Perl Upgrade

Server Software Upgrades

Ya Man Productions is preparing to upgrade all of its servers from:

Perl 5.003 to the latest version of Perl (v5.00502)
mSQL2 (v2.0.3) to the latest version of mSQL2 (v2.0.7)
mySQL (v3.20.25) to the latest version of mySQL (v3.22.23)
Adding PHP3 (v3.0.9)

NOTE: If you are not using any of Perl's mSQL, mySQL, or PHP DB modules on your website, these changes will not effect your site.

If you are still unsure as to whether your site will be affected, click here.

Why are these changes being made?

It is important to keep our servers up to date for security, usability, Y2K compliance, and simply to add new features. For example, the upgrade to PHP3 provides programmers with powerful new tools with which to design web sites.

Will there be any discontinuation of features as a result of these changes?

Yes. mSQL 1.0 will be discontinued as a feature altogether and should no longer be referenced from account Control Panels. All the functionality of mSQL 1.0 (and more) is present in mSQL2. PHP2 will be phased out at the beginning of March 2000.

When will these upgrades occur?

We will begin upgrading servers on September 1, 1999 and a server upgrade schedule is available so that you will know which servers are being upgraded and on what dates. All of the upgrades listed above are expected to be performed on dates referenced within the schedule. This schedule is subject to change, however, no server will be upgraded prior to the date currently listed in the schedule.

Server upgrades are expected to be completed by 5pm EST the day of the scheduled upgrade. Each server will be rebooted immediately following the upgrade which means that approximately 5-minutes of downtime will be encountered.

NOTE: At the same time a server is upgraded, mSQL 1.0 will be discontinued on that server. PHP2 will be phased out at the beginning of March 2000.

What modifications, if any, will I need to make to my scripts before my server is upgraded?

The following notes will help you determine whether modifications to your scripts are needed:

If you are using mSQL via Perl or PHP2 now, you will need to import your current mSQL 1.0 database tables to either mSQL2 or mySQL, and change your code to make reference to the new database. A conversion tool is now available so that you can convert mSQL 1.0 tables to mSQL2 format if needed. A link to the converter can be found within the Database Administration section of your Control Panel.

NOTE: mSQL2 has several additional reserved words (i.e. text, date, time) which need to be considered prior to running the conversion process. If your mSQL 1.0 tables currently contain column names of text, date, or time, they will be converted to textarea, datestamp, and timestamp respectively when running the conversion script we have provided. If your mSQL 1.0 tables contain column names of text, date, or time, you can rename them as you see fit prior to running the conversion process. Regardless, your scripts will need to be changed prior to the upgrade or the tables will not import properly.

If you are using any APIs via compiled C code, your script will need to be recompiled and relinked with the new application libraries. You will need to email upgrades@yamanpro.com with your request for compilation with the new libraries.

If you are using mSQL2 or mySQL, no changes should be needed, but please review the API documentation for enhanced features and the correct syntax of your function calls as the return values of certain functions may have changed. If you have a DSN configured on your local machine to talk to mySQL, you will need to reconfigure the port to use 3306.

NOTE: Remember that some problems may be coding related and not a problem with the actual upgrade. Ya Man Productions is not responsible for problems arising from code written or modified by persons using undefined Perl constructs.
If your scripts are not interfacing with any databases using Perl's interface modules, no changes to your code ARE LIKELY to be needed.

If you are currently referencing /usr/local/bin/perl, which is a symbolic link to Perl 5.003, it will not be necessary to change this reference as we will simply cut the link over to perl5.00502 at the time your server is upgraded.

Although PHP2 will not be discontinued until March 2000, documents written in PHP2 will need to be converted to PHP3 prior to that date. PHP2 scripts are not compatible with PHP3 and a document is available which highlights noticable changes between PHP2 and PHP3.

When writing PHP code, your "Includes" must reference .phtml files or you will encounter errors.

How can I test these modifications before the upgrade?

You can test your scripts with the new version of Perl prior to the upgrade knowing that database functionlity will not work prior to the upgrade. You will need to make a call to the Perl interpreter as /usr/local/bin/perl5.00502 as opposed to /usr/local/bin/perl which currently references version 5.003.

Documents containing PHP3 code will need to have a .php3 extension. Again, a test account will need to be obtained in order to test your PHP3 code.

Where can I find documentation to support these modifications?

What should I do if I am unfamiliar with these technical terms and/or require assistance making necessary script modifications?

If you are not able to make these modifications, please contact your Web designer and/or programmers to inform them of this upgrade. Be sure to share this documentation with them. If you require assistance with these modifications outlined above, a list of programmers is available for your convenience.

Ya Man Productions is not responsible for problems arising from code written or modified by persons using undefined Perl contructs.

Who can I contact at Ya Man Productions if I have any questions or require additional information?

Please refer questions or concerns to upgrades@yamanpro.com -- Be sure to enter the domain name of the account in question within the subject line of your email.

For technical issues unrelated to the scheduled upgrades, please email support@yamanpro.com -- Be sure to enter the domain name of the account in question within the subject line of your email.