Plugin Developers – PLEASE add PHP compatibility to change log.

  • It would be great if plugin developers could add PHP compatibility to the change logs. At times it is mentioned that a plugin requires at least PHP vX.X.XX but rarely is it stated what versions it is compatible with/updated to.

    I have been putting off switching client sites to PHP 8 because of the amount of time it takes to verify all the different plugins are actually compatible.

    I have several clients on Bluehost who is now forcing all hosting accounts to PHP v8. Because of how few plugins state compatibility I have no alternative but to take a copy of each site and load it on another hosting account to test.

    Please, Please, Please add PHP version compatibility, not just WP version compatibility.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Moderator Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)

    (@ipstenu)

    ?????? Advisor and Activist

    There is a plugin header that devs are supposed to use, but right now it’s not a required header. We do check it’s a valid version of PHP (hello, dev who put in PHP 11…), but beyond that it’s a self monitored thing, same as what version of WP a plugin is tested up to.

    The field is also a minimum value ??

    Minimum PHP Version Requirement

    Since all those things are self-reported, getting people all on the same page with over 100k plugins is about as easy as herding toddlers.

    Thread Starter ZeroGravity

    (@zerogravity)

    Thanks for the information @ipstenu. I understand the difficulty but if a few change it makes life easier for the rest of us.

    I live by the mantra “If you don’t ask, you don’t give people the opportunity to say yes.” ??

    Moderator Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)

    (@ipstenu)

    ?????? Advisor and Activist

    Oh to be clear I’m 100% for it.

    The ‘headache’ happens with how to effectively force people to do something in an automated fashion. Asking people to do things based on ‘trust’ mostly works, but it’s like why we moved to requiring people to put in ‘tested up to…’ for WP if they want their plugin to show up in searches.

    I’m not at all against making more things required, or your plugin is ‘delisted’ (i.e. still there for a direct URL, but doesn’t show up in search), but we have to figure out how to do it automated so we don’t have to rely on more humans ??

    As this is addressed to plugin developers in general I will add my thoughts.

    An optional plugin header

    tested up to PHP version: xxx

    That shows on the plugin page would be useful as a consistent way of communicating this.

    Currently I add a section in the readme txt about PHP 8. Even adding it to the change log means that people have to look at different places.

    But a header tag shown on the same area on the plugin page would create consistency.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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