Alan Seiden

C​reating a Debug Log with the PHP Toolkit for IBM i

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PHP on IBM iOne of my favorite features of the PHP Toolkit for IBM i is its ability to generate a detailed debug log. The log includes connection information, program call options, parameters in and out, and performance timing. When we receive questions about the toolkit as part of our SmartSupport, a debug log helps resolve the question quickly.

Why use the PHP Toolkit? It can call commands, RPG, COBOL, and CL programs, flexibly and fast. The debug log can make troubleshooting easier than with other methods that don’t have a log, such as stored procedures.

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Alan Seiden

PHP 8.4 Is Here

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PHP on IBM iPHP 8.4 represents another step in PHP’s evolution, once again improving performance and adding features to help developers write more concise, high quality code.

PHP 8.4 is now available for IBM i from Seiden Group.

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Amy Lantz

PHP: The “RPG” of Open Source for IBM i

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Reliable. Versatile. Fast. The terms we use to describe modern RPG applications apply to PHP as well. That’s why PHP remains a top choice to supplement RPG for IBM i projects involving the web, APIs, and high-volume transactions.

One sterling example is Curbstone’s PCI-validated payment solution, which uses PHP-based portals to process over 8 billion dollars in credit card payments annually with 99.99% uptime availability.

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Calvin Buckley

PHP on IBM i Rebuild Announcement

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On August 12, 2024, we pushed a major update to Seiden PHP+, in versions from 7.3 to 8.3, to accommodate IBM updates to OpenSSL. If you receive warnings in your PHP error log resembling: Module "PDO" is already loaded in Unknown on line 0, follow the steps in this article.

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Amy Lantz

What’s New & Exciting in PHP on IBM i in 2024

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A proven IBM i solution for API, mobile, and web application development, PHP is now at version 8.3. Solid and dependable, today’s PHP is fast, easy to code, yet powerful for the modern developer.

In the video below, courtesy of Toronto User Group (TUG), Alan Seiden explores modern uses for PHP. He provides tips and code samples, discusses recent PHP enhancements, and offers his recommendations for security and performance. You’ll also learn how:

  • IBM i users enjoy easy updates and fast performance.
  • The PHP package comes with key extensions, tested and working out of the box.
  • Each new PHP release is faster, more powerful, and encourages better development practices, to reduce technical debt.

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Richard Schoen

Call/Parm Your Open Source Apps from RPG and CL with QSHCALL

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QSHONI integration for IBM i RPG, CL and open sourceA few years back I created the QShell on IBM i (QshOni) project to allow QShell/PASE (open source) apps to be more easily integrated and used with traditional IBM i job streams written in RPG and CL. Since then, many developers have adopted QshOni to utilize their open source apps in conjunction with their classic traditional apps.

Recently I added several new commands to QshOni to make living the PASE life even easier for RPG developers. Today’s focus will be on the QSHCALL command.

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Alan Seiden

Which PHP Versions Get Critical Security Updates?

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PHPAlthough there are many reasons—including performance—to update to newer PHP releases, the number one reason is to avoid losing security updates.

Each version of PHP (7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, etc.) has three years of support before it is considered end of life. For two years, it gets bug fixes and all security fixes. In the third year, it gets only critical security fixes. After that, nothing!

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Alan Seiden

APCu Extension Added to Seiden PHP+

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Upgrade your PHP to PHP+PHP sites and APIs on IBM i have a new way to run even faster. As noted in our Seiden PHP+ Changelog, we have added the APCu extension to our PHP distribution.

The APC User Cache (APCu) extension is an “in-memory key-value store for PHP” that evolved from the old APC extension (minus the opcode caching). We added APCu at the request of a Linux PHP user who migrated their PHP application to the IBM i to simplify their architecture.

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Alan Seiden

Our Favorite ibm_db2 Settings for PHP

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PHP on IBM iWhen supporting our Seiden CP+ PHP, we found that documentation for the “classic” ibm_db2 extension for IBM i wasn’t easy to find.

To help ourselves as well as others, we updated the PHP.net manual to describe each ibm_db2.i5_* setting. This blog post links to that manual page and highlights a few of our favorite ibm_db2 settings.

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Amy Lantz

PHP 8.3 for IBM i Released in Seiden PHP

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PHP on IBM iLast week the IBM i community got PHP 8.3, the newest version, via Seiden PHP+.

While PHP 8.3 has valuable updates, PHP 8.0 and lower are no longer receiving even security fixes, increasing your risk of issues with security and certainly with your next security audit. Contact Alan for a free upgrade assessment.

PHP 8.3’s new features include json_validate. You’ll find the full list of changes and supporting details at PHP.Watch.

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