{"id":2533,"date":"2022-12-18T18:11:04","date_gmt":"2022-12-18T21:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/felipeelia.com.br\/?p=2533"},"modified":"2022-12-18T18:11:07","modified_gmt":"2022-12-18T21:11:07","slug":"will-php-7-2-be-the-minimum-required-version-for-wp-6-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/felipeelia.dev\/will-php-7-2-be-the-minimum-required-version-for-wp-6-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Will PHP 7.2 be the minimum required version for WP 6.2?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yes, this is real! It seems that starting from WordPress 6.2 the minimum PHP version required by WP will be 7.2<\/strong>. The last change in that aspect of the software was made in May 2019, for WordPress 5.2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The update did not happen before because the team set 5% as the maximum threshold of version usage. According to this ticket<\/a>, PHP 5.6 usage finally dropped below that. As PHP doesn’t have version 6 and versions 7.0 and 7.1 have usage numbers even lower, the minimum version would be bumped to PHP 7.2. The numbers are also available on the Stats page of WP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

As of 17 Dec 2022 […]:

PHP 5.6 is at 4.99% of all WordPress sites
PHP 7.0 is at 2.68%
PHP 7.1 is at 1.82%<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/57345<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

WordPress and PHP’s timeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To increase backward compatibility, WordPress adopts a strict policy regarding minimum PHP versions. PHP 5.2, for example, had its final version released in January 2011 but it was supported by WP until 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHP 5.6 reached its end of life<\/a> in December 2018 and today, 4 years later, it is still the minimum required version by WordPress. If the change really happens, we will be still behind: PHP 7.2 saw its last version released in November 2020<\/strong>, two years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of curiosity, while I write this post, the oldest version still receiving updates<\/a> is PHP 8.0, with end-of-life planned for November 2023. The latest version, 8.2, was released this month and will receive security updates until December 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/th>PHP End Of Life<\/th>End of Support By WP<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
PHP 5.2<\/td>01\/2011<\/td>05\/2019 (WP 5.2)<\/td><\/tr>
PHP 5.6<\/td>12\/2018<\/td>??\/2023 (WP 6.2)<\/td><\/tr>
PHP 7.2<\/td>11\/2020<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
PHP 8.0 (current version)<\/td>11\/2023<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What the PHP version changes for WordPress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beyond improvements in security and speed<\/strong>, changing the PHP version also makes available a set of new features, modernizing the codebase and decreasing the chances of bugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can see the full list of features that would be available in these three links: PHP 7.0<\/a>, PHP 7.1<\/a>, and PHP 7.2<\/a>. Below you can see just some examples<\/strong> of what we would get just setting PHP 7.0 as the minimum:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return type declarations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since PHP 7.0 it is possible to declare the type returned by a function or method:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

function example( array ...$arrays ): array {}<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Although it is common in some other languages, type declarations (for parameters and return) can be something new to some.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The biggest advantage of this feature is static analysis of code<\/strong>: even without executing the code, it is possible to identify if example()<\/code> is being called without expecting an array<\/em>. If that is the case, the error can be detected and fixed before any other test is executed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The majority of IDEs already have that function built in nowadays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Null coalescing operator (??)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Instead of writing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$username = isset( $_GET['user'] ) ? $_GET['user'] : 'nobody';<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
it would be possible to write its simplified version:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$username = $_GET['user'] ?? 'nobody';<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Spaceship operator (<=>)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Commonly used for comparison functions, this operator returns -1, 0, or 1 depending on the comparison result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
echo 1 <=> 1; \/\/ 0\necho 1 <=> 2; \/\/ -1\necho 2 <=> 1; \/\/ 1<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
PHP 8 Compatibility and WordPress Versions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Keeping compatibility with a so wide range of versions makes things harder. Compatibility with PHP 8 (8.0, 8.1, and 8.2) is still in Beta<\/a>. Will dropping support to PHP 5.6 give enough room to focus on PHP 8.x? Let’s hope so!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And you, did you already update your PHP site version?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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