Keeping current.
WHY IT MATTERS
Unsupported versions receive no security fixes, and falling behind makes upgrading harder.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH FOR EVERY LANGUAGE IN USE
Which version you run When its support ends What the upgrade path is
WHAT TO PLAN
Upgrades before support ends, not after.
WHAT TOOLS EXIST
Version managers, allowing several versions on one machine and per-project selection.
WHAT TO PIN
The version, in the project, so everyone uses the same.
WHY
Differences between machines produce failures that appear only somewhere else.
WHAT TO MATCH
Development, testing and production versions.
WHAT TO DO BEFORE UPGRADING
Read the release notes for breaking changes Check that dependencies support the new version Test properly
WHAT FREQUENTLY BLOCKS AN UPGRADE
An unmaintained dependency.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
Identify it early and plan its replacement.
WHAT TO CHECK ON SHARED HOSTING
Which versions are available, and whether you can select one.
