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This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
The client is preparing old sites for PHP 8.2 and has encountered PHP deprecations with WPML Sticky Links and CMS Navigation plugins. They are inquiring about the relevance of their current WPML plugins and whether updates for PHP 8.2 compatibility can be expected for the plugins with deprecations.
Solution:
We have confirmed that the core WPML plugins are compatible with PHP 8.1, and while compatibility with PHP 8.2 is planned, it is not yet available as WordPress itself is not fully compatible with PHP 8.2. We have an internal ticket for updating the Sticky Links and CMS Nav plugins for PHP 8.x compatibility, which is scheduled to be part of the WPML 4.7 development cycle. However, we cannot provide an exact timeline for this.
Both Sticky Links and CMS Navigation plugins are optional but may be relevant depending on the client's needs. We recommend reviewing the plugins' features to determine their necessity:

If you do not frequently change permalink structures you might manage without Sticky Links, as WPML already handles translating links.

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This topic contains 1 reply, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Nigel 1 year, 6 months ago.

Assisted by: Nigel.

Author Posts
October 10, 2023 at 9:22 am #14548027

Veerle

Context:
We're preparing a couple of (old) sites for PHP8.2 (we have to do this before the end of October due to PHP8.1's EOL). These sites still use the suite of WPML plugins:

WPML Multilingual CMS 4.6.6 last updated: september 6, 2023
String Translation 3.2.8 last updated: september 6, 2023

Gravity Forms Multilingual 1.7.2 last updated: maart 8, 2023
Media Translation 2.7.3 last updated: juni 20, 2023
WPML SEO 2.1.0 last updated: september 5, 2022

Long time no updates (& a lot of PHP Deprecations)
Sticky Links 1.5.4 last updated: augustus 20, 2020
CMS Navigation 1.5.5 last updated: september 9, 2020

Tests on local dev (PHP 8.2.10) give these deprecations:
- PHP Deprecated: Automatic conversion of false to array is deprecated in /app/public/wp-content/plugins/wpml-sticky-links/classes/class-wpml-sticky-links.php on line 19
- PHP Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property wpml_cms_nav_cache::$name is deprecated in /app/public/wp-content/plugins/wpml-cms-nav/inc/cache.class.php on line 36

I know deprecations won't break (now), but there messing up my debug log & testing 🙂

My questions:
1. Are all of these plugins still relevant? (I'm not an active WPML user, so I might have missed one of the used WPML-plugins being sunsetted)

2. Are the plugins with the deprecations (sticky links & cms navigation) still maintained and can we expect fixes for these deprecations in a future release?

Kind regards,
Veerle

October 10, 2023 at 12:12 pm #14549735

Nigel
WPML Supporter since 02/2016

Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)

Hi Veerle

Right now the core WPML plugins are compatible with PHP 8.1; compatibility with 8.2 will come, but right now WordPress itself is not compatible with PHP 8.2.

Checking, I see that we have an internal ticket for updating Sticky Links and CMS Nav plugins for PHP 8.x compatibility, but that work hasn't been undertaken yet. It will happen, but I can't say exactly when, though it looks timetabled to be part of the WPML 4.7 development cycle.

Both plugins are very much optional, but relevant if you rely on them. I suggest you refresh your understanding of what they do: https://wpml.org/documentation/wpml-core-and-add-on-plugins/

(If you are not in the habit of changing your permalink structure you can probably manage without Sticky Links as WPML itself already handles translating links.)

October 10, 2023 at 12:51 pm #14550073

Veerle

OK, thx!
We have an eager-to-update host 🙂

I'll keep an eye on the future updates and check the docs.