


PHP itself has the ability to set sensible defaults, but if you customized it according to your own needs, it would be more beneficial. If you want to make the usage of PHP less painful then regular upgrading and keeping the current version in the process is your way to go. Upgrades come with improved speed to process, language features, security updates of data and even lower memory usage. So emphasis should be on upgrading the PHP and the associated Extensions. Having the updated version will help you practice smoothly and with no roadblocks. As nobody is willing to left behind because of time/budget for upgrade testing, PHP binaries default no one thinks to change around, shared hosting restriction or any other possible reason. Keeping the version of PHP updated and up to the mark is the key. Best practices for modern PHP development: Setup and configuration: And if you are already a user, then upgrading is not difficult at all as there are no backward compatibility breaks when it comes to the upgrading of PHP. Like the engine has been re-written, new exciting features have been added in the updated version which has made the PHP quicker than the old versions available in the market.

Starting with the current stable release of PHP7.2 would be an excellent start for all the new users because of new updates.
