The older $HTTP_*_VARS arrays, such as $HTTP_POST_VARS, still exist and have since PHP 3.
The deprecation of the old $HTTP_*_VARS arrays (which need to be indicated as global when used inside a function or method). The following autoglobal arrays were introduced in PHP 4.1.0. They are: $_GET, $_POST, $_COOKIE, $_SERVER, $_ENV, $_REQUEST, and $_SESSION. The older $HTTP_*_VARS arrays, such as $HTTP_POST_VARS, still exist and have since PHP 3.