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Some drops of PHP

Getting the version of PHP or extension

Get used PHP version: phpversion()

The phpversion() function retrieves the PHP version currently being executed by the current process.

It’s also useful for checking if a specific extension is installed and retrieving its version.

Primary use cases

  • Software compatibility checks
  • Error reporting and logging
  • Retrieving the version of a specific PHP extension

Syntax and parameters

$version = phpversion();

Where:

  • phpversion(): The function to retrieve the PHP version.

The return type is a string, representing the version of PHP being executed.

Example for retrieving the PHP version

echo phpversion();
// Output: The current version of PHP (e.g., '8.3.10')

Example for retrieving the version of a specific extension

With the phpversion() function, you can pass an optional argument to retrieve the version of a specific PHP extension.

$extension = "openswoole";
phpversion($extension);
// it returns a string like "22.1.2"

The extension parameter is optional. It is a string representing the name of the PHP extension whose version you want to retrieve. If provided, phpversion() returns the version of that extension. If the extension is not enabled, it returns false.

$extension = "ext-not-exists";
phpversion($extension);
// it returns the boolean `false` value

Use Cases

1. Software compatibility checks

When deploying software, it’s essential to ensure compatibility with different PHP versions. You can use phpversion() to check the client’s PHP version and adjust your application accordingly. Or you want to remember the user that is using a deprecated version of PHP that will be no more supported in the future.

$current_version = phpversion();
if ($current_version < '8.2') {
    // Client has an outdated PHP version.
} else {
    // Client has a compatible or newer PHP version.
}

2. Error reporting and logging

To identify potential issues, you can log the PHP version used to execute your script.

$log_file = 'php_version.log';
$log_message = 'PHP version: ' . phpversion() . "\n";
file_put_contents($log_file, $log_message, FILE_APPEND);

3. Retrieving the version of a specific PHP extension

You can use phpversion("extension-name") to check the version of a particular extension. This is helpful for ensuring that the extension is enabled and is of the correct version for your application.

$openswooleVersion = phpversion('openswoole');
if ($openswooleVersion !== false) {
    echo "OpenSwoole version: " . $openswooleVersion;
} else {
    echo "OpenSwoole extension is not enabled.";
}

Common pitfalls

  • Be aware that phpversion() returns a string, which may not always be easy to parse or compare.
  • Use version_compare() to correctly compare PHP versions and avoid potential issues.

Additional resources

For more information on PHP versions and compatibility, see: