PHP Drives Business: Achieving scalability, performance, availability and reliability with Zend Platform
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PHP continues to enjoy phenomenal growth becoming the de-facto standard for enterprise Web applications. With the introduction of PHP 5, PHP has reached new levels of support for Web Services, XML and Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) to meet the robust demands of the enterprise environment. Learn how you can achieve scalability, performance, availability and reliability for enterprise-class PHP applications with Zend Platform.
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Stefan Reuter has a very quick example of a method for profiling your PHP applications with Xdebug and KCachegrind.   Ever wondered where your PHP applications spend their time? [...] We wanted to gain performance insights of a newly developed application based on Zend Framework to spot areas worth receiving some fine tuning. We did not want to modify the application for that purpose so I had a look at the options available for PHP.   The resulting combination of XDebug and KCachegrind to grab the stats from the application and create great output images/reports to help make locating the problem a snap.
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On his blog, Premature Optimization, Shahar Evron has posted some information about work he's done on the Zend_Http_Client package of the Zend Framework - including the push to make it live.   Earlier this week, I finally (after long and hard work) pushed the Zend_Http_Client out of the incubator and into the core of Zend Framework, and it will be released with the 0.6 preview release.   Some of the things introduced in this package include the introduction of "connection adapters", a method of having an adapter object made responsible for handling the networking connection. The default for this is the socket adapter, but work is already being done to create cURL and  future ideas for a caching adapter or a pfsockopen-based option for more preferment connection needs.   Shahar also includes some stats to show off what the new package can do and how many requests per second it can handle.
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Zend has announced a new service that will hosting service providers to seamlessly offer their customers the dramatic performance improvements of the Zend Performance Suite.
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In a new post to his blog today, Matthew O'Phinney dives in to some of the more advanced features that the Zend_Form component of the Zend Framework has to offer.   I've been working on  for the past few weeks, and it's nearing release readiness. There are a number of features that Cal didn't cover in his DevZone coverage (in part because some of them weren't yet complete) that I'd like to showcase.   These additional features include internationalization, element grouping and array support. He looks at each of these, including some sample code where needed, and shows you how they can be useful to you and your ZF application.
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Padraic Brady has posted a manifesto of sorts about the work that he's been doing on his PHPSpec library and trying to work it into the approval process for the Zend Framework.   I'll be attempting to pound the Zend Framework into submission so I can apply Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD) using PHPSpec when I write a Controller. Why? Because I feel like it, and it gives me an excuse to promote one possible incarnation of PHPMock and the PHPSpec Zend Framework extension. See? Perfectly reasonable selfishness!   He hopes to move it past the typical test-driven development process that PHPUnit offers and "kick your ass into high-TDD gear" without having to have worked much with it before then (the key is simplicity).   He includes some code examples (how it should flow) and describes some of the challenges that he's coming across so far, specifically with the way that the Zend Framework works with the Controllers and what he wants to accomplish.
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Continuing on from his preamble on the integration of the PHPSpec BDD tool into the Zend Framework, Padraic Brady has posted the next in the series - a look at what it would take to make the integration happen.   The ideal was to move away from line-by-line setup and manipulation of Zend instances towards a more simplified model which is standardised for any PHPSpec specs.   He's already created an "experimental branch" to work inside of and some of these updates have been made to the trunk for the release of PHPSpec 0.3.0. The key that he found was in getting the customization of the "Zend Context operational to set up elements of the FrontController". He also includes a simple example of the extended functionality in action - simple interface methods to work with Twitter.
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Mike Willbanks has made a series of posts covering the acceleration tools available for you the PHP developer and some of the benchmarks of using them in an application.  Here's the list:  PHP Accelerators : APC vs Zend vs XCache with Zend Framework - a comparison of three tools - APC, the Zend Framework components and the XCache tool Zend Framework Performance Zend_Loader - a specific look at benchmarks on the Zend_Loader component PHP Accelerators: The Missing Details - benchmark results (and code) showing results from testing on the Zend_Loader component Accelerators Revisited - a revisit to some of the benchmarks made previously (to change things based on user contributed comments)
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Matthew O'Phinney has a reminder for anyone in the Burlington, VT area tonight - there's a meeting of the Burlington PHP user group tonight at 5:30pm.   Bradley Holt will be giving a presentation on developing a web application using Zend Framework. Bradley Holt is founder and web developer for Found Line, a local design and development studio which has used Zend Framework in several recent projects.    You can get more information about the meetup from this event page on their Google Groups site (happening at the Brown & Jenkins Coffee Roasters).
