Re: V5R4 & V7R1 running PML/RPG and PHP through Zend

Oh Rob - Rob - we have so much to teach you!

Let’s start by pointing out that both iSeries and AS400 are old obsolete names. The system has been known for many years now as IBM i (the operating system) on Power (the hardware) - just telling you before Trevor or someone jumps on your head.

Strictly speaking PHP is not native - it runs in PASE which is supports the AIX interface. See here for details: http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_ibm_i_71/rzalf/rzalfwhatispase.htm

Since PHP is an interpreted language the chance of you getting PHP to outperform RPG are close to nil. But that would be true of any interpreted to compiled language comparison. That said - PHP performance on the box is very good.

I have taught modern RPGIV to many PHP/Java/C++ developers - many of whom came to the language with an attitude similar to yours. While your existing RPG programs may not be good examples of the art, don’t be so quick to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Modern RPG IV is a powerful and fast language that should be part of your arsenal. You can use it to build powerful stored procedures that can be invoked from your PHP.

As far as tuning the system etc. I can only suggest that you quickly persuade your boss to let you got to ZendCon in October (http://www.zendcon.com/) there will be many IBM i PHP sessions there deliver by people like Alan Seiden who know PHP on IBM i inside out. That is _the_ place to get the education you need and to meet with your peers. I’d be there myself but I have my own conference to run that week (RPG & DB2 Summit). Trust me that will be absolutely your best investment right now. You’ll get more coin those few days than in months of asking questions here and elsewhere.

There are a number of IBM i specific sessions including tuning, but this one caught my eye:

Apigility-Powered APIs on IBM i

Start future-proofing your business logic by building web APIs. Do you think it’s too hard and time-consuming? Zend has made the process easier by releasing Apigility, a free and open source tool that helps us create Zend Framework 2 back-ends ready to be consumed by desktop, mobile, the internet of things, or anything else that comes along. This session is a step-by-step tutorial. Thus I’ll be using Apigility to create an API that accesses RPG business logic via the PHP Toolkit so you can hit the ground running.


P.S. You may have some issues with V5R4 as a development box. That release is no longer supported and I do not believe that a version of the current Zend Server is available for it.

On Oct 1, 2015, at 3:51 PM, Rob <rob.couch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

This is my first ask in here... be gentle please!

Seasoned linux PHP MySQL 4th Normal Form developer here.... I am taking over the software dev division for a company.

Development happens on a V5R4 AS400 while production is on V7R1. There are 2 V7R1's, one owned by the company that developed the software I am taking over and one owned by my company, which bought the rights to the code. So once I am divorced from the parent company I will have both Development and Production on same V7R1 box.

I am new to RPG, new to WebSmart PML, AS400, DB2, 5250. I have been reading many sources covering many ranges of topics related to the all of the technologies. I saw my first AS400 in the late 80's while I was president of the OS/2 user's group in Dallas.

My first concern is how to best optimize the server for PHP. All RPG will eventually go away. The more I learn RPG, the more I know why I am a PHP developer. So far this project is split 50/50... PHP/RPG. I am not saying RPG is bad, just not anything I care to have a love relationship with at all.

I am a huge fan of the AS400. I just found a great read, "Using IBM DB2 for i as a Storage Engine of MySQL". I am hoping for better news then the benchmarks I found here... http://search400.techtarget.com/tip/Database-performance-comparisons-on-IBM-i

My goal is to continue to migrate all WebSmart PML to PHP.

Since starting this position 5 weeks ago, I have learned there are many debates surrounding the AS400.

I want my PHP via MySQLi to run as fast as RPG. If it even gets close, the performance of the AS400 out shines other platforms.

I was encouraged to see Apache was native and that Zend server was native to the AS400... so there was no need to run linux... (Big Linux Fan Here).. everything is "Native". I wished I knew more about the nuts and bolts of how the AS400 is constructed and operates. There is just so much I have to learn and run with... especially since 3 of the core development staff of 6 have left the building for good.

For those with experience... what path should I take... is there hope for PHP on iSeries. Oh yeah... aren't iSeries and AS400 simply interchangeable?

Thanks,
Rob

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

--
This is the Web Enabling the IBM i (AS/400 and iSeries) (WEB400) mailing list
To post a message email: WEB400@xxxxxxxxxxxx
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
visit: http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/web400
or email: WEB400-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives
at http://archive.midrange.com/web400.

Jon Paris

www.partner400.com
www.SystemiDeveloper.com