[wp-hackers] WordPress moving to PHP 5.3x?

[Brian Layman]

On 7/13/2012 6:36 PM, Beau Lebens wrote:
> If I was writing a plugin/system/component/theme/whatever for
> WordPress with distribution and widespread adoption in mind, then I'd
> aim it at the base WordPress requirements, so 5.2.
>
> Since I wasn't doing those things, I wrote it in what I was
> comfortable in and what worked for me, 5.3.
>
That's a fair statement and completely legit.

We need to remember that it is up to the developer what software they 
write and how they write it.  Their goals and plans may not match those 
of majority and that's perfectly fine.  If someone wants to come along 
and respectfully (or not I suppose) create a derivative work without 
those requirements, that's the benefit of GPL.

That said, I've no problem with plugins starting raise the bar higher 
than circa 2008.  This sort of thing is what starts the ball rolling and 
causes clients to ask questions about upgrading their servers/hosting to 
newer software releases. From everything I've seen, 5.3 is significantly 
faster than 5.2 and may offer some security improvements over the 
version currently installed on a server. This is a good thing..

Brian Layman