PHP 7 (vB4)

[Paul M]

For anyone interested in vB4 / PHP7.

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forum/vbulletin-4/vbulletin-4-questions-problems-and-troubleshooting/4345503-vb4-php7-testing

[Paul M]

4.2.5 Alpha 1

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forum/vbulletin-4/vbulletin-4-questions-problems-and-troubleshooting/4349766-vbulletin-4-2-5

[TheLastSuperman]

+1 thanks Paul! (couldn't like so saying thanks!)

[Gio~Logist]

NICE!

[final kaoss]

Glad to see vb4 is still being worked on. Maybe we'll see version 4.3 some day :) (I would guess this would be the final release of PHP 7 compatibility, after the new update clears alpha & beta tests).

[Paul M]

There wont ever be a 4.3.

[webmastersun]

4.2.5 Alpha 1

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forum/vbulletin-4/vbulletin-4-questions-problems-and-troubleshooting/4349766-vbulletin-4-2-5

Good news today.

I wanted to upgrade to PHP7 but because vB4 didn't support it so I have to wait this version

Hope to have stable version soon.

Thanks Paul and cheers,

[Paul M]

Well it needs people to actually download and use the Alpha, otherwise any issues are not going to be found.

[Pod]

I've begun to play with the 4.2.5 Alpha 2 with PHP 7.0.8. So far, the only problem I've found is about the datastore. The problem is that vB_Datastore_Memcached uses the older "Memcache" [1] extension, which I believe has been dropped from PHP7, instead of the newer "Memcached" [2] (note the final d).

The API of both versions look similar, but are not identical (for instance, i noticed that the set and add methods no longer accept a $flag parameter).

Then, I tried to use the file cache. After getting the permissions of the datastore folder right, it seems to work. With opcache enabled, the filecache might be fast, but I'd rather like to keep Memcached support. Paul, can we expect a vB_Datastore implementation with the Memcached extension in a upcoming alpha? I could give it a try, but since I'm not familiar with vb internals i don't feel confident enough.

On a related note (although I'm not personally affected by that and I didn't test it), in the ACP datastore won't work in PHP7, but there's a very similar extension called ACPu [3] which drops opcode cache (since its available in bundled opcache) but keeps the variable store.

I'll keep testing other areas of the beta.

[1] http://php.net/manual/en/class.memcache.php
[2] http://php.net/manual/en/class.memcached.php
[3] http://php.net/manual/en/book.apcu.php


EDIT: Added this to jira (VBIV-16220) since I couldn't find it already.

[Paul M]

You belief seems untrue. I have both Memcache & Memcached available to install for php 7.0, and in fact, only Memcache available for 7.1 atm.

Related, I have updated APC in Alpha 3 to use APCu, as that is still supported, while APC is not.

(APCu is basically just the key/data part of APC, as php 7 now uses a different opcode cache).

xCache is also not supported on php 7.

[Pod]

Right, sorry, looks like the package in ondrej's repository is php-memcache (I was expecting php7.0-memcache).

And yeah, mOo seems to have given up on xcache according to his lasts replies in the group (from a year ago): https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/xcache

Will do some testing now that I have everything working.

[webmastersun]

Really like this topic/update and thanks Paul for making vB4 a new level :up:

Well it needs people to actually download and use the Alpha, otherwise any issues are not going to be found.
Of course I am waiting for a new server to test vB4 with PHP 7
I could not test it on my running forum, it can appear errors to visitors which i don't want if that happens.

You belief seems untrue. I have both Memcache & Memcached available to install for php 7.0, and in fact, only Memcache available for 7.1 atm.

Related, I have updated APC in Alpha 3 to use APCu, as that is still supported, while APC is not.

(APCu is basically just the key/data part of APC, as php 7 now uses a different opcode cache).

xCache is also not supported on php 7.

Just want to know about memcached (datastore that vB4 is using), it (memcached) can run with php7? if no, what conditions to run vB4 with memcached on php7?

or do I need to remove datastore memcached when upgraded to php7?

[Paul M]

To run memcached you need a server running memcache.
Pretty obviously really so I'm not sure whats unclear about it.

How you set that server up is down to you, all vb cares about is connecting to it.

Unless you have some specific reason for using it then just switch to APCu.
My test set-up is running the new opcache, and apcu, and running very nicely.

