UPDATE: Community PHP is now known as Seiden PHP.
Last week, Perforce announced plans to withdraw Zend Server for IBM i “Basic” by June 2021. Filling the gap is “community” PHP for IBM i, installable in RPM format.
Seiden Group has been assisting IBM i clients to adopt Community PHP since its introduction last year. We’ve helped with both first-time PHP installations and migrations from Basic.
UPDATE: As of 2020, we recommend using Seiden PHP on IBM i and LINUX for reliability, speed, and ease of maintenance.
I’ve been hearing from people confused about Zend Server editions on IBM i. Yes, Community Edition was removed with Zend Server 7/8, but Zend replaced that with the no-charge “Basic” edition. The Basic edition exists only on IBM i. It requires registration but at no cost. Zend Server for IBM i can be downloaded here.
While I often recommend the Professional or Enterprise editions of Zend Server for the value-added tools and for Zend’s professional support, rest assured that free PHP still exists, with the Basic edition.
For more information, here is the current list of Zend Server editions for IBM i.
[Update: See PHP 7 and Free Basic Zend Server Edition for IBM i ]