I just saw a question on Twitter about Backdrop CMS compatibility with the most recent versions of php. I would assume that Backdrop is fully compatible with PHP 7.2, but frankly I'm not sure about PHP 7.3. 

What guidance do we have in this regard? What resources are available?

The requirements page says that Backdrop requires php 5.3.2 but does not address compatibility with recent versions of PHP.  

Comments

In an offline discussion, at least three users have confirmed that they are using PHP 7.2 and one is using PHP 7.3 with good solid results on their Backdrop sites. I am still looking for the official answer to this question and what if any assurances we can offer above and beyond the experiences of these users. 

Thanks @stpaultim, that was me (it took me a while to find the tweet, Twitter sometimes feels like a labyrinth...).

I'm asking since PHP 7.4 is almost out in a few weeks and from that point of view, it's logical to ask if Backdrop is compatible with the latest 7.x versions of PHP (especially 7.3 and 7.4 when it's released).

klonos's picture

Geia sou patrida! :)

I have been using Backdrop in php 7.2 for all my local development for quite some time now (many months), and I've had no issues related to php compatibility.

I am thinking to switch to 7.3 by default soon-ish, but I trust that there won't be many issues. We had this issue open for it: https://github.com/backdrop/backdrop-issues/issues/3689 ...which was closed last week. If anything else comes up, please report it in the queue.

PS: might be good to take a look at the child issues in the respective d.org issue here: https://www.drupal.org/project/drupal/issues/3012308 and see if any of them applies to Backdrop too.

Γεια σου και σένα (σου απάντησα στο LinkedIn)!

I feel that the PHP development moves somewhat too fast. Each version receives a 2 year full support and one year of security only fixes. Adding the fact that every year a new major PHP release comes out, it feels like a moving target. Ok, so 3 years is not a small period, but considering the fact that PHP has a major percent in web applications, that means that you must write your code using the latest versions or even upgrade your older projects to work on the latest ones. It makes no sense to start a new project now using anything less than PHP 7.3, unless other requirements or considerations are in place (maybe a vps with not so new OS...). Even after the project is finished (it will probably take a couple or more months), 7.2 will be in security fixes only mode, so 7.3 (or even 7.4) is the way to go.

So, that's why I ask if Backdrop can run with 7.2 or 7.3 (or even 7.4).

I hesitate to share this, because all the different repositories and forums can get confusing. Sometimes a discussion starts here and then we create a Github issue to address it elsewhere (so that we do something to fix it or address the concern). I think that it might be helpful if we create a PHP compatibility chart on BackdropCMS.org and I created an issue in our special issue queue for BackdropCMS.org. 

https://github.com/backdrop-ops/backdropcms.org/issues/579