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Over on the Zend/PHP Conference and Expo site, they've formally announced the official schedule of events for the conference, giving times and dates for each of the talks.    Day One will see talks on: XML/Web Services, Best Practices, Extending PHP, and Security talk. You'll also be able to take the "Crash Course" before the Zend PHP5 Certification test in a two part series. Day Two is jammed with even more PHP goodness with talks covering: Scalable PHP Applications, eBay Web Services, a PHP case study, a great Panel Discussion, Ajax and Web Services, working with the Zend Framework, and Speeding up PHP with Oracle. Day Three has talks covering: Moving to PHP5, Moving an Enterprise to PHP, PHP/Rich Internet Applications, PDO, and PHP Lifecycle Management. Day Four (finishing things up) is shorter with talks on: Unicoding with PHP6, Consuming Web Services with PHP-GTK2, Testing with PHPUnit, Developing PHP on Windows, and the closing keynote from Robert "r0ml' Lefkowitz   And, of course, any time after the first day, you can take the PHP5 Certification Exam instead of attending one of the sessions.   Haven't signed up yet? You can reserve your spot today and get in on all of the PHP goodness a presented by some of the best speakers around. Unforutnately, the Early Bird Special as passed, but check out the Registration page for all of the details on prices.
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Sebastian Bergmann posts about the tutorial he (and fellow developers Matthew O'Phinney and Mike Naberenzy) will be presenting at this year's Zend/PHP Conference & Expo - a look at PHP Development Best Practices and Unit Testing.   From the official description:   PHP development by teams of developers introduces challenges beyond the mere coding of great algorithms. Agreements are needed about tools, specifications, architecture, design patterns, coding standards, testing, documentation, source code control, staging and deployment. This tutorial session aims to introduce developers to a set of best practices that will help them deliver applications fast and move them to deployment with confidence.   You can check out some of the other tutorials for the upcoming conference as scheduled here.
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Zend has pointer to a new article today from the Oracle Technology Network - PHP 5, Oracle, and the Future.
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Cal Evans of the Zend Developer Zone has posted a new book review of one of Packt Publishing's latest PHP-related offerings - "PHP Programming with PEAR".    For those who have been living under a virtual rock for a while now, PEAR is the "PHP Extension and Application Repository". In a nutshell, it is a collection of classes, it's a framework, and it's a distribution system. Most importantly though, it's an excellent place to find the classes you need so you don't have to re-invent the wheel. (Ok, beginner's time is over, I promise).   PHP Programming with PEAR, written by Stephen Schmidt, Carsten Lucke, Stoyan Stefanov and Aaron Wormus, takes a look at some important PEAR classes and how you can use them.     He mentions what the book covers (which packages) and highlights some of his favorite bits, including the chapter on web services.
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Padraic Brady has put together a very comprehensive post on his blog today about using the Zend_Feed component of the Zend Framework to help with the aggregation of content from other sites (like RSS and Atom feeds).   In this entry I explore Zend_Feed from the perspective of someone aggregating RSS and Atom feeds with a view to building a database of uniquely identified content for later presentation in a "Planet" style application. [...] In fact all we create here is a simple command line script to aggregate content frequently (e.g. just set up cron to run it every hour or so) into a database for later presentation.   He guides you through each step of the way:   Setting Up Database And Models The Aggregator Script Foundation Using Zend_Feed to get common data for RSS/Atom entries Putting It All Together   There's plenty of code (and SQL to insert) in the post and he explains each point well, helping to make the development process smoother. There's even a summary section to toss in a few extra bits of information just in case you missed them along the way.
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Here's what was popular in the PHP community one year ago today:WaxJelly Blog: Simple PHP script using the YouTube API (with pagination)DevShed: Uploading Files and Navigating Directories in PHPPHPit.net: PHP5 Class Basics, Part 1SpinDrop.us: Using Zend Search Lucene in a symfony appCommunity News: PHP Appalachia IRC ChannelZend Developer Zone: Work with XML Data in the Zend FrameworkColdScripts.com: Mapping Framework PopularityWaxJelly Blog: A More Complex PHP script using the YouTube API (with video details) PART 2KillerPHP Blog: PHP Interfaces: when and why you should use them instead of classes?PHP-Tools Blog: Analyzing aide (advanced intrusion detection environment) output with PHPZend Developer Zone: Pro PHP XML and Web Services Sample ChapterZend Developer Zone: Cool Image Thumbnail ClassNefarious Designs: Object-Oriented PHP Part 4: PHP5's Improved FeaturesSebastian Bergmann's Blog: Zend/PHP Conference 2006William Candillon's Blog: phpAspect presented at the EPFL
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PÃ¡draic Brady notes in a new post today that his Services_Yadis package has been official proposed to the PEAR group:   This provides a PHP5 implementation of the Yadis Specification 1.0 a requirement of the OpenID Authentication 2.0 Specification. There are way too many specifications out there! The proposal is a reflection of February's "Zend_Service_Yadis" proposal to the Zend Framework. The main differences (beside the PEARification) were fixing the main bugs the ZF sample code had.   He also mentions his next proposal - to create an OpenID Consumer package.
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Chris Shiflett has posted his own recap of the (just passed) php|works conference up in Toronto over on his blog.   I've been traveling non-stop since php|works, so I haven't had a chance to reflect on the conference, what I learned, who I met, and things like that. (Zak has been doing a good job of this lately, and I'd like to follow his lead.) I've probably forgotten more than I remember, but this is my recap.   Included in the things he mentions are:  The people he was able to meet (like Joshua Eichorn and Sebastian Bergmann) The talks he gave ("Truth about XSS" and "Agile PHP Testing") His interview with Cal Evans of the Zend Developer Zone The PHP 5 Certification and Wez Furlong's "Not PDO" talk