MySQL 4.1, PHP5 and Cpanel 10 ... a discussion

[Snowman]

As some of you know we are preparing for the upcoming release of CPanel 10 and an upgrade in MySQL and PHP. Id like to hear everyones opinions, comments and concerns on these upgrades as it may affect a lot of clients.

CPanel 10
CPanel will be upgraded in the next few days to v10.x

No one should see any issues caused by this upgrade and it will resolve quite a few niggling issues that have recently appeared in it.


MySQL 4.1.x
We will be upgrading MySQL to 4.1 as soon as CPanel deem it to be at release standard, which may be in the next few days. So far im only aware of one script being affected which is whoiscart.


PHP5.x
Please note that we do not have any plans to upgrade PHP5 before proper testing, but we do want to hear the community's view on this.

There are quite a few changes between PHP 4.x and PHP5.x

Some of the incompatabilities are shown at http://www.php.net/manual/en/migration5.incompatible.php

I'm also looking for which versions of which scripts aren't going to be compatible with PHP5.

For example scripts not compatile with PHP5 currently include:


phpBB
osCommerce Milestone 2 and older - (current CVS and Milestone 3 will be compatible)
WhoisCart


If you know of other scripts that are currently incompatible please post them here so we can compile a list, and then hopefully work on solutions for these issues.

The upgrade to PHP 5 will cause a lot of issues for some customers who are running outdated scripts so we need to compile as much information as possible prior to us making the upgrade to the new version.

[dave]

hello Steve

I would like to thank you for initiating this discussion. We were wondering what sort of time frame you guys were planning on implementing the upgrade to PHP 5.

osCommerce is definitely going to be a problem, and I am sure it is going to make it difficult to upgrade any time before the release of MS3.

Now that I know that the upgrade is imminent I will pay much more attention to compatibility issues.

[Snowman]

Dave

There is no specific time frame as yet, suffice to say i think it will occur in the fist half of this year.

The known issues with osCommerce and phpBB will hold us back from making the switch as we have a lot of clients using both these scripts and as theres no "fix" for them currently we will be very cautious on implementing the PHP part of the upgrade.

[dave]

I daresay there may be a lot of work for developers upgrading these installations, particularly as many using osCommerce have usually heavily modified for their needs.

[Snowman]

osCommerce upgrades to MS3 are goign to be a big but very neccesary task. There have been a lot of performance and security issues with the older releases and i expect that to continue.

Hi,

I have read the e-mail, about PHP5... will be not compatible with OSCMS2.

I don't have possibility to upgrade my OSCMS2 now, this is a realy bad new. I have spent about 4/5 months installing mods and test the website...

My question... How can Alpine Hosting will solve this problem with OSCMS2 users? All my company is OSCMS2 Based, if the website goes down... is very very bad to me.

Can I rent a server with older version of PHP??? "Stupid question probabily" This could be the solution?



Regards.

[Snowman]

Andre

We have no plans to upgrade to PHP5 as yet until we know that known issues such as those with osCommerce can be addressed.

Unfortunately osCommerce has a lot of security issues in versions older than milestone 2 so we will not be supporting those, however we are looking at ways to make Milestone 2 compatible.

By the time Milestone 3 is ready you will probably want to upgrade your store anyway to take advantage of the new features and functions.

[dave]

I agree with Steve, the new features will have you licking your lips, particularly the in built templating which will allow you to change the design of your site without touching an ounce of code ;D

you can see all of the features they are working on at this address http://www.oscommerce.com/community/workboard

[OZeTrade]

Hi Steve,

It does concern me that Alpine has chosen to upgrade to PHP5 so soon after your recent upgrade. I thought the recent upgrade was to take care of recent virus and other security concerns. I dont believe that the Cpanel or MySQL upgrades will affect me.

I am about to go live with a Zencart v1.2.3d shop (based on OSC v2), but I believe that many of the security flaws have been addressed in this version - I do know that discussions in the Zencart forum advise that PHP5 & Zencart don't mix.

I have spent many months(as a novice)preparing my site with numerious mods, and I really dont wont to start all over again with an "unofficial" OSC release.

My preference would be for Alpine to find some other way to resolve security issues until OSC release v3 and other OSC offerings have a chance to convert to this base version.

Greg
OZeTrade.net

[OZeTrade]

Hi Steve,

I have initiated a PHP5/Zencart topic in the Zencart Forum to see if some of thier offered solutions may help Alpine maintain a PHP4 environment until OSC v3 is released.

http://www.zen-cart.com/modules/ipb/index.php?act=ST&f=4&t=15689

[Snowman]

Ok let me restate what i have already said about the upgrade to PHP5

Please note that we do not have any plans to upgrade PHP5 before proper testing, but we do want to hear the community's view on this.

That explains it all, we have no plans as yet and are only discussing the possibility of it. We wont be moving to php5 unless the various issues that people bring out are dealt with and i certainly cant se us upgrading to it for some time, and i am sure as far as osCommerce is concerned MS3 will be out well and truly by then.

[OZeTrade]

Thanks Steve,

After reading my initial response to your notification, I can see how it could have been perseved that I had maybe hit the panic button.

What you have stated was my understanding - I guess the mere mention of "PHP 5 upgrade" condgers up thoughts of many more hours of work.

My impressions of Alpine are of a professional team that DO provide a exceptional support service - which includes keeping abreast of upgrade and security issues. I also think that your approach to this issue has been done professionally.

Greg