Php 5

[tnineres]

Are there any servers at siteground that have PHP 5 available since it is still in beta? If not, is there a general timeframe for an upgrade? I am designing a complex site, and PHP 5 would really help.

[Tom]

We do not provide PHP5 on our shared hosting servers, and the reason is it is still a Beta version.

However, we can provide PHP5 on any VPS or dedicated server :)

[capri]

We do not provide PHP5 on our shared hosting servers, and the reason is it is still a Beta version.

Ooops... what beta?!
There is of course one beta version of PHP 5 -- 5.1 Beta 2.

But there were/are also several final/stable PHP 5 versions!

Version 5.0.0 - released on 13-Jul-2004 (almost a year ago!)
Version 5.0.1 - 12-Aug-2004
Version 5.0.2 - 23-Sep-2004
Version 5.0.3 - 15-Dec-2004
Version 5.0.4 - 31-Mar-2005

So what beta you're talking about?!..

[miguel]

The problem with PHP 5 is that it is not fully back-compatible with object-oriented PHP 4.x applications. We did some tests and did not like the results. It does support old procedure-oriented code, but is pretty picky about the way classes are defined and implemented, while PHP 4 has much less restrictions ( and features ) regarding object-oriented code.

[capri]

The problem with PHP 5 is that it is not fully back-compatible with object-oriented PHP 4.x applications. We did some tests and did not like the results. It does support old procedure-oriented code, but is pretty picky about the way classes are defined and implemented, while PHP 4 has much less restrictions ( and features ) regarding object-oriented code.

What a pity!
Missing PHP 5 is the only disadvantage to me compared to my previous hoster. I did not use any PHP 5 specific code by a fluke and was able to move my applications without any changes. Bu this was only a coincidence because PHP 5 was available on my old server for several months and I have considered to start to use PHP 5 exceptions and some new object oriented features.
Of course PHP5 isn't really common yet (still below 10%, I think) but some day you must migrate.

[jack]

php5 is a must. We aim to be the best so we will need to implement it, but this will happen only when we are ready. We will have to implement it without bringing your sites down :) We will need to ensure that it is used enough to be considered stable and secure and good amount of bugs are removed. Our administrators will need the know-how to manage it and implement enough security for a shared hosting. Our support team will need to know how to help you when you encounter problems with it. So there is a big amount of work to be done before including php5 in our service.

Do not forget that this is only my opinion. But I am pretty sure that we will have php5 sooner or later (sorry no time frame).

[capri]

php5 is a must. We aim to be the best so we will need to implement it, but this will happen only when we are ready.

Nice to hear that :-)
and of course no rush: better later but as possible flawless (with a little help of the world's greatest support if needed) than ASAP but with troubles.
I am ready to wait a month or two or 3-4-6 if needed.

[retrogad]

We do not provide PHP5 on our shared hosting servers, and the reason is it is still a Beta version.

However, we can provide PHP5 on any VPS or dedicated server :)

Ah, so you do custom software installs for VPS accounts? I'm contemplating upgrading my two shared accounts into a single VPS account in the near future (once I get enough ad revenues), so that would be a nice thing to hear. Especially with PHP 5, because it has the GD library I need to write animated GIF's...

[SGR_Peter]

Ah, so you do custom software installs for VPS accounts? I'm contemplating upgrading my two shared accounts into a single VPS account in the near future (once I get enough ad revenues), so that would be a nice thing to hear. Especially with PHP 5, because it has the GD library I need to write animated GIF's...

We do offer custom installs for VPSs and dedicated machines :) and we would be happy to set up a machine according to your requirements. Often, modules and libraries have been included upon customer request on shared servers as well, if the additions were found useful and complying to the terms of use.

Regarding PHP5 (and new software versions in general): we do try to keep all the software up to date. However, if upgrading would cause a single service or a script to not run properly, we do have to consider the opportunity that a number of customers would be unhappy about the change.

[sfcreati]

Hi

It is obvious that there are still problems of portabilities with php5. But isn't it possible to implement an extension like .php5 temporarily?

[webprog]

A year ago, when I still had a couple of accounts at another large hoster, they did exactly that - you could plunk a simple line of code in your .htaccess file, and gain access to the php5 engine for files with the .php5 extension. Actually, if I remember correctly, since it was done that way, you could just turf php4 altogether by assigning .php files to the php5 engine.
Anyway, just casting my vote for php5 support. If it's done like I outlined above, then no one's going to be complaining about backwards compatibility - you might get the odd dumb-a%s who figures out how to enable the php5 engine and then tries to run php4 applications on it, but that might amount to about 3 people over a couple of months.
SG techies are smart folks - they have a very nice little system running here. I'm sure they can do this. The only thing I'm not sure about is how running dual php engines impacts a server's performance. Shared hosting is a numbers game, and it could just be that a 10% performance hit would make their business unprofitable.. who knows?

[capri]

I will give my vote for PHP 5 as well!
It has many useful features and would make some things easier.
I hope that SiteGround will find a way to offer PHP5 to the customers in the near future, eg. via some switch in .htaccess file or via Apache handler configurator in cPanel.

[Tom]

SiteGround is proud to announce that we have php5 server running already :)

If you wish to upgrade to php5 -- you can do so from your user's are :)

Regards,

Tom

[webprog]

Fantastic news Tom - that's way better than the Thanksgiving promo ;-)
Way to go - SiteGround just keeps getting better!