With PHP 5.3 slated for release near the end of April (Q1 2009), it’s time to start looking at the new improvements being implemented. Version 5.3 was originally known as “PHP 6 without Unicode support”, but there are many new features being implemented in this release that have been on the development table for a few years. Conceptually the 5.3 release is directing developers towards the eventual release of version 6, which will be deprecating a lot of old features, fixing issues revolving around the core PHP structure, as well as tidying up many of the existing features. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in News, PHP 5.3, Version Release
Tags: PHP 5.3, Q1 2009, Release
No Comments »

The latest release of PHP (5.3.0RC1) is the final phase in a major improvement in the 5.X series. The PHP 5.3.X will eventually obsolete the 5.2.X branch of PHP; all users, primarily those using earlier version 5 releases, are advised to test this release for backwards compatibility. There is an upgrading guide available detailing the changes to PHP 5.3.0 here.

Visit PHP News Archive to view “PHP 5.3.0RC1 Release Announcement” for more in-depth information.

Posted in PHP 5.3, Version Release
Tags: PHP 5.3, Release
No Comments »

Namespace has been used in programming languages for quite a few years. Java uses them extensively, and many people have complained about the lack of namespace in PHP. Namespace was initially slated for PHP 5.0, but due to difficulties with its implementation, integration into the code base was postponed to version 5.3. With the release of PHP 5.3 by the end of Q1-2009, you will have the first taste of namespace in PHP. The development team has worked hard on implementing namespace into the language constructs; without breaking any compatibilities or compromising future improvements they may make.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Intermediate, Optimization, PHP 5.3, Tutorial
Tags: Namespace, PHP 5.3
1 Comment »

On December 7th, only days after the release of PHP 5.2.7, PHP.net issued a notice that the 5.2.7 release was no longer available due to a major bug that affects security; requesting a degrade to the 5.2.6 version temporarily. On the 8th, they had the new PHP 5.2.8 release where they explained the fix.

As stated by the release note on PHP.net:

This release addresses a regression introduced by 5.2.7 in regard to the magic_quotes functionality, that was broken by an incorrect fix to the filter extension. All users who have upgraded to 5.2.7 are encouraged to upgrade to this release, alternatively you can apply a work-around for the bug by changing “filter.default_flags=0″ in php.ini.

Posted in News, Version Release
Tags: 5.2.7, 5.2.8, magic_quotes, php, php.ini
2 Comments »

After a few years of PHP version 5, the developers have released the final stage of the 5.3 testing. This release is for development review not for production. According to the release plan, a stable release is expected sometime around the end of Q1 2009.

Excerpt from PHP.net 04-Dec-2008 news:

Several new features have already been documented in the official documentation, others are listed on the wiki in preparation of getting documented. It is imperative that more people join the effort to complete the documentation for PHP 5.3.0. Please also review the NEWS file.

The testing community is being asked to do backward compatibility checks, as well as running new features threw through tests. Any backward compatibility issues are being requested for listing in the documentation, please report any findings to the QA mailinglist or the bug tracker.

Posted in News, PHP 5.3, Version Release
Tags: PHP 5, PHP 5.3, Q1 2009, QA
No Comments »