Hi

Long time followers know it's that time again: every six months, I write post about the state of PHP's ecosystem, I do so by looking at Packagist download stats. I write a post in January and July, and usually the July one is the most interesting one, because it shows how the newest PHP release has been doing for the past six months or so.

This time I was a bit surprised though: I keep track of the top-1000 packages on Packagist, more specifically which PHP version they require as their minimum version. It's usually a good sign of how the community is progressing: the more packages requiring a higher PHP version, the more the community is pushed towards using newer PHP versions. I think that's a good thing. I'm surprised though, because usually there are around 100-ish packages requiring the latest and greatest PHP version after half a year. This time though, there are only four. I wonder why. Definitely let me know your thoughts by replying to this email!

So without further ado, here are the results: PHP version stats, July 2024.

In other news, I just read a super inspiring post titled Creativity is the byproduct of work. This post really resonates with me, especially since I've been working on a small novel myself. The past weeks I've noticed how indeed, it's better to write crap and revisit it later, than to not write at all. I wonder how you think about this mindset?

That's all I have for today, have a productive week!

Brent