PHP’s official ChangeLog dates PHP 4.0 Beta 4 to 20 February 2000. A contemporaneous BetaNews article titled “PHP4 Beta 4 Released Today” was dated 21 February 2000; those dates refer to separate records. Beta 4 focused on uploads, Windows and server compatibility, database and PDF support, and PHP’s shared server architecture. It was a pre-release milestone: PHP 4.0.0 followed on 22 May 2000.
When was PHP 4 Beta 4 released?
The PHP project’s ChangeLog lists PHP 4.0 Beta 4 on 20 February 2000. BetaNews published its article with the headline “PHP4 Beta 4 Released Today” on 21 February 2000. The headline’s “today” reflects the article’s publication date; it does not change the date recorded in the project’s ChangeLog.
Beta 4 was not the final PHP 4 release. PHP.net’s archive dates PHP 4.0.0 to 22 May 2000, followed by PHP 4.0.1 on 28 June, PHP 4.0.2 on 29 August, and PHP 4.0.3 on 11 October 2000.
What changed in PHP 4 Beta 4?
The project’s ChangeLog describes work across several areas. These are development notes for the beta, not independent test results.
#1 Best Overall
HTTP file uploads and forms
- PHP introduced
$HTTP_POST_FILES[]to hold information about files uploaded through HTTP. - The entry records a fix for RFC1867 file uploads on Windows.
- Multipart form data was changed to follow
variables_order. - A workaround addressed malformed POST data from Internet Explorer on Mac.
Windows and server compatibility
The ChangeLog says PHP was made to work with Microsoft Personal Web Server on Windows NT Workstation and Windows 95, and notes improvements to the ISAPI module. It says using PHP as an ISAPI extension rather than a filter should work in most cases, but explicitly warns that this arrangement had not yet received enough testing. The entry therefore documents an intended compatibility improvement, not a guarantee that every ISAPI setup worked.
Database and PDF support
The Beta 4 entry lists PostgreSQL support for DB, DB/storage support, database warnings, and initial support for PDFLib 2.20. A subsequent patch-level entry records support for PDFLib 2.30.
Rank #2
Shared server architecture and language fixes
The project described the server-abstraction layer as complete: PHP code could be shared across Apache, CGI, IIS, and other servers, with thin interface modules handling server-specific connections. The entry also lists object iteration in foreach, NULL support in gettype(), and fixes involving strip_tags and memory corruption in fgetss(), strip_tags(), and gzgetss(). It also notes an update to the browscap module for PHP 4.
What happened in Beta 4 Patch Level 1?
The ChangeLog dates Beta 4 Patch Level 1 to 21 February 2000, one day after the Beta 4 entry. It specifically lists a crash fix for configurations with magic_quotes disabled and support for PDFLib 2.30. This is a small follow-up entry, not the PHP 4.0.0 stable release.
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PHP.net says support for PHP 4 was discontinued on 7 August 2008. Beta 4 is archival software, not a supported choice for a current production system. Its release notes remain useful for understanding PHP’s development history, but they should not be read as present-day compatibility or security guidance.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
Sources
- PHP project ChangeLog for PHP 4
- PHP.net archive: PHP 4.0.0
- PHP.net supported versions
- BetaNews (article titled “PHP4 Beta 4 Released Today,” dated 21 February 2000)
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