Should we remove support for end-of-life PHP?

I want to push for removing support for php versions of PHP that have passed their end-of-life period. My reasoning for this is the following:

  • Supporting half-decade old versions of PHP hold us back without much benefit.
  • We want to push the PHP community to be better in some way.
  • Matching the support of php.net is a clear, unambiguous standard where right now we don't have any standard.
  • If we don't start pushing for adoption of newer versions of PHP then we'll never get to adopt PHP 7.

I started thinking of this after reading that Laravel, a very popular framework, follows php.net's end-of-life policy.

Comments

  • While I agree with your points, the elephant in the room is that cluster 1 still runs 5.3. We're still trying to get our own infrastructure off of a EOL'd PHP version.

    Regardless, I'd like to fork 2.2 before we adopt a new minimum requirement.

  • The new infrastructure will make upgrading PHP easier. With the cl1 issue in mind, maybe @Tim should comment.

  • I think we should make this the announced plan, but keep our compatibility to 5.3 until cl1 is dead and 2.2 forks.

  • I'm okay lagging behind php.net a bit, but we should do it on a schedule. Something like php.net + 3 months or whatever is fine.

  • I'm happy to embrace this policy, and cl1 will be fully turned off at the end of next week, and in "offline, contact us" mode starting ~ mondayish. That elephant is dead.

  • Tim Gunter, Elephant Hunter

  • Alright, so @Linc you can decide on a buffer of hopefully close to zero days and then let the OSS community know. I think we'll make a little compatibility check script that comes as a 5.2 compatible file and it will display requirements and pass/fail status.