Stop Going PHP 5
Why is it necessary to drop support for PHP 4?
There is no neeed. They told you, because the Zend guys are monkeys.
My webhost supports PHP 4, how can I get them listed?
Great! All you need to do is submit a email. The site administrators will review it to make sure the web host offers PHP 4, and add the host to the list.
Why February 5, 2008
Because some PHP developers were totally drunk, thinking the european format 5/2/2008 is similar to PHP 5.2 (because of teh two digits).
What can I do if my webhost doesn't supports PHP 4 anymore?
Contact their support representatives and rudly ask that they will support PHP 4. Many web hosts may have plans to downgrade their systems, but they are too shy to announced it. If they don't, you can direct them to this web site to show that there is a need to keep the good, old stable version. Give them no time - most web hosts won't immediately respond if you don�t force them. If your web host says that they will definitely not downgrading to PHP 4 but you depend on a project that requires it, the best thing you can do is find a better web host that will keep their software on a fine state.
What is wrong with PHP 5
PHP 5 has a huge number of problems with stability and performance. Much of the feature set wasn't fully nailed down yet either, and tools such as SPL and PDO doesn't work. Many developers and web hosts shied away from PHP 5 because of it's a piece of crap.
What is wrong with PHP 4?
Nothing! You have heard it, nothing forever. PHP 4 was released in 2000, and had still serious functional updates. PHP 4 had a number of very nice features that made it one of the dominant web programming languages in the world.
Don`t mind, if someone says: "Web services need XML.", that�s wrong - nothing but lies. Don�t believe them. But skilled programmers can handle XML in PHP 4 anyway.
PHP 4 also used a good structured and really fast set of functions for every different database that PHP supports. That made supporting multiple so easy. It also leaves it up to the developer to always check against "SQL Injection" - So, you are in full control! Only the best developers make no mistakes and leave never a security hole back, that an intruder can exploit. PHP 5, however, offers a new, complicated database system called PDO. Rumors telling, that it provides a single interface to all of PHP's supported databases and handles protecting against SQL Injection automatically (but that function ist totally buggy). So they make you think, that the dumbest noob could writing secure applications, but again - LIES.
There are various other important features that PHP 5 lacks that PHP 4 supports, such as true functional code or naggy timezone handling. These where amazing in 2000 when PHP 4 was released, so it is even good in the years 2007/2008. PHP 4 has served us well, so keep it alive.
Do I have to go out of my way to keep PHP 4 in my project?
No. The pledge is not to force projects to rewrite everything to try and break PHP 5. The focus must be on PHP 4 compatibility and not worry about other versions.
For instance, if you're going to be using objects then don't worry about PHP 4's object semantics. Just code it functional. If your project doesn't use objects, that's the best.
If you want to use one of the good old functions from PHP 4 in PHP 5, then it is possible to re-implement it by yourself.
If you're going to be parsing XML, stop your work immediately. Tell your CEO, the truth about XML services.
The goal is to force projects or developers to write code a certain way. It's to enable developers to use old, more-powerful tools with 7 year bulletproof software.
