about *any* software has a lot of “features” that most people would call “bugs” – bugs, er, features, that weren’t in previous versions, at that.

Sometimes, it’s better to be stable, than on the cutting edge.

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