imap_open disabled

It seems like imap_open is not enabled for PHP. This is very inconvenient since i'm moving a lot of stuff over and i dont want to rewrite all my code. I need to make imap_open work.

Buidlling/compiling my own version of php is way beyond my ability. Can anyone suggest any way to do it or walk me through the process without using the word "compile"? Can a fully working copy of PHP with imap functions enabled be downloaded somewhere?

Is there a reason that dreamhost has chosen to use a cripled copy of php?

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2 ideas, both untested:
1. Using the php.ini modification suggestions in the wiki, enable the imap module. You'll have to find where the .so file is stored.

2. Modify your code to dynamically load the module with dl()

I'd recommend the custom install of PHP. It's not really all that bad assuming there are no errors. There's a walkthrough of the process in the DH wiki here: http://wiki.dreamhost.com/index.php/Installing_PHP5.

I'm doing it myself because I too was upset by the lack of imap support. If there's another way though, I'm interested to hear.