Although XML is everywhere, CSV files are still commonly used.

Written by Jan Jorgensen

Despite the popularity of XML, comma-separated values (CSV) are still used in many applications. You might like it or not, but they are, and PHP offers two very strong functions to handle CSV strings. And that is what I will show you today.

It's not RPG, but still, PHP has some strong date functions.

Written by Jan Jorgensen

PHP gets more and more hot in the IBM i community, so I'm planning a series of TechTips about PHP functions that you might find useful.

Putting MySQL under your PHP/AJAX hood really gives your apps horsepower.

Written by Jan Jorgensen

If you've read my last two tips, you should by now have installed an Apache Server running PHP and a MySQL Database Server locally on your PC. Even if you haven't, you can benefit from this tip because if you have the installment on a "remote" Web server, the scripts provided here will still work. But you might have to do a little tweaking.

Install MySQL on your PC, and learn how to tame it using SQLyog.

Written by Jan Jorgensen

In my last TechTip, I showed you how to install Apache and PHP locally on your PC. But to make the marriage perfect, PHP really needs a database partner, and the open-source MySQL database server is the perfect match.

Normally, the database will be installed on IBM i, Windows, or Unix, but if you want to start using MySQL and PHP, a local installment makes a lot of sense because you don't need to worry about messing things up. Heck, you don't even have to be connected to the Internet.

Using AJAX reduces server-side processor utilization.

Written by Jeff Olen

All of us (including me) run into the issue of not having time to sit down and learn about new technologies and new tools. Recently, I attended a session given by Craig Pelkie on AJAX and CGIDEV2. It was a great session, and I learned a lot (thanks, Craig!). But it also got me thinking about how easy it would be to use PHP with AJAX as well. I decided that my next PHP project was going to incorporate AJAX. The results are detailed here.

Learn how to set up Apache and PHP to run on your local PC.

Written by Jan Jorgensen

This tip is a gamble. Either you'll dislike it so much you'll flame me on the Web or you'll nod your head and say, "Why didn't somebody tell me this long ago?"

Everybody is talking about PHP these days, and in the publications you and I read, it's usually how to run it on System i. But if for some reason installing PHP on your i is not in your current plan, read on and learn how you can create your own Web server and start playing around with PHP in about 10 minutes.

Do yourself a big favor. Replace QTMMSENDMAIL and SNDDST.

Written by Jeff Olen

At the recent COMMON Conference in Reno, I went to just about all of the sessions related to PHP, Zend Framework, and MySQL. I got a lot of good information and made a bunch of new friends. Most of the PHP and MySQL sessions were standing-room-only, which was great to see. Yet I ran into too many people who were still on the fence, stalling rather than embracing these powerful new tools. This article is a direct response to those people.