Re: Apache handler with Multiple PHP versions

On 7/12/07, Jani Taskinen <jani.taskinen@sci.fi> wrote:

A lot easier (and works already) is to install PHP as CGI/FastCGI (one version or all of them, one can be module of course) and define the required PHP version by the file suffix.. --Jani

Hello Jani: I know this is possible, and I believe it is possible in Apache too with some kind of hack? But this still doesn't solve a lot of problems, but will generate a lot more with portable code. Take a bulletin board for example, there are a lot of files inside a board, and when you want to install that on your host that has PHP5 for files with .php5, you need to rename a hell lot of files to .php5, AND change code inside the .php5 files to point to the renamed files. Regards, Tijnema

Tijnema kirjoitti: Hello developers, The thread about dropping support for PHP4 gave me a new idea, having multiple PHP versions to be loaded by the Apache2handler SAPI. The idea: I was thinking about something like the shebang(#!) line used in bash/perl/python and even PHP scripts. But this time not for the program to be executed, but for which PHP version to load. This could be used like this: <?php // PHP4 ?> for PHP4, and so it could be <?php // PHP5 ?> or <?php // PHP6 ?> for resp. PHP5 or PHP6. This way can scripts define which PHP version they require, as it is a normal comment line, other PHP version can simply ignore the line. The implementation: The Apache2handler SAPI should be loaded first, and read the very first line of the PHP script to determine if a version is specified there. If not, the handler needs to load its default PHP version. If it is specified, it should try to load that version, and if it couldn't find or load that version, fall back to the default version and issue a warning. What needs to change: Currently, PHP is one big module for Apache, which will load a full PHP version at once. For this, we require a very small handler, that will use dlopen() to load the appropriate version and continue with the execution of the PHP script. Some kind of mini parser is also required to read the very first line of a PHP script, because that needs to be done before any PHP version is loaded. And maybe also a parser for the php.ini file, as php.ini needs an extra option for the default PHP version to be loaded, and one or more settings for configuring the different PHP versions and their path to the library. Some extra ideas, not sure if they need to be implemented: * Support for sub versions of PHP, like this: <?php // PHP4.3 ?> <?php // PHP5.2.1 ?> * Support for multiple possible PHP versions, like this: <?php // PHP4 || PHP5 ?> Where the first one is the preferred one, which can also be combined with the first one of course, like this: <?php // PHP5.2.1 || PHP5.2.0 || PHP 4.3 ?> * Support for <, > and && signs in the version, like this: <?php // PHP > 5.2 && PHP < 5.3 ?> So that any PHP version between 5.2 and 5.3 fits, but that 5.2 is the preferred one, if 5.3 should be the preferred one, it should be written like this: <?php // PHP < 5.3 && PHP > 5.2 ?> * Support for this in other handlers, like FastCGI, ISAPI, etc. It seems to be the perfect solution for shared hosting providers to me, as it will allow the user to select which PHP version he wants to use, and shared hosts can just install all three versions of PHP and use the one they need for their admin panels etc. (One of the reasons against upgrading to PHP5), and users can use another version. I don't know too much about PHP core, and nearly nothing about the apache2handler, so if it's not possible, please excuse me for wasting your time. But, if it is possible, I will definitely go deeper inside the core and SAPI code to get it working. Now, the reason I'm sending this to the list is that I need to know if *) it is possible? *) it is not yet done *) it is wanted *) it will have any negative effect on something? I'd like to hear all your comments and objections on this, and of course, if you have any question, feel free to ask. Regards, Tijnema

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