Welcome to the October edition of the Zend IBM i Newsletter! This is a monthly newsletter dedicated to PHP for the IBM i community.

ZENDCON 2010: ZEND/PHP CONFERENCE

The 6th annual Zend/PHP Conference will bring together PHP developers and IT managers from around the world to discuss PHP best practices and explore new technologies.

A special conference track, PHP on IBM i, will include sessions that focus on leveraging the power of PHP for IBM i. There will be a wide variety of sessions including those presented by the following renowned speakers:

  • Blending PHP & MySQL with your RPG Universe -
    Susan Gantner, Partner400
  • PHP for Batch Jobs on IBM i - Alan Seiden, Strategic
    Business Systems
  • Web Services with PHP, Zend Framework, and IBM i -
    Alan Seiden
  • Expanding IBM i Applications to the IFS Easily with PHP -
    Mike Pavlak, Zend

Register now!

PHP from an RPG Perspective, Part 5: Database Access, by Jon Paris

Jon Paris has been teaching PHP to RPGers for several years now, including his current series for System iNEWS. This is part 5 of the series that focuses on PHP's approach to i database access using the native, DB2, and MySQL APIs.

More information »

TechTip: How to use PHP Functions, by Jeff Olen

Before Object Oriented Concept, we all used functions. Interested in learning functions in PHP? This article discusses functions in PHP: how to find them, how to write them, and why they are useful.

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Updates on Technical Mini-Conference September 28, 2010: South Burlington, Vermont, US

Did you miss VTMUG's Technical Mini-Conference?

Alan Seien, Zend Framework Certified Engineer, presented an introduction to Zend Server for IBM i, an architecture strategy for developing new PHP-based web applications, and a case study demonstrating Web Services (SOAP) on IBM i with PHP and Zend Framework.

Click here to view Alan's presentations »

John Valance, a consultant who is also Zend's instructor for the 'PHP Foundations for IBM i' course, also presented a talk about Web 2.0 at VTMUG, where he helped the audience build a step-by-step understanding of modern web design using CSS, JavaScript, and Ajax, using PHP and the jQuery framework for JavaScript.

Click here to view John's presentation »

Upcoming Events

Webinar - SimpleCloud Storage APIs - Write Once, Deploy on Any Cloud
October 18, 2010 - 9:00 am PDT

In the last session, you had a basic understanding of APIs and getting started with Simple Cloud API that simplifies application development for the cloud, letting programmers focus on what matters. This webinar will cover the deep dive down on Storage APIs.

More information/register »

POWER SHiFT Community Event
October 19, 2010, Manchester, UK

Join Mike Pavlak who will present Harnessing the Power of Zend Server 5 for IBM i – a session focused on tips and tools for deploying a complete PHP stack in minutes; pin-pointing, diagnosing and resolving application problems quickly; and achieving significant performance gains. Zend customers will receive a 50% discount.

More information/register »

Strategies for Today's Modernizing Projects by Alison Butterill
October 21, 2010 | 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM EDT

As technology evolves, so do the techniques available for application modernization projects. This session with explain IBM's strategy for modernizing your applications and discuss the recently announced changes in the product line.

More information/register »

Session 4 : IBM i Application Developers Update: Rational, Zend and more...
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 – 2 pm EDT, 11 am PDT

In 2010, the world of application development on IBM i has evolved and changed. New tools, new functions and new concepts have emerged to move the traditional tools and languages to new heights in architecture and implementation. What has happened this year and what does it mean to an IBM i developer? Join Alison Butterill, Power Systems Application Development Offering Mgr, IBM Power Systems Software in this webcast to get the latest information from IBM.

More information/register »

Training Courses

IBM i Training Bundle

A-to-Zend for IBM i Programmers is a training package designed for IBM i/OS programmers that not only want to learn to tie existing RPG applications to PHP, but also want to acquire a solid foundation in PHP culminating in the PHP 5.3 certification. This training bundle includes:

PHP I: Foundations for IBM i programmers
PHP II: Higher Structures
Test Prep: PHP 5.3 Certification (includes Exam Voucher)

Learn more »

More about PHP I: Foundations (IBM i) Course

The PHP I: Foundations (IBM i) is a special PHP class that introduces PHP to IBM i programmers utilizing examples and exercises that are IBM i specific and aid in the understanding of PHP. Next Class: December 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15 & 16 10 am - 12 pm CET (9 am - 11 am GMT)

Register now »