What's new in the May 2008 CTP?
A new Community Technology Preview (CTP) version of the SQL Server 2005 Driver for PHP is now available for download. The May CTP version (1.0.821.1) is a significant improvement over the previous CTP version (1.0.515.1 of February 2008) and it includes several new and/or refined features.
The list of major changes includes:
· A new API, sqlsrv_fetch_object, offers a more sophisticated alternative to sqlsrv_fetch_array by enabling retrieval of data rows as PHP objects.
· Another new API, sqlsrv_num_fields, returns the number of fields in an active result set (thus reducing the need for calling sqlsrv_field_metadata).
· A redesigned configuration facility anchored on two APIs, sqlsrv_get_config and sqlsrv_configure, allows you to explore and/or modify the error handling settings and to configure of the logging system.
· By default, the driver treats most (i.e. all but four) of ODBC warnings as errors. This behavior can be turned on and off via sqlsrv_configure.
· Connection options offer several new attributes, including the ability to enable (or disable) connection pooling. (Note: connection pooling is enabled by default.)
· New query options (in both sqlsrv_query and sqlsrv_prepare) allow a better control of query execution. QueryTimeout aims to avoid execution deadlocks and SendStreamParamsAtExec eliminates the need for subsequent calls to sqlsrv_send_stream_data.
· User Data Type (UDT) is now supported.
· Results set fields are no longer starting at index 1. Both sqlsrv_get_field and sqlsrv_fetch_array have first data field at index 0.
· All APIs (including sqlsrv_close and sqlsrv_free_stmt) will now return false when called with an invalid parameter.
Additional improvements aim to provide better indications of error conditions and reduce the potential for resource and/or memory leakage.
For additional details, please consult “What’s New” topic at:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc296192.aspx
The CTP release and documentation are available for download at:
More info is available on the MSDN site and the PHP blog site: https://blogs.msdn.com/sqlphp/
For any questions regarding the SQL Server 2005 Driver for PHP driver, please feel free to post a question on the MSDN forum site for the PHP driver.
- Serban Iliescu
Test Lead, SQL Server Driver for PHP