Killing PHP

 Going from php 8.3 to php 8.4.

This works perfectly fine in php 8.3:

function dumpit($msgtype,$var, &$val){...}

$log->dumpit('Trace','calling_process',trim($pidout));

The reference in the dumpit function signature is wrong, it should not be there. PHP up to version 8.3 was smart enough to recognize that and just execute the code. Very PHPish try to do what the coder intended.

Some structural fascist changed vs 8.4 made that a fatal error, I have words for such persons. A more reasonable approach write a warning or a depreciation msg.

This is killing PHP, makes it bland and gloomy, be as any run-of-the-mill language. It makes me sad.

 

Upgrading PHP

 I'm on my way upgrading The Data Warehouse engine PHP to version 8.5. The DW was originally written in  vs 4. As I recall it, the transition to vs 5 and vs 7, was simple. The upgrade to vs 8 was another matter entirely.

PHP was a language with relaxed syntax, e.g. allowing all kinds of comparing between value types, PHP had very good defaults making even stupid compare mostly came out right, it was PHPish. PHP honored getting things done not being picky about correctness, PHP tried to follow the intention of the coder and did a very good job at doing so. This infuriated structural fascists who's whining made the PHP    maintainers straighten up the language in vs 8, disallowing constructs in my PHP code that had worked well for some 20 years. If you have a large code base that old you just do not remember why a null array is compared with a blank char no matter how good the documentation is. The adjustment (not clean up)  to version 8 took a long time. 

Now going from 8.1 to 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5 is a walk in the park. I'm on vs 8.2 now and will put 8.3 in production coming week. Then I will probably wait with 8.4 and 8.5 to September. The vacation period in Sweden starts late June and ends in Central Europe late August, during this period I avoid changes. 

Still alive

 The old work horse 'The Data Warehouse" keeps on running. Just upgraded PHP to vs 8.2. Otherwise not much is happening, I tried to create a somewhat saner routine for importing currency rates using power shell script, first attempt failed. A persistent cache, was not so persistent and I could not freely transport the script between clients, both probably due to security reasons, I did not bother to find out the root cause. I make one more attempt, if that do not work I keep the old insane routine.