Issue
When i try to install php5 in Ubuntu 16.04 by using following code:
sudo apt-get install php5 php5-mcrypt
I get following error:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Package php5 is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
E: Package 'php5' has no installation candidate
I have tried reinstalling but it does not help.
All this error was encountered after I updated my 15.10 Ubuntu to 16.04
Solution
Ubuntu 16.04 comes with PHP7 as the standard, so there are no PHP5 packages
However if you like you can add a PPA to get those packages anyways:
Remove all the stock php packages
List installed php packages with dpkg -l | grep php| awk '{print $2}' |tr "\n" " " then remove unneeded packages with sudo aptitude purge your_packages_here or if you want to directly remove them all use :
sudo aptitude purge `dpkg -l | grep php| awk '{print $2}' |tr "\n" " "`
Add the PPA
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
Install your PHP Version
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install php5.6
You can install php5.6 modules too ..
Verify your version
sudo php -v
Based on https://askubuntu.com/a/756186/532957 (thanks @AhmedJerbi)
Answered By - Chris Stadler Answer Checked By - Senaida (WPSolving Volunteer)