IBM, Zend port PHP to System i

By Matt Stansberry, News Editor 04 Apr 2006 | Search400.com

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For more information: Reporter's notebook: Spring 2006 Common conference Q&A with Mark Shearer, Common Spring 2006

PHP is a server-side scripting language that allows users to build dynamic Web applications. PHP adoption has exploded since its launch 10 years ago, and it's one of the largest open source projects today -- measured by the number of people developing on the platform.

One of the advantages of the PHP community is that users share ideas and code snippets to build composite applications very quickly. One site to find ready-made PHP applications is HotScripts.com.

Jon Paris, iSeries expert at the Partner400 consulting firm, said he loves the idea of PHP coming to the System i. "The wealth of free and low-cost high-quality software should help a lot of folks justify installing it. Once the System i is established as a web player in an organization, it is much easier to move further down the road, whether that be through a product like WebSphere, or WebSmart, or Lansa, or [other Web enabling tool]."

While Paris is an advocate of PHP on System i, he said he regrets that it's not a native implementation in the way that Apache is. This version of PHP applications requires PASE, which is effectively an embedded version of the AIX operating system.

"There is no direct native program access. In order to call your existing COBOL or RPG routines, you must wrap them up as SQL stored procedures," Paris said. "Though PASE is a no-charge option these days, both it and SQL Stored Procedures comprise an unfamiliar environment for most System i shops."

IBM considers PHP a native because it runs in i5 OS, meaning that it isn't running on a Linux partition or a Windows machine.

"[IBM] will probably fix this in the future, but while the limitation exists, it immediately raises a barrier to PHP introduction for many people," Paris said. "The idea of PHP is to get people running quickly. This brings barriers up again."

Because PHP is open source, a number of System i shops have been using it for some time. Mike Pavlak, Director of Information Services at Chicago-based power supply manufacturer Tripp-Lite, is one such user.

Pavlak runs an iSeries for ERP, CRM, Lotus and other business apps. He's been using PHP on Linux for about two years to do project management software, intranet and extranet interfaces, IT helpdesk and documentation management tools -- all open source applications he got from the Web through the PHP community.

While he's happy with PHP on his Linux servers, he's looking forward to System i integration. "Bringing these applications to the iSeries instead of a bunch of Linux servers brings an integration we don't currently enjoy. Plus, now we have a Web development environment that doesn't have a lot of overhead like WebSphere."

Pavlak said IBM considered porting PHP a few years ago but had some legal issues with licensing Zend and the Open Source community. Plus IBM had Net.Data for iSeries -- a Web app building language that is "still supported but clunky," Pavlak said. "Thirdly, IBM's strategic vision has been WebSphere, but it's big and takes a lot of processors for an SMB."

But now that IBM has finally got PHP on board, Pavlak thinks it will be a big hit. "It has a very low learning curve and the adoption rate is really high. PHP is definitely an alternative to Java and WebSphere."

Andi Gutmans, vice president of technology of Zend and co-creator of PHP 3 and all versions since, sees benefits for System i beyond the technology. "PHP will make it easier to attract young technology to the platform. It's the coolness factor," Gutmans said. "There's a lot of value that the System i community can bring to the PHP community. as well. It's going to be very well received."

Check out some unofficial PHP scripts already available for the iSeries on i5php.net.

Let us know what you think about the story; e-mail: Matt Stansberry, News Editor

Tags: Web Development,  Web Tools,  Web-enabling,  VIEW ALL TAGS

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