[nortk]

For an informative read, the php website has announced dates for the "end of life" for PHP version 4. Among the highlights:

• After December 31 this year, there will be no more releases of PHP 4.4.
  
• Security fixes will be released on a "case by case" basis until August 8, 2008.
  
• PHP 5 is now 3 years old, and PHP 6 is on its way.

Not sure what this means to anyone specifically, but if you are a PHP writer, it's something to think about.

[TCH-Bruce]

Well since they will be releasing security updates until August of 2008 I am sure TCH will have a plan in place to upgrade.

[TCH-Dick]

For those that have been wondering an upgrade to PHP5 is in the works, however, I can not give you a time line on this.
When it comes to changes like this we discuss it with the entire TCH team and address it from all angles to form the best plan of attack.

As I said I won't give a time line for this change but I assure you its on the table and we hope to make the move before the end of the year.

[carbonize]

waits for PHP 4.5 to get released

[sethneal]

TCH-Dick, on Jul 20 2007, 09:35 AM, said:

For those that have been wondering an upgrade to PHP5 is in the works, however, I can not give you a time line on this.
When it comes to changes like this we discuss it with the entire TCH team and address it from all angles to form the best plan of attack.

As I said I won't give a time line for this change but I assure you its on the table and we hope to make the move before the end of the year.

Is there anyway to get on some sort of contact list about this? I have several sites that I would really like to upgrade to take advantage of PHP 5 as soon as the servers support it. Or do I just need to keep my eyes posted here?

Thanks.

Seth.

[TCH-Bruce]

Seth, when TCH makes a decision it will be posted in the forums.

[rglenn]

Would love to see this happen as quick as possible. The MediaWiki developers just announced no new security updates for MW 1.6.*, their last version that runs on PHP 4.4 (the current MW version is 1.9.3).

Thanks!

[dscotese]

Suggestion!!

Hey TCH, I bet you have at least one spare server. Build it with PHP5, and then ask for volunteers to set their sites up on it. You could make these very limited accounts, subject to deletion and re-creation at any time (yeah, the lawyers are gonna love writing the TOS for the beta server!). This would allow the industrious among your customers to help work out the kinks that will come along.

Your staff could also choose a few accounts to duplicate onto the/a PHP 5 server, and then just let those account holders know that their site is available on a second URL and that it shows them how things will change (if they change at all) when you move to PHP5. Pick a cut-off date, and then encourage customers to fully commit to the PHP5 platform by either offering a temporary price break or demanding a higher fee for continued use of PHP4. Oh crap, what did I just say? Forget that last bit

Dave.

[TCH-Dick]

Actually, plans are already laid out(including plans for users that must have php4) and test servers are up an running with accounts owned by staff. When we get closer an to official release date, we will then allow time for a few customers that want to test things out.

[DirkNiblick]

Let me start this out by saying spolem.net has been hosted by TCH for over 4 years now. I enjoy the perks of the deluxe hosting package. For the meager $9 I shell out every month, I have been able to do almost anything I could do on a standalone server without the hassle of managing my own backups, power, cooling, etc. All this with very few service problems.

That said, the fact that php 5 was released 3 years ago and my site is still running on php 4 has been a very large dandelion in an otherwise green lawn. We've been told for years now that "there are no plans" to move to php 5 despite the many benefits to the end user (especially the developer) of doing so. Now the direction is that "[you] hope to make the move before the end of the year" and that the decision "will be posted in the forums".

I've had issue with the preference of contact via forums over e-mail for awhile now. I honestly have no desire to search every topic and post every day for a hint of a php migration or planned downtime. This is a sidebar.

Regardless of the communication method, as the number of webhosts that support php 5 primarily or even along side php 4 grows, I think TCH owes it to their customers to give at least a soft date as to when to expect a migration. This would provide us with a timeline to prepare for it. The worry that you might not meet that soft date and the letdown it would provide is no different than hearing "no" for almost 5 years.

I know that sounds like some sort of an ultimatum but it's not. There are other users and developers out there...



...who see what kind of quagmire we're in and no easy way out. I love TCH and I'm not alone here or with my desire to see TCH move to php 5. What do you say?

[TCH-Dick]

DirkNiblick, on Sep 7 2007, 02:06 PM, said:

Regardless of the communication method, as the number of webhosts that support php 5 primarily or even along side php 4 grows, I think TCH owes it to their customers to give at least a soft date as to when to expect a migration. This would provide us with a timeline to prepare for it. The worry that you might not meet that soft date and the letdown it would provide is no different than hearing "no" for almost 5 years.

December 31, 2007

[TCH-Bruce]

DirkNiblick, on Sep 7 2007, 02:06 PM, said:

I've had issue with the preference of contact via forums over e-mail for awhile now. I honestly have no desire to search every topic and post every day for a hint of a php migration or planned downtime. This is a sidebar.

Subscribe to the Latest Hosting News and Support Announcement forums and you will be emailed anytime a new thread is created in either of those. That is where announcements are posted. So you won't have to go looking through all the forums for an announcement.

Also, the Latest Hosting News is on the TotalChoice Hosting home page and updated as new threads are created.

[DirkNiblick]

TCH-Dick, on Sep 7 2007, 01:47 PM, said:

December 31, 2007

I apologize if I'm taking your reply the wrong way, but it seems a rather curt way of answering a very honest and reasonable request from someone who's been a loyal customer of TCH since before even your own "Joined:" date. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm putting the screws to you but I think it's in everyone's best interests to not be constantly wondering if or when their website will be running on a current version of PHP. I bet you'll start seeing people breathing sighs of relief now that the mystery is gone. Thank you.

