Finally DW runs on PHP 7.4

After quite some work I have upgraded my Data Warehouse to PHP7 (4.29). I started by switching from Mageia 4 to first openSUSE where I developed the PHP7 version, and finally to Azure Ubuntu. I still use KDE as desktop though. In the beginning of DW 2001 I used Mandrake Linux and PHP4. Since 2014 the DW was upgraded to PHP5.6. I thought that was the last upgrade of the Data Warehouse PHP code. But last year the big guys asked me to migrate the Data warehouse to Azure. The big thing was the SAP connection, I had to replace the SAP connector to saprfc-Kralik a very fine piece of software, works like a charm. Relacing the SAP connector was not the big problem, but all the code I built around it was a big problem now that code is changed to support the new SAP connector. 

I now have a version ready for beta testing. After beta testing we move the Data Warehouse to Azure. That will be a lot of work, the Azure 'lift-and-shift' slogan is just a slogan.The way to Azure has been painful, the first attempt just failed, the so called experts who help did not do a very good job. Going from in-house to cloud, does not only mean you do not have to have hardware skills anymore, instead you need very good network skills and 'cloud skills'. The cloud providers are shouting out load the first 'You do not need any hardware skills or hardware support', but they do not even wisper about the latter network and cloud skills. this time we have had the help of a competent solutions architect, with necessary cloud skills, this is a 'sine qua non' condition for a successful transision to the cloud.

What about PHP8.1? 

I will start the PHP8.1 upgrade tomorrow, I expect that to be 'a walk in the park' compared to the PHP5.6 to PHP 7.4 upgrade.