Teusday's PHP Interop Webcast - Questions and Answers:
Questions and Answers:
Marc-Julien Asked: Have you ever been able to run PHP with IIS without having to resort to running it as a CGI?
Joe Said: Yes, I've had good luck with they ISAPI version but it is purported to be not ready for production use.
ab062003 Asked: what's the isbn?
Joe Said: The ISBN Number for Andrew Stopford's book "PHP Programming On Windows" is 0-7357-1169-0
Jon Asked: You can answer this question later - I would use PHP for more web applications on the MS platform if there were dedicated ways to access SQL Server 2005, reporting services, etc. Is it better, in your opinion to use .net/com interop to access SQL Server 2005, reporting services, etc. or could there be a native PHP way to access these tools?
Joe Said: Right now your choices are a .net proxy or ODBC but I understand that a SQL 2005 extension is in the works.
Kenneth Power Asked: bBlog! Cool. I'm one of the former devs for it
Joe Said: Which everyone can find at https://www.bblog.com
John Cavicchio Asked: What is IIS?
Joe Said: IIS = Internet Information Server. Microsoft's Web Server.
JeremyAnderson.com Asked: Is PHP TriAd applicable here?
Joe Said: No, I use PHP with IIS on Windows and Triad uses apache. (https://sourceforge.net/projects/phptriad/)
Gene Asked: Are you concerned about Oracle taking over Zend?
Joe Said: Who ? :)
Susan Asked: Can you get IIS6 w/out buying the Server OS?
Joe Said: No, IIS 6 is on Windows Server 2003, IIS 5 can run on Windows XP and you can install it from the install CD.
William Knechtel Asked: I consistently have problems with IIS and ASPI PHP. It seems to always crash the IIS "worker processes". I don't want to resort to using the CGI for speed reasons... any suggestions?
Joe Said: Email me, I need more info.
ericgolpe Asked: Check Out PHP 6.o.o-dev on IIS ISAPI.. ;) https://nps.sharea.net/test.php (you can post it if you like..)
Jason Asked: Why on earth would I want to use php with IIS??
Joe Said: If you understand who IIS fits in the Windows Ecosystem the answers are obvious.
ab062003 Changes Question To: why do you need 2 different versions? What's the difference between PHP4 and PHP5?
Joe Said: PHP 4 lacked complete OO support which was added in PHP 5 (along with lots of good stuff) but some applications are not PHP 5 compatable.
Roberto Asked: is there some information on setting what PHP version to use?
Joe Said: Sure - visit www.PHP.net or www.Zend.com
Darin Asked: When it comes down to Rapid Application Development, do you, personally, program faster 'from scratch' in PHP or in a language like VB or C# using ASP.NET or does it really depend on what you're trying to achieve?
Joe Said: When starting from SCRATCH, I'm way faster in either C# or VB.
CharlesC Asked: I hear thre are performance and security issues with php on windows? Versus running on linux/unix?
Joe Said: There ARE performance issues, but FastCGI is a good interim solution.
Kris Asked: What about security issues running PHP as CGI? PHP.net mentions this...
Joe Said: If your box is properly hardened this should not be a probem.
kevin Asked: Can one deploy commercial apps with the express versions of these Microsoft products?
Joe Said: Yes
nor_lab@hotmail.com Asked: Should I use php to access mysql databases on linux, or is the odbc layer in .net as efficient?
Joe Said: ODBC is fine.
Marc-Julien Asked: What is the advantage of running PHP as managed code?
Joe Said: No interop boundaries and full access to the .NET Frameworks.
Brendon K Asked: Does WinBinder need to be initially run from a server originally to create the application?
Joe Said: No
Bill Miller Asked: What tool do you use to write your PHP code?
Joe Said: Primarily Zend Studio and VS.PHP.
Harry Asked: Do you know of a php editor that interfaces with visual source safe?
