SQL Server Driver for PHP 2.0 Supports PDO (PHP Data Objects)

Microsoft is releasing a new technical bridge for PHP developers to SQL Server. It reduces the complexity of targeting multiple databases and will make it easier for PHP applications like Drupal 7 to interoperate smoothly with Microsoft’s SQL Server, versions 2005 and later.

The announcement was made on the Microsoft Interoperability blog post, SQL Server Driver for PHP 2.0 CTP adds PHP's PDO style data access for SQL Server. The post describes how you can port Drupal 7 to SQL Server using the new SQL/PHP driver.

The SQL Server Driver for PHP 2.0 with support for PDO (PHP Data Objects) is available for download at the Microsoft Download Center (installation through Web PI available as well: https://www.microsoft.com/web/drupal/).

For PHP developers, having the possibility to access SQL Server through PDO will reduce the complexity of targeting multiple databases and will make it easier to take advantage of SQL Server features (like business intelligence & reporting) as well as SQL Azure features (like exposing OData feeds).

About SQL Server for PHP

The SQL Server Driver for PHP is designed to enable reliable, scalable integration with SQL Server for PHP applications deployed on the Windows platform. The Driver for PHP is a PHP 5 extension that allows the reading and writing of SQL Server data from within PHP scripts.

The extension provides a native procedural and PDO interfaces for accessing data in all editions of SQL Server 2005 and later including SQL Azure.

For more information, see the SQL Server Driver for PHP blog.

Download SQL Server Driver for PHP 1.1 for production use.

About OData

Open Data Protocol (OData) is a Web protocol for querying and updating data that provides a way to unlock your data and free it from silos that exist in applications today. OData does this by applying and building upon Web technologies such as HTTP, Atom Publishing Protocol (AtomPub) and JSON to provide access to information from a variety of applications, services, and stores. The protocol emerged from experiences implementing AtomPub clients and servers in a variety of products over the past several years.  OData is being used to expose and access information from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, relational databases, file systems, content management systems and traditional Web sites.

Bruce D. KyleISV Architect Evangelist | Microsoft Corporation