Checklist of points while migrating to PHP

“In software language, migration refers to improvement. With every newer version, you will get more user access for better customization and improved user experience. So you must consider the migration process for your PHP website to make it a smart site on the fly over the latest platform. But, there are many potential threats in the migration process and we can’t ignore them at any situation. You must go through some considerations before you jump into the migration process.”

What you get from migration to latest PHP version? Migration means improvement. With the latest version of PHP, you will get enough scope for advanced web application development with many new and enhanced features. Features include support for namespace, Late Static Binding, native Closures, Jump levels, Nowdoc syntax etc. Along with that, a garbage collector is also added for developing advanced web applications on the fly. It is always recommended to remain up-to-date with the latest version of any technology to deal with the ever changing demands of the user.

Back-Up- the term has the highest priority for any Migration process: When you decide to migrate to PHP i.e. the latest version of PHP, the first thing that you should do is to keep a backup of all your previous resources at a secure place. It is recommended to keep those data in a new drive or a different machine drive so that, even by mistake you are not going to lose it during the migration process. The migration process doesn’t take few seconds or minutes rather it may take as long as few hours. So, there is a potential threat of unsuccessful migration process and hence chance of data loss in between. To avoid this issue, there must be a backup of all your resources including the database. Many times the database gets altered during the process so it is necessary to keep the database in a more secure place so that if any data loss occurs we can get it back without much hassle.

Consistency is must: During the migration process due to the change in platform, there is a high chance of inconsistency after the process is completed. It is very common and obvious to find inconsistency between two different versions of any platform. Usually many existing method names, class names and libraries source code get changed in order to provide better quality services with the latest version; but, this affects the behavior of our old PHP application significantly. To avoid this, you must go through each and every modification in the technology and then study the source code of those functions from the documentation and accordingly you should change your previous codes to work with the new platform. In this manner you can avoid the inconsistency issue caused by the migration process.

Compatibility should be well tested: Just like the inconsistency issue, there will be a sure shot compatibility issue when you evolve to the newer version of PHP due to the modified source code. Moreover it also affects the existing plug-ins severely. Most of the plug-ins will not work properly with the latest version and they should be replaced by the corresponding update versions in order to compatible with the latest PHP version. Usually most plug-ins releases their updated versions for the latest PHP version to avoid compatibility issue; but there might be few plug-ins or components that don’t have any compatible updates for the latest version. In that scenario, the developer has to take the responsibility of the plug-ins or components to make them alive in the new platform without mismanaging the application. It can either be done by removing the entire plug-in and its dependencies and then substituting it with another plug-in that may work what the existing was doing previously. Another way is to modify the existing plug-in codebase to make it compatible with the new platform.

Database migration needs full attention from the developer: During the migration if anything is highly unstable then it’s none other than the database. There is a high chance of data loss during the transition and hence you must take preventive steps before you start the migration process. As we have already discussed, the previous database should be kept in a safe and secure environment just like in an isolated drive of the same system or in a different machine. If any data loss occurs we can roll back the database from the backup folder.

Always perform the migration process with a SVN or RTC: SVN or RTC are used for keeping track of any codebase change in the application server. These are highly impactful when we are performing the migration process followed by code modification to make our application fit with the new environment. Usually we find errors and bugs in the new application after the migration process and hence it can be avoided by using an enterprise standard SVN or RTC for versioning purpose. It is like a life saver for the developers during any critical situations; because it enables the application to roll back to its previous version without zero hassle.

Make sure, your application can be roll back if needed: As discussed above versioning tools like SVN or RTC can be used for roll back of modified codebase but what about if the migration process is absolutely unsuccessful? In that case, we have to check if there is any migration tool available for PHP to migrate to a newer version and whether it provides the roll back option if the process is unsuccessful. As a tech savvy, we will not recommend you to rely over a software tool for the migration process and putting all your effort and risk on the same rather we would say it would be an unwise decision to rely on a manmade migration tool. To avoid this you should keep all your existing resource as backup in an isolated location or machine so that in case of unsuccessful migration you can restore your application from the backup.

Finally, Extensive testing is must: Once the migration process is completed there must be many compatibility issue, inconsistency and unreliability in your application. Hence it must be under go severe testing approaches i.e., both manual testing as well as automation testing to find out if any loop hole is still present in the application after iterative testing processes. Never compromise on the quality of testing at any cost because this will seriously hamper your end product or application.

Mindfire Solutions provides expert offshore PHP development services from India, gaining its expertise from years of experience in PHP web development and PHP application development. We have been working in PHP for the last 10+ years and have gained expertise on various PHP application development frameworks and PHP services. We offer expert PHP web design and programming services for global clients. Our Zend certified PHP programmers are proficient in PHP Porting and Migration services, PHP website development and PHP web development.