[Paul M]

4.2.5 Beta 1 has been released today.

[Dave]

PHP 7.1 has been released. I just updated PHP on my server to PHP 7.1 and it seems to be running fine and a bit faster. TTFB went down by about 50-100ms.

[Paul M]

There are some issues with 7.1, the full effect of them I'm not sure of yet.

One of them broke the display of sub forums on vB5, its likely to have effects on vB4 and vB3 as well, but very hard to spot in code as its not a syntax change, but a behaviour change in certain circumstances.

[In Omnibus]

There are some issues with 7.1, the full effect of them I'm not sure of yet.

One of them broke the display of sub forums on vB5, its likely to have effects on vB4 and vB3 as well, but very hard to spot in code as its not a syntax change, but a behaviour change in certain circumstances.

Developers have obvious reasons for upgrading test sites to the newest version of PHP.

People with lives sites can avoid a lot of problems by not rushing to upgrade.

[Mark.B]

Developers have obvious reasons for upgrading test sites to the newest version of PHP.

People with lives sites can avoid a lot of problems by not rushing to upgrade.

That's good advice for almost everything.

The number of people who upgrade stuff on live sites within minutes of an update coming out, then wonder why stuff breaks, is astonishing.

Just leave it for a bit. The world won't end if you run php 7.0 a bit longer. Or even 5.6.

[Coder2016]

Hi

Where can I please the new version 4.2.5 alpha 2 test or download?

I can not find a downloadlink.

[MarkFL]

Hi

Where can I please the new version 4.2.5 alpha 2 test or download?

I can not find a downloadlink.

You want to go to the "Members Area" at vbulletin.com, and download vB 4.2.5 Beta 1. :)

[Coder2016]

You want to go to the "Members Area" at vbulletin.com, and download vB 4.2.5 Beta 1. :)


I have my license here

Https://members.vbulletin-germany.com/

There I find no download 4.2.5

Only 4.2.3 level 2

[Paul M]

They are not available on vB Germany, only the main site.

[Coder2016]

Is there no way to download the 4.2.5 Beta 1? Would like to test with me.

[Paul M]

I'm afraid its not accessible on a German license atm.

If you are a member of the vb.com site, you can drop me a PM there.
If I can verify you are licensesd on VBG, I'll see what can be done (next week).

[Coder2016]

@Paul M

I wanted to write you to https://www.vbulletin.com a pn but that is not.

[Paul M]

Errr, what ?

[Coder2016]

I can not write you on .com. I do not see a PN button in your profile.

[Paul M]

Odd, other people seem to PM me ok.

Anyway, the VBG team have requested a copy of 4.2.5 Beta 2 when its released, so you should have access at that point.

(Its due in Mid February).

[Coder2016]

OK everything good. Thanks for the info.

[ub.ch]

Odd, other people seem to PM me ok.

Anyway, the VBG team have requested a copy of 4.2.5 Beta 2 when its released, so you should have access at that point.

(Its due in Mid February).

It's available, but only in english so far - but still that is very very awesome!
Thanks :)

[Paul M]

Which reminds me, I should give them Beta 3, which came out this week.

[IggyP]

is the new 4.2.4 release supporting php7?

[webmastersun]

Which reminds me, I should give them Beta 3, which came out this week.

It is a good news Paul!

you are making vB a new level by supporting PHP7 and mariadb for vB4.

Just a small issue for me is I could not use it now because there are 2 addons on my forum could not run after moved to vB7 thus I have to use php 5.6 now.

I wanted to move my forum to a dedicated server to run with php7 and mariadb.

I PMed/reply to the authors of 2 those addons on vB to fix their codes to run with php7 but seem they left the forum and no responses.

is there a way to fix the mods I am using (it is just a small plugin), vB team can support fix some addons (available for downloading on this forum) to run with php7?

[MarkFL]

It is a good news Paul!

you are making vB a new level by supporting PHP7 and mariadb for vB4.

Just a small issue for me is I could not use it now because there are 2 addons on my forum could not run after moved to vB7 thus I have to use php 5.6 now.

I wanted to move my forum to a dedicated server to run with php7 and mariadb.

I PMed/reply to the authors of 2 those addons on vB to fix their codes to run with php7 but seem they left the forum and no responses.

is there a way to fix the mods I am using (it is just a small plugin), vB team can support fix some addons (available for downloading on this forum) to run with php7?

The only issues I experienced when moving to PHP 7.x were a few deprecation warnings, and replacing mysql() with mysqli(). These are generally easy to fix. If you can supply the exact error messages, I can perhaps point you in the right direction to fixing the issues. :)

[webmastersun]

The only issues I experienced when moving to PHP 7.x were a few deprecation warnings, and replacing mysql() with mysqli(). These are generally easy to fix.

Can you share how to fix it and what exactly is error?
I remembered i saw it in admincp but I turn off error reported in vb to hide it.


If you can supply the exact error messages, I can perhaps point you in the right direction to fixing the issues. :)
Thanks MarkFL in advance for this, I will PM you 2 addon links ( sorry I don't want to share them in public because it is better for secure)
If you can fix them, please support!

[MarkFL]

Can you share how to fix it and what exactly is error?
I remembered i saw it in admincp but I turn off error reported in vb to hide it.

I handled them on a case by case basis. None of the errors came from any vB core files, those have been expertly updated to avoid any kind of deprecation warnings.

They only came from installed products that used deprecated PHP functions, and it involved editing the product plugins/external files.

Thanks MarkFL in advance for this, I will PM you 2 addon links ( sorry I don't want to share them in public because it is better for secure)
If you can fix them, please support!

I'll be glad to take a look tomorrow, as I have taken off my coder's hat for the night. :)

[Paul M]

VBG now has the Beta 3 releases for 3.8.11 & 4.2.5.

Just a note for anyone not aware.

I finish at IB on Friday 26th May.

The Final Releases of 4.2.5 & 3.8.11 are scheduled for Wednesday 17th May.
The next release is Beta 4, in 1 or 2 weeks time, there will be at least 1 RC around April time.
Other than that, there will probably be a couple of other releases (depends on what bugs get logged really).

If you find bugs related to PHP 7, please log them, or they may not get fixed.
It will be too late once I'm gone, I dont expect anyone else to do anything on them.
There will almost certainly be no more 3x or 4x releases, except necessary patches [e.g. security issues].

[IggyP]

is the new 4.2.4 release supporting php 7?

[Paul M]

No.

[Dave]

VBG now has the Beta 3 releases for 3.8.11 & 4.2.5.

Just a note for anyone not aware.

Does you leaving affect anything else besides PHP 7 changes/fixes for the older vBulletin versions?

[RichieBoy67]

VBG now has the Beta 3 releases for 3.8.11 & 4.2.5.

Just a note for anyone not aware.

Really sad to see you go Paul!

I no longer see the other 4.2.5 betas.. I only see 4.2.5 Beta 4.. Is this stable?

[Mattwhf]

Really sad to see you go Paul!

I no longer see the other 4.2.5 betas.. I only see 4.2.5 Beta 4.. Is this stable?

our web hosting forum (https://forumweb.hosting/) is running on this version.

It is running on php 7.1 and mariadb, https and installed some other hosting addons.

I don't see problems with it except some mods could need to fixed to be compatible with php 7.1

[RichieBoy67]

I am getting this database error with 4.2.5.. Not running php 7.1 yet..running 7:

I am getting this database error with 4.2.5.. Not running php 7.1 yet..running 7:

Database error in vBulletin 4.2.5 Beta 4: Invalid SQL: SELECT fd.thumbnail_dateline, fd.filesize, IF(fd.thumbnail_filesize > 0, 1, 0) AS hasthumbnail, fd.thumbnail_filesize, a.dateline, a.state, a.attachmentid, a.counter, a.contentid, a.filename, a.userid, a.settings, a.displayorder, at.contenttypes FROM attachment AS a INNER JOIN filedata AS fd ON (fd.filedataid = a.filedataid) LEFT JOIN attachmenttype AS at ON (at.extension = fd.extension) WHERE a.contentid = 222 AND a.contenttypeid = ORDER BY a.contentid, a.displayorder;

--------------- Added 03 Apr 2017 at 18:48 ---------------

Looks like a plug in.. I will check server logs..

--------------- Added 03 Apr 2017 at 19:23 ---------------

This must have been something cached after the upgrade because it is gone now and I cannot reporoduce.

[Mattwhf]

.. Not running php 7.2 yet..running 7:


What is PHP 7.2?

The latest PHP version is 7.1.3 http://php.net/downloads.php which I am using for my forum.

