How to Upgrade PHP

PHP is a scripting language that was developed to make Web designers' jobs a little easier. This free scripting language is constantly under development; so, to get the most out of this hypertext preprocessor, you should upgrade your version of PHP to the latest stable release. Follow these steps to find out how.

Things You'll Need

• Internet access
• Computer

Instructions

1. Find your current version number of PHP. Currently the highest stable version number in use is 5.2.1. The other stable release for PHP is 4.4.6.

2. Go to the PHP website (see Resources below).

3. Navigate to the "Downloads" page. Here, you can find the two latest stable releases for PHP.

4. Download the version that you want to update to. After the download is complete, download the manual.

5. Review the manual. Take some time to brush up on your programming syntax. You'll need it.

6. Migrate between the old version and the new version of PHP. Monitor the performance of the code for glitches.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also install different versions of PHP on the same computer. This works with Linux-based systems running PHP 3 and 4. You can also run multiple versions of PHP on Solaris and FreeBSD systems.

• If you don't know anything about programming in Java or C++, don't try this at home. Get someone who's familiar with PHP and hypertext applications to guide you through the process.

• Although the makers of PHP have tried to preserve as much code between versions as possible, some compatibility issues can be expected when updating your version of PHP.

• Password protect your code before going live to the Internet. If you don't, others can exploit and abuse your site.