FAQ : Microsoft Windows Azure PHP SDK

This list is growing, if you have any question regarding Windows Azure PHP SDK, please feel free to let me know. 

General 

Q: Do I need a Windows machine to use Windows Azure PHP SDK?

A: No, Windows Azure PHP SDK is platform independent, Linux, Mac OS, Solaris, you name it. However, if you want to participate in the development of Windows Azure PHP SDK, currently you do need a Windows machine. It is on the todo list to make Windows Azure PHP SDK development process platform independent. 

Q: What services do it support now?

A: It supports Windows Azure Blob, Table, Queue Storage, Service Management and Service Bus. 

Q: I felt lonely while developing PHP application using Azure, where can I find a forum to discuss?

A: You can ask more questions at the following URL https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsazuredevelopment/threads 

Q: Ah, I found a problem, where shall I report it?

A: You can file an issue over here https://github.com/WindowsAzure/azure-sdk-for-php , you need to have a github account. 

Q:I am thinking about contributing to Windows Azure PHP SDK, can I?

A: Yes, you are welcome, just join us on the github. 

Q: Do I need an Azure account to use PHP SDK?

A: Yes, you do. Windows Azure team often have discount for developer, please contact our sales team. 

Q: Do I have to host my PHP application in Azure in order to use Azure services?

A: Not really, you can host your PHP application anywhere, on your home router, your desktop,  Amazon AWS, etc. There is no restriction on where to host your application in order to use Azure.  Of course, you are more than welcome to host your application in Azure. 

Q: Why cannot I find the Windows Azure PHP SDK package in the official PEAR channel?

Only PEAR package made by the PEAR, you can download Windows Azure PHP SDK following this tutorial ( https://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/develop/php/common-tasks/download-php-sdk/ ).  We support composer, PEAR, github and WebPI download of the Windows Azure PHP SDK :)

Development 

Q: If I want to use PHP SDK behind the firewall, is that possible?

A: Yes, you can write your own filter to do that. You can follow the FiddlerFilter class as the example because Fiddler essential is a proxy on a local machine. 

Q: If I want to use service management, how can I get the certificate?

Windows Azure provides you with the publish settings files, which you can import via Windows Azure Powershell command lets, afterwards, you can can export the certificate as a .pem file, which you can use as the client certificate to configure PHP SDK.