You should try to upgrade php 7 to php 7.1.3 :)

[RichieBoy67]

What is PHP 7.2?

The latest PHP version is 7.1.3 http://php.net/downloads.php which I am using for my forum.

You should try to upgrade php 7 to php 7.1.3 :)Sorry, typo.. meant not running 7.1..

actually I am running 7.1.3

[Paul M]

The final release of 4.2.5 will be next week.
This allows vB4 to run on PHP 7.0 & PHP 7.1

JFYI, I have PHP 7.2 installed on a test server, and changes in that will upset vB4.
I'm leaving IB, so I wont [officially] work on any 4.2.6, and I'm certain no one else will either.

[Dave]

The final release of 4.2.5 will be next week.
This allows vB4 to run on PHP 7.0 & PHP 7.1


JFYI, I have PHP 7.2 installed on a test server, and changes in that will upset vB4.
I'm leaving IB, so I wont [officially] work on any 4.2.6, and I'm certain no one else will either.

Do you know on top of your head if the deprecations listed here https://wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecations_php_7_2 are causing these errors/bugs?

[Paul M]

They are caused by two of the accepted RFCs for PHP 7.2

https://wiki.php.net/rfc#php_next_72

Specifically the "Deprecate and Remove Bareword (Unquoted) Strings" & "Counting of non-countable objects".


The forums limp along with error messages (Posting mostly breaks, esp via quick reply) - the ACP is rendered inaccessible.

[Kane@airrifle]

The final release of 4.2.5 will be next week.
This allows vB4 to run on PHP 7.0 & PHP 7.1


JFYI, I have PHP 7.2 installed on a test server, and changes in that will upset vB4.
I'm leaving IB, so I wont [officially] work on any 4.2.6, and I'm certain no one else will either.


I think I speak for all VB4 holdouts when I say that I deeply appreciate your efforts on our behalf. Thank you.

Also, I think you need a more appropriate avatar. :)

[charlesr]

I just did a search for php7 with vb4 and ended up here. Looking forward to trying out 4.2.5

Thanks for the efforts!

[Paul M]

The final version of 4.2.5 has been released today.

[AndrewSimm]

Great work Paul. Are you taking your talents elsewhere?

[Paul M]

As far a vbulletin is concerned, nowhere other than here.

I will continue to maintain vB3 (and vB4) for myself, and maybe others.

[In Omnibus]

As far a vbulletin is concerned, nowhere other than here.

I will continue to maintain vB3 (and vB4) for myself, and maybe others.

Good, because no one is more qualified to do so.

[Rideharder]

The final version of 4.2.5 has been released today.


Paul I took your advice and purchase my hosting from vultr.com.. First time that I've ever installed anything on a a server like this. six hours playing around with the PHP and finally got it to work correctly on Version 4.2.5.. The speed is freaking quick stop by and check it out fitnessslam.com.

If I run into any issues with the PHP on version 4.2.5 then I will come back here and post.
Wish me luck!

[Dave]

Paul I took your advice and purchase my hosting from vultr.com.. First time that I've ever installed anything on a a server like this. six hours playing around with the PHP and finally got it to work correctly on Version 4.2.5.. The speed is freaking quick stop by and check it out fitnessslam.com.

If I run into any issues with the PHP on version 4.2.5 then I will come back here and post.
Wish me luck!

Yep, the performance difference of shared hosting vs VPS/dedicated server is significant. :)

[Stingray27]

Paul I took your advice and purchase my hosting from vultr.com.. First time that I've ever installed anything on a a server like this. six hours playing around with the PHP and finally got it to work correctly on Version 4.2.5.. The speed is freaking quick stop by and check it out fitnessslam.com.
Once you learn how to use Yum, and set up Apache etc, its really very easy.

I can build a working server & system from a raw (new) instance is less than 1/2 hour.

My forum (running 3.8.11) uses four Vultr servers, once common nfs/data server, and three web servers to share the load - tbh, most of the time three is overkill, but it does mean its slightly more robust, and I can take one of them out of service if I want.

[Rideharder]

That's correct the speeds are freaking quick and it took me about 12 hours to get everything up and running and to fully understand what I was doing as I've never messed around with any kind of cloud or VPS hosting at all, basically the two things that was frustrating was trying to understand the PHP settings along with the DNS as my domain name was hosted somewhere else.. I was constantly testing my DNS web settings to make sure everything was configured correctly online, what a pain! I know its a additional charge for a IPv4 IP. Still doing my research to see if one will be suitable enough:confused: :D I was having issues with a 500 error codes when posting and I tracked it down to the a PHP issue and fixed it. 500 error codes don't want to tell you Jack! Anyways, luckily I had the patience to understand what was going on and now I am amazed with the performance.

