Re: Proposal of removing PHP4 references from the manual

Hello everyone, To summarize this thread the best I can, along with inserting my own opinions on the matter, it sounds like the easy parts are: * Create a snapshot of the current PHP Manual, but only the downloadable versions with "php4" in the filenames, and with related "this is a snapshot!" text in the manual itself * Create an /archives/ location, likely on doc.php.net, and post the snapshots there * Move all remaining inline PHP 4 references to their respective changelog sections, or in cases that this does not make sense, delete * Create php.net/manual/php4.php that: * Discusses the PHP 4 situation * Links to the doc snapshots * Mentions that we don’t have a nice PHP 4 manual (sorry) * Links to PHP 4 -> PHP 5 migration guide, and also 5.0->5.1, and 5.1->5.2 is we go with 5.2 as the min version * Links to older archive.org versions, like the following shows the old domxml extension: * https://web.archive.org/web/20120612062449/http://www.php.net/manual/en/book.domxml.php I think that’s better than including entire extensions here as that's too much clutter/noise Optionally, someone that really cares enough about PHP 4 can also: * Create snapshot based on old documentation that was before we removed many old PHP 4 comments/extensions/removals, whenever that was, and post them in /archives/ as downloads only * Create a "What functions/extensions were removed in PHP 5" guide, and include alternatives e.g., domxml->dom * Create a tips guide for common problems PHP 4 code users face in the world today It appears the remaining questions are (I included my opinions): * Should we remove PHP 4-only functions/extensions? - I think so * What should the minimum PHP version be? 5.2.0? - Yes, 5.2.0 seems fine * What does the "minimum PHP version" mean? * If 5.2.0, do we remove functions only in 5.1 and below? - No * Or does it simply mean how we write and structure documentation? - Yes, but this requires more explanation * Remove "PHP 4" from versions.xml? - I’m on the fence, but lean towards removing the PHP 4 references here as long as the add date is inserted into the respective changelog sections * The current structure/layout was created with PHP 3 in mind, with minor updates along the way. This might explain why the appendix has grown out of control, why advanced features can be hidden (not kept in mind when writing related docs), and so on. Rethink our structure? Also, too much PECL clutter? - One day yes, not right now ;) Unfortunately, this task was started but never completed. Many people tackled it differently (some created PHP 4 changelog entries, some simply deleted PHP 4 references along the way, and so on), we won't have a perfect solution. A true "snapshot" option is not possible. Any glaring holes in the above summary? There must be one or three. :) Regards, Philip