29
Fri, Nov
0 New Articles

TechTip: PHP 7.X Is Finally Here

Scripting
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

 

PHP 7.0 is here. Hurray! For the IBM i, that is. It took a while, but now it’s a fact. Read all about it.  

Almost two years ago, I did a TechTip on PHP 7.0 and what it had to offer when it was first released by Zend. In fact, I did two of them. At that time, the word on the street was that it would be available for the i within a few months of that date (July 2015). But it took a bit longer than anyone expected. It took, in fact until just a few weeks ago. But now, finally, the latest release of PHP is available for the IBM i community to use and abuse. And, in fact, it took so long that what is now available to the i is not just PHP 7.0, but PHP 7.1.    

Long Wait

Why the long wait? Let me explain.

PHP is a web language, and it is more or less open source. When I say “more,” I mean that it is open source in that many people contribute to the new releases. And when I say “less.” I mean that the community that supports it is not a free-standing entity like the ones for Apache or Eclipse, but rather Zend. There is nothing wrong with that, and the issue here is not related to that fact.

But when it is released for the web by Zend, it is not automatically available on the IBM i. Remember, PHP runs on the i but it is not really native to the i. It requires a set of other products, referred to as the PHP stack, to run along with it in that environment.

Now, if I am a straight web programmer, then there are several places I can go to get the PHP stack, and when a new release of PHP comes along, all I have to do is download it into my stack in place of the old version, and I am ready to go.

Theoretically, you could do the same on the i, but the fact is that’s the hard way to roll. Instead, on the i, most people use a pre-packaged stack made available by Zend within the Zend Server product. As a result, we need to wait for Zend to incorporate the latest release of PHP into the Zend Server product before it becomes generally available on the i. And that has just happened with the release of Zend Server 9.1. 

And What Does That Mean?

What it means is that now, in one fell swoop, i-based PHP programmers get three things: First, they get access to the latest version of Zend Server, 9.1. Second, they get, as part of that, PHP 7.0. Third, as an extra special bonus gift because it took so long to get 7.0 into Zend Server, what is actually delivered is not 7.0 but PHP 7.1. 

Each of those items is worth an article on its own and at some point in the future, I will outline exactly what is in PHP 7.1 and Zend Server 9.1. For now, however, in addition to announcing what is suddenly available, we will take a quick look back at 7.0 and remind ourselves why this is such an important release.

PHP 7.0: Why Should I Care?

It’s a fair question. I mean I suppose it has some fancy new stuff in it, like the <==> operator, which gives you not just an equality statement but actually a three-way equality and some additional things for handling nulls. In fact, it has quite a few new enhancements that you might want to take advantage of, and for a more detailed review of those, I would refer you back to the two articles I linked to at the top of the page.

But the primary thing that I want to zero in on is that 7.0 provides speed. 

All in all, based on the benchmarks Zend has done, 7.0 (and therefore 7.1) is about twice as fast as the previous release, 5.6. 

In addition, it is not only faster but also much more efficient in the way it uses space and handles data, particularly arrays. 

The result is a version of PHP that takes fewer resources and can handle either the same workload faster or else a greatly increased workload without a resource hit. What is responsible for the improvements? Two things. 

The first one was to replace the old PHP engine with a new one, called PHPNG. This refactored engine was much more efficient in how it handled data—most specifically, arrays. With a streamlined structure and better data handling, PHPNG is able to blow away the response times achieved by the old engine in 5.6.

The second was to add the Abstract Syntax Tree structure to the compile process. What this did was to represent the script as a tree structure with the nodes representing the functions in that script. The addition of this structure allowed the compile process to separate the syntax checking from the code parsing so that many of the syntax-related rules that are part of the 5.6 engine are no longer needed in 7.0. The result is cleaner, simpler code. Remember, PHP is not a true compiled language and when we talk about a PHP compile, we are talking about something that happens when the script is loaded into the server and run. So a faster compile means a faster run.

Summary

I suppose we could focus on why it took so long to get this faster PHP into Zend Server, but I’m a glass three-quarters empty kind of guy, so why bother. It’s here and that’s what really matters. And remember, in an upcoming TechTip, we will look at what 7.1 has to provide (some totally useful stuff), along with what goodies are in Zend Server 9.1 (definitely worth the upgrade).     

David Shirey

David Shirey is president of Shirey Consulting Services, providing technical and business consulting services for the IBM i world. Among the services provided are IBM i technical support, including application design and programming services, ERP installation and support, and EDI setup and maintenance. With experience in a wide range of industries (food and beverage to electronics to hard manufacturing to drugs--the legal kind--to medical devices to fulfillment houses) and a wide range of business sizes served (from very large, like Fresh Express, to much smaller, like Labconco), SCS has the knowledge and experience to assist with your technical or business issues. You may contact Dave by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at (616) 304-2466.


MC Press books written by David Shirey available now on the MC Press Bookstore.

21st Century RPG: /Free, ILE, and MVC 21st Century RPG: /Free, ILE, and MVC
Boost your productivity, modernize your applications, and upgrade your skills with these powerful coding methods.
List Price $69.95

Now On Sale

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: