AWS is ending support for several older PHP runtimes, causing concern among a community still reliant on outdated versions of the scripting language.

In a blog post, AWS software engineer Sean O’Brien announced that the AWS SDK will no longer support PHP 8.0.x starting January 13, 2025, as this version reached end-of-life (EOL) in November 2023. Additionally, support for PHP 7.2.x, 7.3.x, and 7.4.x, which reached EOL in November 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively, will also end.

via GIPHY

The move aligns with the broader PHP community‘s reduction of support for EOL versions. O’Brien stated, “There will be no further bug fixes or security updates in these runtimes. To ensure we are providing up-to-date and secure libraries, we are aligning with this migration. To ensure your applications and services remain secure, please upgrade to an actively supported PHP runtime, such as 8.1.x.”

AWS’s policy is to continue supporting SDK dependencies for at least six months after community or vendor support ends, but a significant portion of the PHP community still struggles to move away from older versions. The latest Zend PHP Landscape Report from Perforce revealed that nearly 55% of respondents were using at least one EOL PHP version in production, a slight improvement from the previous year’s 61.9%.

AWS announces the end of support for PHP runtimes 8.0.x and below in the AWS SDK for PHP, urging users to upgrade to newer versions via Sean O Brien on Amazon Web Services (AWS)https://t.co/VoMxW1X9Eg#aws #awscloud

— Logicata (@LogicataCloud) July 8, 2024

Zend Senior Product Manager Matthew Weier O’Phinney noted that enterprises are finding it difficult to keep up with PHP’s rapid lifecycle due to understaffed teams and a focus on developing new features over migrations.

Despite these common challenges, AWS’s decision will force the issue, pushing many users towards necessary upgrades, albeit in a potentially disruptive manner.

As AWS enforces these changes, PHP users must prioritize upgrading to ensure continued security and support.

Abdul Rehman

Abdul is a tech-savvy, coffee-fueled, and creatively driven marketer who loves keeping up with the latest software updates and tech gadgets. He’s also a skilled technical writer who can explain complex concepts simply for a broad audience. Abdul enjoys sharing his knowledge of the Cloud industry through user manuals, documentation, and blog posts.

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