Alan Seiden

PHP 7 and Free Basic Zend Server Edition for IBM i

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PHP 7 is creating excitement among PHP aficionados for its speed and additional language techniques.

As the official runtime for enterprise PHP, Zend Server has always offered a free basic edition to IBM i customers.

Recently, a change occurred on the Zend Server download page that has caused some confusion. At the time of this writing, the Zend Server download was labeled as a “30-day trial” even though, as an IBM i customer, you are still entitled to a free basic edition license. Of course, you can also opt for paid editions.

IBM i users can request a download of Zend Server for  IBM i and PHP 7 here, confident that they will obtain a legitimate license, not a trial license. Fill out the form and you’ll be sent a download link. You’ll then be able to choose between the free basic license and value-add paid licenses.

Alan Seiden

#OceanTech17: Three Days of Inspiration in July

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July 20-22, 2017, Costa Mesa, CA

I always look forward to participating in the OCEAN Tech conference. It’s an impressive example of a local user group bringing affordable education to its members.

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Alan Seiden

Let’s Meet Up at COMMON, May 6-10, 2017

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The Seiden Group team is headed to Orlando May 6-10 to participate in COMMON 2017. In addition to teaching sessions and workshops on best practices for using PHP and other open source technologies on IBM i, we’re looking forward to meeting up with our clients and friends.

One of our favorite opportunities at COMMON is to meet professionals at all levels of the IT organization. Understanding the challenges faced by each member of the IT team — from admin to CIO — strengthens our ability to build effective solutions that are easy to use, easy to extend, easy to maintain.

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Alan Seiden

RPG & DB2 Summit: March 21-23, 2017, in Orlando

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In just two weeks I’ll have the pleasure of joining some of the top IBM i development experts in Orlando for the RPG & DB2 Summit. Run by Susan Gantner, Jon Paris and Paul Tuohy, this conference is full of big personalities who create a warm, friendly environment that’s perfect for learning.

I enjoy the community feeling and how excited everyone is to solve development problems and share tips and techniques.

The RPG & DB2 Summit is one of the few training events that focuses exclusively on topics of interest to IBM i developers. That includes PHP and SQL, of course!

Check out the session grid and pay special attention to the Hands-on PHP Workshop on Monday, March 20, followed by several PHP and open source sessions given by yours truly and Zend’s Mike Pavlak, plus a whole array of SQL sessions. And maybe a few on RPG.

I think they should change the name of the conference to the RPG, PHP, SQL & DB2 Summit, don’t you?

Come join us!

Alan Seiden

WMCPA 2017: A Glimpse into the Future of IBM i

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Every year I look forward to WMPCA’s Spring Technical Conference. And it’s not just because this active IBM i user group does a great job of bringing experts to beautiful Wisconsin (in March!) to teach a broad range of IBM i topics.

I also love meeting the next generation of IBM i talent, always represented by Jim Buck’s RPG students at Gateway Technical College.

And, of course, there are many PHP and open source sessions to choose from, including these from me:

  • Make Your IBM i Sizzle with WordPress
  • Apache Web Server Magic on IBM i
  • Using DB2 and SQL with Open Source Languages on IBM i
  • PHP Tricks for the RPG Programmer: Graphics, Excel, PDFs, E-Mail and More

Also check out these sessions from our good friend Mike Pavlak:

  • PHP Web Security in an Insecure World
  • Web Services with PHP on IBM i

I could go on and on with recommendations, but I’m sure you’ll find plenty to love on your own.

Join us at the WMCPA Spring Technical Conference on March 14-16, 2017, at the Lake Lawn Resort on the shores of Delavan Lake!

 

Alan Seiden

Speaking tip

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An IBM i colleague today asked me for tips to make his presentations at COMMON and other conferences more effective and helpful.

I told him that I like to arrive a day early, talk to people, gauge the audience’s level of experience with PHP, IBM i, DB2, performance, whatever topics I plan to cover. I ask people what they hope to learn at the conference and from my talks specifically. With that information in mind, I adjust the content, emphasis, and pacing of my talks for that specific group. Such pre-conference socializing also helps attendees become comfortable talking to me, such that they may be more likely to ask questions and participate fully in my talks, which brings them alive for everyone.

Conferences and user events where I’ll be speaking in Fall 2016
(Outdated links removed.)

  • RPG and DB2 Summit, Chicago, October 4-6
  • ZendCon, Las Vegas, October 18-21
  • Fall COMMON, Columbus, Ohio, October 24-26
  • OCEAN evening meeting, Costa Mesa, California, November 15 (WordPress and Drupal on IBM i)
  • OCEAN daylong workshop, Costa Mesa, California, November 19 (WordPress and Drupal “Boot Camp”)
Alan Seiden

Fundamentals of tuning PHP on IBM i

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At today’s free webinar at 12pm EDT, sponsored by Zend, a Rogue Wave Company, I will join Mike Pavlak in sharing tips on optimizing PHP in the IBM i environment. The webinar is being recorded and will be available for replay later. Details here: http://www.zend.com/en/resources/fundamentals-of-tuning-php-on-ibm-i

At Alan Seiden Consulting, we specialize in all aspects of PHP with IBM i, from mentoring, performance help, troubleshooting, DB2 and toolkit, application lifecycle management, and development projects from very small to large and complex. If you have questions about tuning or optimizing PHP or IBM i performance, get in touch on our contact page.

Alan Seiden

Video promo for COMMON conference May 15-18, 2016

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Join me for the 2016 COMMON Annual Meeting and Exposition, May 15-18, with pre-conference workshops May 14. Don’t miss New Orleans!

Learn about IBM i 7.3, open source languages, security, and more.

Alan will speak about PHP, SQL, performance, and how to relax your neck, back, and shoulders at the keyboard. Also looking forward to spending time with the gang from “Club Seiden.”
https://www.common.org

Alan Seiden

WMCPA IBM i conference: March 15-17, 2016

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Join me and 27 other speakers at the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association (WMCPA) spring technical conference, March 15-17, 2016, at the Lake Lawn Resort on the shores of Delavan Lake.

Featured speakers: Alison Butterill, Tim Rowe. Speakers: Robert Andrews, Jim Bainbridge, Aaron Bartell, Stacy Benfield, Larry Bolhuis, David Brault, Chris Bremer, Jim Buck, Tom Cremieux, Gus Delgado, Richard Dolewski, Von Enselman, Byron Franz, Charles Guarino, Scott Klement, Richard Milone, Floyd Del Muro, Greg Patterson, Mike Pavlak, Trevor Perry, Jim Ritchhart, Richard Schoen, Alan Seiden, Grant Smith, Matt Staddler, Paul Tuohy

Details: https://www.wmcpa.org/index.php/conference2016

Alan Seiden

Top Ten Reasons to Choose PHP

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I’m proud to have written the foreword for BCD’s new eBook, Top 10 Reasons to Choose PHP for IBM i Web Application Development. In this free eBook, author Duncan Kenzie explains why PHP has become the mainstream solution for web and mobile development on IBM i. He also guides RPG programmers toward successful adoption of PHP in their shops.

Thanks to BCD and Zend for sponsoring this eBook. Download it free here: https://www.bcdsoftware.com/lp/websmart-php/php-on-ibm-i.php

To read an interview with me, about PHP and the eBook, by Dan Burger of IT Jungle: http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh020116-story05.html