What is the recommended method in PHP to compare software versions for an update function?

When comparing software versions in PHP for an update function, it is recommended to use the version_compare() function. This function compares two version strings and returns -1 if the first version is lower, 0 if they are equal, and 1 if the first version is higher. This allows for easy comparison of software versions to determine if an update is necessary.

$current_version = "1.2.3";
$new_version = "1.3.0";

if (version_compare($new_version, $current_version) > 0) {
    // Perform update function
    echo "Update is necessary";
} else {
    echo "No update needed";
}