Calvin Buckley

ibm_db2 & ODBC Run Side-by-Side in Seiden CP+ PHP

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Historically, PHP on IBM i implementations demanded loyalty to a single database connection style. You had to choose either the classic extensions (ibm_db2 / PDO_IBM) or the ODBC extensions (odbc / PDO_ODBC.) Operating system limitations prevented both types from being loaded at the same time.

In July 2021, we overcame those limitations to enable coexisting database extensions in Seiden CommunityPlus+ PHP. Yes, now the classic PHP database extensions can run side-by-side with ODBC! We will explain how this was done in a future blog post.

As of this writing, you’ll find this feature exclusively in CP+ PHP. When you install Seiden CP+, all db2 extensions (ibm_db2, PDO_IBM, odbc, and PDO_ODBC) are enabled by default.

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Calvin Buckley

PHP 8.1 Released for IBM i

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PHP 8.1 and IBM i

Good news everyone! In cadence with the release of PHP 8.1 by PHP.net last week, companies running PHP on IBM i can now download PHP 8.1 for use with their own applications.

According to this briefing with IBM i’s Open Source Business Architect, Jesse Gorzinski, staying current with PHP is a best practice for many reasons—for security and security audits, to fix deprecated code before you dig a huge technical debt hole, to keep your PHP environment running smoothly, and so on.

I’ll cover how to access the IBM i version of PHP 8.1 later in this post. First, though, let’s survey our favorite enhancements in this new release. We’re a big fan of PHP’s own release notes, so we recommend that you read them.

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Alan Seiden

Speed Up Web Pages Using Apache’s mod_deflate

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Apache HTTP Server ProjectWhen we do performance assessments for web applications running on HTTP Server (Powered by Apache) for i, one of the first things we do is enable a powerful Apache extension called mod_deflate. Just as zipping up files on your PC saves space and accelerates file transfers, mod_deflate compresses output from your server before sending it over your network.

Does it really work? My tests show a speed improvement of 10 to 50 percent!

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Amy Lantz

Set Up PHP Servers in Seconds with Siteadd

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A modest but powerful utility “stole the show” during last week’s Lunch & Learn with Alan Seiden and Paul Tuohy. Packaged with CommunityPlus+ PHP, Seiden Group’s siteadd creates an Apache HTTP instance and a FastCGI configuration customized for your needs. In seconds, you’ll be able to launch a sample PHP page to test your new web instance.

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