PHP81 Compatibility - sebiboga/testlink-upgraded GitHub Wiki

PHP 8.1+ Compatibility

Issue #140

Modernized TestLink for PHP 8.1+ support with zero breaking changes.

What Changed

1. strftime() Deprecation

Problem: PHP 8.1 deprecated strftime(). Many TestLink functions used this for date formatting.

Solution: Created tlStrftime() wrapper function that:

Uses IntlDateFormatter for locale-aware formatting (PHP 8.1+)
Falls back to date() conversion
Maintains backward compatibility with PHP 7.4+

Usage:

// Old (deprecated)
$date = @strftime("%Y-%m-%d", time());

// New (recommended)
$date = tlStrftime("%Y-%m-%d", time());

2. Count Type Safety

Problem: PHP 8.1 enforces strict typing. count() on non-countable values throws TypeError.

Solution: Created type-safe helpers:

// tlCount() - returns 0 for non-countable
$count = tlCount($items);  // Safe even if $items is null

// tlEnsureCountable() - converts to array
$items = tlEnsureCountable($query_result);
$count = count($items);

3. Variable Syntax

Status: Already fixed. All ${var} replaced with {$var} in strings.

Compatibility Layer

New File: lib/functions/php81_compat.php

Three helper functions:

tlStrftime($format, $timestamp)

Modern date formatting
Locale-aware (PHP 8.1+)
Format strings: %Y, %m, %d, %H, %M, %S, %A, %B, %c, %x, %X

tlCount($value, $mode)

Safe count for any type
Returns 0 for null/non-countable
Supports COUNT_NORMAL and COUNT_RECURSIVE

tlEnsureCountable($value)

Converts values to countable
Returns empty array if null
Safe for subsequent count()

Affected Files

date_api.php
lang_api.php
testcase.class.php
print.inc.php
logger.class.php
resultsMoreBuildsGUI.php
tcCreatedPerUserOnTestProject.php
reqOverview.php
stashrestInterface.class.php
jiraCommons.class.php
gforgesoapInterface.class.php
TestlinkXMLRPCServerTest.php

Testing

Check PHP Version

php -v

Run with Strict Error Reporting

error_reporting(E_ALL);
ini_set('display_errors', '1');

Test Date Formatting

$date = tlStrftime("%Y-%m-%d", time());
echo $date;  // 2026-08-16

Test Safe Counting

$items = null;
$count = tlCount($items);
echo $count;  // 0 (no error)

Compatibility Matrix

PHP Version	Status	Notes
7.4 LTS	✅ Full	Tested
8.0	✅ Full	Tested
8.1	✅ Full	Recommended
8.2	✅ Full	Tested
8.3	✅ Full	Tested

Performance

IntlDateFormatter: Minimal overhead, proper locale support
Fallback date(): Near-native performance
tlCount(): Negligible overhead (type check + count)

Format String Reference

Common strftime format strings supported by tlStrftime():

Code	Meaning	Example
%Y	4-digit year	2026
%y	2-digit year	26
%m	Month (01-12)	08
%d	Day (01-31)	16
%H	Hour (00-23)	14
%M	Minute (00-59)	30
%S	Second (00-59)	45
%A	Full weekday	Saturday
%a	Abbreviated day	Sat
%B	Full month	August
%b	Abbreviated month	Aug
%c	Locale date/time	Sat Aug 16 14:30:45 2026

Migration Guide

For Developers

When adding new date formatting:

// ✅ DO: Use tlStrftime()
$date = tlStrftime("%Y-%m-%d", $timestamp);

// ❌ DON'T: Use strftime() directly
$date = strftime("%Y-%m-%d", $timestamp);

When working with counts:

// ✅ DO: Use tlCount()
if (tlCount($results) > 0) { ... }

// ❌ DON'T: Call count() on potentially null values
if (count($results) > 0) { ... }  // May throw TypeError

Documentation

See docs/PHP81_COMPATIBILITY.md for detailed technical documentation.