autoconf 2.73 defaults to C23; breaks php <= 8.2

[BjarneDMat]

Description

The autoconf port was just updated to 2.73. One of the changes in this version is that it defaults to C23 if the compiler supports it. Xcode 26 clang supports C23 as do newer MacPorts clangs.

C23 is not fully backward compatible with older C standards. When using autoreconf - as we do in MacPorts for php >= 8.0 - the build fails in /ext/bcmath w/ a lot of

[-Wdeprecated-non-prototype]
warning: a function definition without a prototype is deprecated in all versions of C and is not supported in C23

I've got patches for this issue for php{74,8[012]} in PR32175

PHP Version

PHP 8.2.30 (cli) (built: Apr 19 2026 17:37:53) (NTS)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.2.30, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with Zend OPcache v8.2.30, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

Operating System

macOS 15.7.4 x86_64; Xcode 26.3

[kallesommernielsen]

Hej @BjarneDMat

PHP 8.2 and PHP 8.3 is currently in the security fixes only of their lifecycle, anything prior is already at the end of life for their respective series.

From what I can read from your issue, this does not occur for PHP 8.4+ right? I don't remember if we have previously ported back build fixes to security only series (ping @petk)

[BjarneDMat]

backporting : You did it for libxml2 issues that were backported from php82 -> php81

The issue is only for php <= 8.2. php >= 8.3 are 🆗👍🏻

We are keeping php >= 7.4 alive in MacPorts due to legacy code that people might have to run -or- upgrade.
One of us just had to upgrade some legacy code from php74 -> php81 -> php85

[petk]

In PHP 8.2 there are a lot of issues also in the autotools build systems regarding those prototypes. It was fixed since PHP 8.3 and up. And mainly in PHP 8.4 I think most were fixed. Yes, some of those warning will become errors in future compilers. I'm not sure how deep this should be fixed though. If it's only that patch as in macports/macports-ports#32175 for now I guess it can be backported. Otherwise, I think you're doomed to have patches in the build wrapper. It's a common practice for such software and specially when it becomes EOL. Your call here.