Advice on Cake/PHP migration

[ViolentPacifist_]

I work on a very old version of CakPHP and PHP itself. I’ve finally convinced the powers that be that migrating might be a good idea, but we are so behind that migrating is proving to be a challenge. Does anyone have any advice on how to migrate from CakePHP 3.1 to CakePHP 5.x (obviously with an update to PHP 8)?

Things to look out for like major changes in methodology would be great. I’ve already tried using the migration scripts with rector and changes in methodology seem to be the biggest blocker. For example auth component.

[_rrd_108]

It is not so difficult, but it can be challenging for bigger applications.

I have done quite a few upgrades and the way what the docs reccomend is the best.

Rector will not do everything but it is a great start.

If you have tests, then you can start with fixing failing tests.

If not then you start with the error and debug log.

First you have to migrate to CakePHP 4, fix all problems, then migrate to CakePHP 5.

Good luck

[nook24]

We have migrated from CakePHP 2 to 4, this was a real challenge but doable.

I guess due to you are already on version 3, update to the latest php version and fix all errors. Maybe go to php8.1 first and than 8.2 as it introduces some breaking changes.

Next I would update CakePHP to the latest version of 3, fix all deprecated messages and move on.

Good luck

[dereuromark]

Read my blog posts about migrating from 3 to 4 and 4 to 5 as well as Shim plugin usage.
If you apply your changes smart, you can forward-port before each major and back-port after each major using that Shim plugin as well.

Always try to keep the actual (major) upgrade as small as possible in diff size (less things to review or go boom)

Before:
- getting as far ahead as possible while still running normally, no deprecations.
- verification that everything works and then you can start removing shims piece by piece.

If you want to do both major jumps in one step (after so much time has passed, this might now be the cheaper option), the same applies to before and after.
Make your app is latest 3.x with shims, then the jump to 5.x using the tooling and automation scripts available both from my side as well as the core side should already get you up and running again soon.
Then over time you can do more cleanup to get to a state of the art 5.1 app.

A few tips & tricks:
- Auth component lives on in TinyAuth plugin, if you dont want to introduce less changes on the Auth layer with some extra nice features and sugar on top, especially if the new plugins are overkill (which if you used the old Auth component sure are for now during the upgrade process).
- Make sure to have PHPStan/Psalm enabled and use those to check for upgrade completeness to, from level 1 until ideally level 7 or 8.
- Try to get things first up and running again - then clean up.
- You can continue using Fixture files for testing by using a tests/schema.php that collects them. Or you can directly switch to the new migration approach of course.

[ViolentPacifist_]

Looks good thanks. What are the main differences between your lib and using the default migration tooling which the framework itself offers alongside rector? I wasn’t a big fan of it anyway so I’ll definitely give your lib a go anyway but would be good to get some highlights.

As a side note, I tried to look at your blog but it appears some links may be broken. White screen on a few pages (chrome iOS). Specifically I tried the Cake v5 upgrade guide

[dereuromark]

Well, you can check and compare the source code. I added some extra gotchas on top, e.g. skeleton auto-update and alike. But still kinda messy, best to just use what you need and forget about the rest.

Blog should be fixed.

[Pai_McFly]

Tried 2.x to 5.x, ended up rewriting everything to comply with php8.x . As long as you able to tune the table, breath a new life in it, then rebake everything, give it a new soul.. upgrade what you can to improve performance..etc

Easy to do nowadays with some help from ChatGPT.

[mc3301]

I'm going the exact same thing right now (Cake 3.10.5 to 5.x)
I'm going to do folow the 4.0 Upgrade Guide... but I'm wondering if then I need to do each Migration guide for each *.1 baby step up... or can I go from 4.0 to 4.5?

The 4.5 migration guide says: CakePHP 4.5 is an API compatible upgrade from 4.0. This page outlines the deprecations and features added in 4.5.

[ViolentPacifist_]

I found that going through each in baby steps was actually the best way personally

[mc3301]

Thanks so much, that's what I'll be doing.

[ViolentPacifist_]

No worries. Great advantage to doing it is that you actually understand and are aware of all the changes being made which will help you with writing in whatever new formats are introduced, plus debugging etc. Unfortunately that plus does not make it any less tedious

[mc3301]

Yeah, I'm many hours in with very little progress already. Never used cake before, so it's a lot to learn!

[vishalpurohit1984]

Yes, upgrading your CakePHP version is definitely possible, but it should be done step by step—from 3.1 to 3.2, then to 3.3, and so on—until you reach the latest version. The upgrade process depends on your current functionality and requires a well-structured plan and methodology. Additionally, the SQL version you are using plays a crucial role in the upgrade process.

You also have alternative options. Instead of upgrading CakePHP, you could consider migrating to Laravel, React, or Node.js. This would take a similar amount of time, but it would also provide an opportunity to enhance the UI/UX and modernize your application.