Performing the Migration
Learn how to migrate the applications to PHP 8.
We'll cover the following
- Step 1: Review the migration guide
- Step 2: Make sure the current code works
- Step 3: Back up everything
- Step 4: Create a version control branch
- Step 5: Scan for BC breaks
- Step 6: Fix incompatibilities
- Step 7: Repeat steps 5 and 6 as needed
- Step 8: Commit changes to the repository
- Step 9: Test in a simulated virtual environment
- Step 10: Return to step 5 if the test is unsuccessful
- Step 11: Install PHP 8 on the staging environment
- Step 12: Test and clone the staging environment to production
Performing the actual migration from our current version to PHP version 8 is much like the process of deploying a new set of features to an existing application. If possible, we might consider running two websites in parallel until such time as we are confident the new version works as expected. Many organizations run the staging environment in parallel with the production environment for this purpose.
We present a 12-step guide to perform a successful migration. Although we are focused on migrating to PHP 8, these twelve steps can apply to any PHP update we may wish to perform. Understanding and following these steps carefully is critical to the success of our production website. The twelve steps include plenty of places where we can revert to an earlier version if we encounter problems.
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