Introduction

PHP 5 has been out for a long, long time. Yet there is a disturbing trend. I still see servers with PHP 4 installed. Why would you have PHP 4 installed? Really, keeping PHP 4 won’t help you very much in the long run. It might be more convenient as you already know that all your script work in PHP 4, but I believe that it is worth it to upgrade to PHP 5.

Get PHP 5. It’s good for you.

1) PHP 5 has features that have been in other languages for a long time.

PHP 5 introduces exceptions. As many beginner programmers use PHP, having them learn PHP 5 exceptions means that they will be familiar with the concept when they move onto other languages.

2) It allows you to use tools that only support PHP 5.

Remember that content management system that you thought would be perfect for your site? But wait! It’s for PHP 5 only. Since you’re running a PHP 4 server, you miss out.

3) Because support for PHP 4 has been dropped.

What, so you’re going to continue using something unsupported when PHP 5 is right there?

Also, if you attempt to ask a developer friend for PHP help, there is a good chance that your developer friend will tell you to upgrade, unless he or she is also running PHP 4. If your friend is running PHP 4, you should send this article to him or her. ^_^

4) You don’t annoy people that write PHP code for your server.

Let’s bring back that developer friend of yours. You have a cool idea for a PHP web application. He or she asks which version of PHP 5 you are running. You say, with an embarrassed smile, “I’m running PHP 4.4.8.”

If your developer friends are used to PHP 5, it makes it much more difficult for them to write PHP code for your sever. Friends are good, save them a headache.