[TCH-Thomas]

As said by Dick, December 31, 2007 is what TCH are aiming at.

Exact date will be given in announcement in one of the forums that Bruce linked to.

[Just_Rob]

Since when does joined date on the forums have anything to do with it? I have been here since before your joined date, does that make "me" more important?

[TCH-James]

Just to confirm, our current schedule for the roll-out for PHP5 does not have a solid date. We are currently shooting for December 31, 2007 as the day to have this done by. Once our testing and planning nears completion, we may have a much closer and firm date to give. Rest assured we will keep everyone updated with time enough to prepare yourselves.

[Just_Rob]

Let me clarify my previous post. Time registered on these forums means nothing. Since I have been here, TCH has been nothing but professional to every member, no matter if they have been here for 3 months or 3 days. I believe they are a top notch hosting company. Sure, they don't upgrade software on a whim, but that is because they are concerned with potential damage to existing customers accounts.

It may not have an effect on you but there are several thousand that it might. To pull the "Everyone else does it" line is a bunch of garbage. If you want the support and headaches of everyone else then I suggest you go to them. If you want the support you have come to know and expect then have some patience, they are looking out for everyone's best interest.

As to perceiving them as being curt at times, well sometimes they have to be to get some users to listen. When the time comes, you will get your answer. You can have a good product when it is ready or you can get junk at an accelerated pace.

[TCH-Dick]

Yep, you took it the wrong way.

To be honest its an arbitrary date, (Dec 31, 2007=end of the year) that I put in the format you requested. As for the 'mine is bigger' comment about the "Joined:" date, I am glad you found the forums long before I did, but I was customer with TotalChoice long before then. However, I really don't think anyone cares nor see how it affects this conversation.

Anyway, I had no intention of hurting your feelings and causing a pissing match, therefore, I apologize for providing you just the date.

Thanks for the feedback and once we are ready to upgrade we will notify you via these forums.

[earthwormjim]

DirkNiblick, on Sep 7 2007, 07:11 PM, said:

I apologize if I'm taking your reply the wrong way, but it seems a rather curt way of answering a very honest and reasonable request from someone who's been a loyal customer of TCH since before even your own "Joined:" date. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm putting the screws to you but I think it's in everyone's best interests to not be constantly wondering if or when their website will be running on a current version of PHP. I bet you'll start seeing people breathing sighs of relief now that the mystery is gone. Thank you.

HA! Looks to me like you got just what you asked for and didn't like it.

[TCH-Thomas]

Gentlemen, please calm down.
Keep in mind that we take the "Family" atmosphere of our forums VERY seriously!
We do not tolerate ANY rudeness and there are no reasons to start a fight!

Php 5 will be on the TCH-servers when TCH feels ready for it and it will be announced in advance as said earlier in this thread.

[DirkNiblick]

TCH-Dick, on Sep 7 2007, 03:22 PM, said:

Yep, you took it the wrong way.

To be honest its an arbitrary date, (Dec 31, 2007=end of the year) that I put in the format you requested. As for the 'mine is bigger' comment about the "Joined:" date, I am glad you found the forums long before I did, but I was customer with TotalChoice long before then. However, I really don't think anyone cares nor see how it affects this conversation.

Anyway, I had no intention of hurting your feelings and causing a pissing match, therefore, I apologize for providing you just the date.

Thanks for the feedback and once we are ready to upgrade we will notify you via these forums.

Apparently I didn't take your comment wrong. I asked the same question others here have asked since PHP 5.0 was release but with perhaps a bit more teeth. You simply put a date down to brush my concerns aside as you've done with everyone else who's asked the very same question. This is exactly what I gathered. I only said the comment about the "Joined:" date to make a point that I've been a loyal customer despite having been brushed aside for almost 4 years. Apparently long term customers aren't a desired outcome of your business. If so, I would think you'd be more transparent with your longterm goals to when PHP is probably pretty important to those customers. My mistake.

I'm a *NIX administrator for a hospital system with +8,000 employees and if I ever responded to even one of them like you did above, no matter how rude they were, I'd be fired. If TCH-Jesse had entered his comment prior to yours, I would have been satisfied until December. In fact, I've never received a cross sentence from any of the technical or customer service people the entire time I've been here. Your two comments, however, have just made the decision for me to take "Just_Rob's" advice. I know I'm only $9 a month and probably not important to your salary or TCH's bottom line but I would hope the customer service ethic would would be passed up to the management level. Again, my mistake.</DONE>

[TCH-Dick]

DirkNiblick, on Sep 7 2007, 04:52 PM, said:

Apparently long term customers aren't a desired outcome of your business. If so, I would think you'd be more transparent with your longterm goals to when PHP is probably pretty important to those customers. My mistake.

I clearly stated more than once that we did not have an official date, however, in an effort to provide you the "soft date" you wanted I re-posted what I had already said as an actual date. I'm unsure why you were offended by this or the fact I responded to your attempt to belittle me?? There is nothing to be transparent about, we are hoping to complete this by the the end of the year which happens to be December 31, 2007, when we have a real date it will be posted.

It's clear you wanted something more than just a date, so once again I apologize for just providing the date in my response.

Thank you

[TCH-Bruce]

Since all questions have been answered and this topic has gone slightly "off topic" I am closing it.

There is no hard date for when PHP5 will be running on the servers but it is expected to be done by year end. When a solid date is determined it will be announced here in the forums.

Please, no more threads on PHP5, they will be deleted.