Figured there would be an easy answer on Google, but no luck. Most of the tutorials, while similar to what I need, don't work on Debian:
http://chemicaloliver.net/internet/installing-php-5-4-in-ubuntu/
add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php5
yields:
-bash: add-apt-repository: command not found
have you tried the dotdeb repository?
Deal with everything easier by using Xampp for Linux if your system is local or developing machine.
Use the following URL to get the latest version that has PHP version 5.4.7
Try to edit the dotdeb.list file;
nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/dotdeb.list
then paste the following mirrors:
deb http://packages.dotdeb.org squeeze all
deb-src http://packages.dotdeb.org squeeze all
deb http://packages.dotdeb.org squeeze-php54 all
deb-src http://packages.dotdeb.org squeeze-php54 all
next it should be necessary to execute as follow:
gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --recv-key 89DF5277
gpg -a --export 89DF5277 | apt-key add -
and
apt-get update
apt-get upgrade