Trivial error in Install Check (FIXED IN 2.02)

[DavidW]

In line 732 of SCRIPT_system_check.php, reference is made to PHP version 4.10. Should this be version 4.1.0, and is that recommendation still accurate, bearing in mind that PHP 4.1.0 is pretty ancient?



David

[Pekka]

Thanks!

Yes 4.1.0 should do well with EE 2. I still have to do a complete checkup on that, but I'm pretty sure that is the case. Even if some new PHP functions are nice, I would not want to require a later PHP just for my convinience, because in most cases people are stuck with what they have on server. Same with MySQL - I sometimes use more complex code to get results from 3.23, where MySQL 5.x would do in one query. It's easier that I take some trouble finding solutions instead of 5000 EE users upgrading their servers.

That said, it is always wise to use the latest stable PHP version.

[DavidW]

It's helpful to have those goals confirmed, Pekka, as it gives me an idea of what functions are or aren't available for any EE bugfixing or enhancements.


My hosting provider currently allows you to move all databases to MySQL 4.1, but that's not mandatory. Existing databases can stay on the 3.x server, but no new databases can be created on that server. There is no MySQL 5 service at the moment.

The main hosting cluster is on a relatively recent PHP 4, though there is a PHP 5 cluster (unfortunately the control panel doesn't allow you select PHP 4 or PHP 5 hosting until it gets its promised rewrite - if you want sites moved to the PHP 5 cluster, you have to open a ticket to get support staff to twiddle the appropriate bits in the hosting database).


As you say, you're stuck with what you've got. I think PHP 4.1 and upwards isn't too restrictive, though I believe there's challenges writing object orientated PHP that works on both PHP 4 and PHP 5.

I question whether there's many people still stuck on MySQL 3.23 - usually a policy of the most recent two major versions is enough - but there's no point gratuitously breaking MySQL 3.23 support.



David

[wkitty42]

I question whether there's many people still stuck on MySQL 3.23 - usually a policy of the most recent two major versions is enough - but there's no point gratuitously breaking MySQL 3.23 support.
thank you for that very last statement... there is no point in that for any case, really... i have been forced to leave numerous projects and programs "behind" because they had moved on to supporting software that i don't have, can't afford, or simply can't run on my servers...

FWIW: my current mysql server is still running v3.32 for compatibility reasons... i have two other mysql servers that run the same version but all three are run on different operating systems... i can actually copy the datafiles between these two other servers with no problems... however, there is a difference between them and the current one's on-disk format that i don't know what it is or how i can correct it if it can be... suffice it to say that i keep the other two online as backup servers... i haven't implemented any kind of failover switching, though...

[DavidW]

FWIW: my current mysql server is still running v3.32 for compatibility reasons... i have two other mysql servers that run the same version but all three are run on different operating systems... i can actually copy the datafiles between these two other servers with no problems... however, there is a difference between them and the current one's on-disk format that i don't know what it is or how i can correct it if it can be... suffice it to say that i keep the other two online as backup servers... i haven't implemented any kind of failover switching, though...
mysqldump may be your friend - you can install a later version of mysql on a different machine, set up the database you want, and use mysqldump to dump the database from an old server and load it onto the new one. If nothing else, it may be worth experimenting with. If you do this, I'd go straight to MySQL 5.0 for the new install; that's the current 'stable' branch.


I do stand by what I said earlier - if support exists for a particular version of a component, there's no point breaking it gratituously. It would have to be a very good reason to break existing support. Many people are stuck with whatever their hosting provider offers. With shared hosting, the versions of various components and the configurations are typically rather conservative, not least because of the risk of regression issues. Obviously this problem doesn't exist with your own server - you can upgrade things as you wish.


All that said, sticking with MySQL 3.23 is likely to prove increasingly limiting, especially as that version is now completely unsupported by MySQL.

I try to keep away from software that's no longer supported, as there's always a risk of security related issues that are not even checked for, let alone patched. I know some projects are getting increasingly aggressive about declaring older versions as "end of life" - FreeBSD, for example, is narrowing the window for security team coverage because they found that too much energy was being expended on patching obsolete versions.


From a security point of view, I wonder whether Pekka may wish at some point to declare EE versions prior to EE 2 "end of life" and state that there will be no more fixes. I'm not sure whether EE 2 is mature enough to do this yet, and whether there's some people feeling that they need to hold back (particularly people with complex or modified setups), but, realistically, I can't see Pekka expending any more energy on 1.5 RC4 or earlier versions.



David