Joe Said: Yes. VS.PHP with Visual Studio
Sabine Sharp Asked: what do you think about Dreamweaver and PHP or ASP developing?
Joe Said: It' ok. I prefer Zend Studio or PHP Designer.
Chris Asked: if you use Zend studio to write PHP, does it has anything to to do with Phalanger
Joe Said: No
Al Zorn Asked: there's also a php plugin for Eclipse
Joe Said: Yep - www.phpeclipse.net
Bill Asked: Maguma Open Studio is another free IDE
vic Asked: So... what are the performance considerations running PHP on IIS, and is it specific to a particular PHP version?
Joe Said: CGI is slower on Windows. For more performance look at the ISAPI version or FastCGI.
starlocke Asked: Those IDE's... I noticed a "run" command or something... does that mean it executes the PHP without running through the server? Personally, I've always used Notepad++ (freeware, opensource, multi-language, not really an IDE, just a glorified notepad).
Joe Said: Yes, some can run PHP apps without going through a web server.
DW Asked: Is Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition good enough or do we need to pay for Professional version?
Joe Said: Check out the version feature comparison here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/products/compare/default.aspx
ericgolpe Asked: What installer options are available for deploying PHP apps to Linux & Windows??
Joe Said: Drag and Drop, .MSI, etc. same as a .NET application.
Allan Asked: What would be the best tool for PHP team development with some users in our company on Mac and some on Win?
Joe Said: Zend Studio, Komodo is also quite good.
Gene Asked: So you can use PHP to access asp.net pages; is there any advantage to using asp.net to access PHP?
Joe Said: Sure, if you already have the code written in PHP :)
Harry Asked: which versions of visual studio are supported with vsphp? Just 2005 or earlier also?
Joe Said: There are versions for 2002, 2003, 2005
pavelkozyura Asked: are there specific extensions for AcitveDirectory use within PHP (especially when running on IIS 5)?
Joe Said: Not yet. There is a generic LDAP extension. I'm considering writing an AD one
Ryan Riehle Asked: Is it possible to share session variables among ASP.NET and PHP
Joe Said: Only with custom code or a 3rd party addin.
Darin Changes Question To: Do you think the future of PHP is held back because it's open source, or do you think by being open source, it will more quickly adapt to the needs of contemporary programmers?
Joe Said: AWESOME QUESTION. PHP is Open Source, but unlike Linux, PHP is delivered by Zend and so has a strong commercial entity behind it. I think the liabilities for evolution of PHP are Zend's size and the possibility of PHP being acquired ands screwed up by some other company like Oracle.
ehenning Asked: why would you use a php form and an aspx form action? whats the advantage?
Joe Said: In the case of the demo, ASP.NET has a built in authentication system.
Brendon K Asked: What's the add-on extension of "cs" appended to the standard ASPX extension?
Joe Said: It's the "Code Behind" file. the Presentation logic goes in the .aspx file and my custom code goes in the .aspx.cs or .aspx.vb file.
Marc-Julien Asked: What about AJAX? Is that something you're going to be talking about in these PHP vs. ASP.NET talks?
Joe Said: Nope, but Microsoft has an interesting AJAX strategy that you will be hearing about in the near future.
Bill P Asked: We do a lot of .asp -> .php -> .NET communication passing form fields - it becomes either rewriting exisiting apps or just adding on in a new technology...
Jon Changes Question To: PHP support for COM was experimental for the longest time. Do you think it is really production quality now?
Joe Said: I use it :)
Jon Asked: Highest performance way to access SQL Server 2005 from PHP?
Joe Said: At this moment your choices are limited. see the previous question.
Ryan Asked: I cannot seem to find many host that run PHP5. Do you have any recommendations? Will Zend do better with backwards compatibility in the future?
Joe Said: I'll do some research and post to my blog.
Rajaram Changes Question To: It was wonderful we were planning to do an integration between a PHP and ASP.NET app and this webcast cudn't have come at a better time for us.
Joe Said: Cool !