Can earlier versions of Zend Framework be developed?
Our server O / S backed by the server only supports PHP 5.1.6, which limits us to ZF 1.6. The current version of Zend Framework requires a higher PHP version.
We are trying to decide if ZF should be used due to this incompatibility. Is it possible to evolve (indefinitely) in these older versions of ZF or should we hold back?
Features, security, bugs, etc. Is this a path we don't want to go downhill, or are these older versions being perfectly used in production?
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You can develop in them as much as you want, but 1.6 is about 2 years old I think. There were security fixes that you probably want to use and a lot of new features. As with any software, it's usually a good idea to be relatively close to the most recent version.
Since you are talking PHP 5.1.6, I accept CentOS or RHEL. If so, you can install Zend Server or Zend Server CE (free) and stay up to date with the latest PHP version.
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What a pity. 1.7 implements a lot of structural changes that may not necessarily break backward compatibility (I'm not sure), but of course changed some structural elements .. like the new Zend_Loader_Autoloader and some things with boot files.
I believe Zend is releasing security updates for most 1.x things ( see the svn repository ).
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Bug fixes in ZF have been released in the newer version of ZF and are not "rolled back" to earlier versions.
PHP 5.1.6 was released over three and a half years ago. Zend Framework 1.6 is also ancient. If you need vendor support, you should go to Kevins' advice and use Zend Server. Even if this is not possible, I would seriously consider changing the vendor's provider if possible.
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At this point, ZF is not quite as mature and stable as something like ASP.NET (where many companies are still using 2.0 when 4.0 was just released).
I can't say that I recommend developing exclusively with ZF 1.6 until you know you have a clear path to upgrade along the way.
You may want to explore frameworks that are currently supported by PHP 5.1.6 or switches.
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check Zend framework php version for minimum php version for each Zend Framework component for latest version: 1.10.4
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