[Mattwhf]

The final version of 4.2.5 has been released today.

You will continue supporting vB or this version is end of vB4 and it will not be supported any more?

[MarkFL]

You will continue supporting vB or this version is end of vB4 and it will not be supported any more?

Paul previously posted:

...I will continue to maintain vB3 (and vB4) for myself, and maybe others.

[GHRake]

I'm sure lots of people are wondering if their plugins will be compatible with PHP 7 and VB 4.2.5. If we made a PHP7 plugin compatibility thread, would people post what they have experienced in terms of plugin compatibility in one thread? Sadly I don't have anything to add because I haven't tried the upgrade yet but with everyone's input it would be easier for people to make the decision to upgrade and get the speed increase

[MarkFL]

Anything written with care in the last 3 years should be compatible. I know I always took care to not use anything that the PHP manual stated would be deprecated.

[TheLastSuperman]

Also don't forget that many older 3.x mods still work on 4.x (https://vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=269719), the basic simple mods will typically carry over and work fine. It's complex mods dealing with many features and such that were coded a few years back and never "maintained" that will be the issue for most when upgrading to vBulletin 4.2.5 to run with PHP7.

[webmastersun]

I'm sure lots of people are wondering if their plugins will be compatible with PHP 7 and VB 4.2.5

For sure you will need to check all your plugins and redo some if they have issues when running with php 7. :)

[Prince]

The final release of 4.2.5 will be next week.
This allows vB4 to run on PHP 7.0 & PHP 7.1

I still run three vB forums on version 4.2, will there ever be any security updates released?

[charlesr]

No, there won't be any updates related to PHP versions. There's a tiny chance they might do a security update if a huge hole gets uncovered in v4 but that seems unlikely at this level of maturity.

[Prince]

That sucks, cause I will never move to vB 5.

[Greek76]

Makes no sense. VB 5 is awful no offense. Looks just as bad xenforo. Vbulletin 4 was the best. So I'm pretty much screwed. Just came back into the forum scene and I guess I can't run vbulletin 4...

[Prince]

Makes no sense. VB 5 is awful no offense. Looks just as bad xenforo. Vbulletin 4 was the best. So I'm pretty much screwed. Just came back into the forum scene and I guess I can't run vbulletin 4...

Why? I still run 3 boards on vB 4.2.4 and if you run vB 4.2.5 you can use PHP 7.

[x iJailBreak x]

Why? I still run 3 boards on vB 4.2.4 and if you run vB 4.2.5 you can use PHP 7.

Also worth mentioning that a few code changes will also allow 4.2.5 to work on PHP 7.2 and beyond. My current board runs on PHP 7.3 and has been tested on 7.4. I'm also fairly confident it'll run on PHP 8 too.

[Greek76]

Why? I still run 3 boards on vB 4.2.4 and if you run vB 4.2.5 you can use PHP 7.

Yeah I realized after I had read your post a few weeks ago. I'm so happy to be able to still run Vb4...

[Prince]

Yeah I realized after I had read your post a few weeks ago. I'm so happy to be able to still run Vb4...

I tried vB 5 awhile back and it was just awful, although it seems like most people use Tapatalk these days.

[charlesr]

Also worth mentioning that a few code changes will also allow 4.2.5 to work on PHP 7.2 and beyond. My current board runs on PHP 7.3 and has been tested on 7.4. I'm also fairly confident it'll run on PHP 8 too.

Nice! Have you documented the changes required anywhere?

[x iJailBreak x]

Nice! Have you documented the changes required anywhere?

I haven't personally, because I've also swapped out large chunks of existing code (I maintain the codebase with another developer that I work with) - but there are some diffs posted around documenting the necessary changes to get vBulletin 4.2.5 functional on 7.2+.

[gateshield]

One good man who supports my forum for many years, have the vbulletin LTS site:
http://vblts.ru
Hope it is usefull for vbulletin 4 forums.
This is not an ads because current vbulletin lts version is free.

[N0FeaR]

this sounds interesting to me

[Hostboard]

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=328787