How can developers ensure compatibility with newer PHP versions while still maintaining functionality for older versions, as discussed in the forum thread?

To ensure compatibility with newer PHP versions while still maintaining functionality for older versions, developers can use PHP version checks and conditional statements in their code. By checking the PHP version at runtime and using version-specific features only when available, developers can ensure their code works across different PHP versions.

if (version_compare(PHP_VERSION, '7.0.0', '>=')) {
    // Use PHP 7 specific features
} else {
    // Fallback to older PHP version compatible code
}