Modwest FAQ and Knowledge Base

Note: As of May 2009, new accounts on the Grid at Modwest run PHP 5 by default. If your account predates May 2009 and you would like to update to our newer hosting environment, please contact us.

The below applies only for accounts created prior to May 2009, and is left for historical purposes:

You have four options if you want .php files to run as PHP 5:

1. Contact support and ask us to switch your account from our Redhat environment running PHP4 by default, to our newer Debian environment that runs PHP 5 by default.
2. Toggle your account's default PHP to be PHP 5


3. Specify an interpreter in the files needing to run as PHP 5


4. Rename specific .php files to end in .php5

If you want to globally change your whole account to run all .php scripts using PHP 5 you need to either:

1. Use the toggle in the PHP Configurator

OR

2. Open a shell to your account


3. Type:
   rm /sitebin/php
   ln -s /usr/local/bin/php5 /sitebin/php


4. Note that you can switch back to PHP 4 by following the same procedure, but using usr/local/bin/php4 instead of /usr/local/bin/php5

To specify an interpreter, you need do the following:

1. Run the following shell command on the .php file:
   chmod +x myphpfile.php
   For more information about how to get a command prompt for your server go here.


2. Now add the following code to the first line of the file (not within your PHP tags):
   #!/usr/local/bin/php5
   This is a switch that forces PHP 5 to parse the php script.


3. Again, if PHP5 is your default, use /usr/local/bin/php4 instead of /usr/local/bin/php5

Those that rename files from *.php to *.php5, that is all you need to do. If you have switched your account to use PHP 5 by default, you may rename files to be *.php4 to force those files to use PHP 4.

For more information on PHP 5 go here.