Re: What versions should the documentation cover?

On 25 August 2024 20:23:25 BST, "Christoph M. Becker" <[email protected]> wrote:
>On 25.08.2024 at 20:37, Jim Winstead wrote:
>
>> Gina suggested (https://github.com/php/doc-base/pull/146#issuecomment-2308900139
>> <https://github.com/php/doc-base/pull/146#issuecomment-2308900139>) that we
>> should remove older function changelog entries from the documentation rather
>> than just configure the page generated to exclude old versions.
>>
>> I agree, and I poked around a little to see if there was any policy/guidance
>> about what versions the documentation is meant to cover. If there is, I didn’t
>> find it.
>>
>> It’s tempting to say we should just be documenting the supported versions, but I
>> think migration from old versions is a key usage for the manual so it makes
>> sense to have a longer timeline.
>>
>> Here’s what I would propose:
>>
>> * The documentation is intended to cover the current and previous major version
>> of PHP (as of now, PHP 7 and 8).
>> * Migration guides from earlier versions should continue to be included.
>> * Extension version information should continue to cover all versions.
>>
>> Am I missing anything from this? This would mean that functions or extensions
>> that only exist in versions prior to PHP 7 could now be excised from the
>> documentation, as well as those older function changelog entries.
>>
>> I’d like to add a section to the preface that captures this (or whatever else we
>> decide). Alternatively, we could create a whole appendix that pulls in all of
>> the ‘PHP Manual Contribution Guide’ stuff from doc.php.net.
>
>See <https://www.php.net/docs.php>, last item.  That PHP4 and PHP5 doc
>removal happened a couple of years ago (after discussion on the
>list[1][2]), though some remnants about these old versions can still be
>found in the docs, and these can (and should) be removed.
>
>Back then we decided to also remove the old migration guides but chose
>to keep migration56 and migration70 as service for the community.  Maybe
>these should be removed now as well.
>
>[1] <https://news-web.php.net/php.doc/969387407> ff
>[2] <https://news-web.php.net/php.doc/969387511> ff
>
>Christoph

Before anything destructive gets done, I think we should create an archive (and host it) so that people who unfortunately still need this (due to having to upgrade really old stuff), aren't shafted.

cheers
Derick