workaround for those using php 5.1.x or below

I just wanted to document my workaround for those not using php 5.2.x. For my sins I'm developing on a dedicated server with Fasthosts which runs php 5.1.6 and there is no easy way to update to update it.

Anyway, turns out apach solr only requires one (or maybe two) extra functions, namely json_decode().

I found this fix: http://my.php.net/manual/en/function.json-decode.php#80606

Place this into template.php:

<?php
if ( !function_exists('json_decode') ){
    function json_decode($content, $assoc=false){
                require_once 'json/JSON.php';
                if ( $assoc ){
                    $json = new Services_JSON(SERVICES_JSON_LOOSE_TYPE);
        } else {
                    $json = new Services_JSON;
                }
        return $json->decode($content);
    }
}

if ( !function_exists('json_encode') ){
    function json_encode($content){
                require_once 'Services/JSON.php';
                $json = new Services_JSON;
               
        return $json->encode($content);
    }
}
?>

Then place this script in the directory of your choice: http://pear.php.net/pepr/pepr-proposal-show.php?id=198 (under links > PEAR package file (.tgz))

Apologies for the dodgy labelling of this issue, I just wanted to save other people the hours of headbanging we went through. If anyone with extensive Solr knowledge has anything to point out about this, I would be grateful for the feedback.

Thanks,
Neil