In order to create portable code, it's best to assume all the native functions already exist. Littering a script with calls to PHP_Compat can become messy, and increase the work required to port the code.
To solve this there are a number of approaches. The first would
be adding the load statements to a file which is included at the
top of every document. The second, and preferred method is to make
use of php_auto_append
php.ini
value. This can be set in a .htaccess
file,
and no modifications to the actual code are required.
If phpcompat.php
was the name of the file, an
example entry in a .htaccess
could be
php_value php_auto_append phpcompat.php
.
The phpcompat.php
file would make use of either the
loadVersion or loadFunction/loadConstant methods discussed in the next
page.