Alan Seiden’s Information Technology

I’m recommending that people try Zend Server beta for IBM i if they’re using PHP on the IBM i. Even though it’s in beta, Zend Server brings improvements over its predecessors, Zend Core and Zend Platform. Improvements include:

• Easy new user interface combining the best of Core and Platform
• Better interface makes it easier for people to discover and use features such as code tracing and debugging
• Elimination of mandatory proxy server (always a thorn in my side!)
• Use of IBM’s supported, full-featured, flexible Apache server rather than the limited PASE server
• Better performance

One caveat: the current beta version (as of February, 2010) is missing some functionality that will be available in the generally available (GA) release. Temporarily missing functionality includes:

• no support for the mail() function (use Zend_Mail or Phpmailer instead in the meantime)
• inclusion of an older version of the ibm_db2 driver. This version doesn’t have support for the “i5_libl” option. Ask Zend to send you the updated db2 driver if you need it.

I’m looking forward to trying the next beta version and eventually the GA release.

I believe Zend Server will shorten the learning curve for new users and simplify advanced configurations for us “veterans.”

Download it here: Zend Server beta for IBM i

This year’s ZendCon (Oct. 20-22, 2009, in San Jose, Calif.), the premier PHP conference, features several presentations about developing with PHP on the IBM i, including one by me!

Come hear me speak about “Zend Framework for Enterprise PHP on IBM i” on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, at 4pm.

For details, go to http://www.zendcon.com.

We won! IBM has recognized my use of PHP and Zend Framework, and our entire team’s RPG/DB2 and design work, by naming our web solution the IBM i’s most innovative of 2009.

At IBM’s 2009 COMMON conference, IBM awarded the Power Systems Innovation Award for Best Web Solution for eBiz@ABG. The site, developed with my colleagues at  Strategic Business Systems, Inc., was created for New Jersey’s largest wine and spirits wholesaler, Allied Beverage Group.

The system offers product ordering, live inventory levels and pricing, and a full-text search of Allied’s large product catalog. The application was built with Zend Framework (the leading PHP framework) and runs entirely on Allied’s IBM i, leveraging Allied’s db2 database and time-tested RPG logic.

The site is password-protected, so unfortunately I can’t link to it here.

eBiz@ABG is one of the first sites to be built with Zend Framework on IBM i (System i, i5, iSeries, AS/400). It was a true collaboration with Allied, made easier because we all spoke the language of “i.” What’s more, by using large chunks of Allied’s existing RPG code that already handled the complex business logic, we saved time and avoided reinventing the wheel.

Zend Framework worked so well that I committed to mastering it and teaching the community about it. (ZF has a learning curve, but after that curve is mastered, ZF speeds development and offers easy maintenance and growth.) I earned my Zend Framework certification in August 2008, becoming one of the first 50 worldwide to do so and the first ZF-certified “i” professional. Since then, I’ve gone on to be a ZF/i mentor for other development teams, and have become a public speaker, sharing my PHP/ZF/i roadmap at conferences.

Thanks to Allied for the opportunity to collaborate on a great project; thanks to Strategic Business Systems for the support; and thanks to IBM for the award.