Discover PHP On Windows, Microsoft's Web Platform Installer & How to build web solutions with style using Expression Web 3

1. Wh y P H P A p p s
Ro c k o n
Wi n d o w s
make web, not war.
Paul Laberge
Web Platform Advisor
paul.laberge@microsoft.com
http://blogs.msdn.com/seesharp

2. G o a l s f o r T o d a y ’s
Se s s i o n
• PHP on Windows
• Why it used to suck
• Why it doesn’t suck anymore
• Tools to make PHP on Windows rock
• The Web Platform Installer
• Explain what it is
• Show you what it does
• Describe how you can use it
• Expression Web 3
• How to build web solutions with style!
• Discuss next steps

3. Po l l t h e
Au d i e n c e
When I am building PHP apps, I:
A. Avoid Windows like the plague
B. Use Linux because everyone knows it’s best
for PHP apps!
C. Wish I could run my PHP app on Windows
D. Wish I thought of AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com
before anyone else actually did

4. 3 Dev Challenges (pick one):
• Build a PHP-based (or ASP.NET) Music Collection
hosted on a Windows Machine
• Create a WordPress or Drupal instance using the WPI
and building a custom theme
• Develop a PHP-based Twitter app hosted on Windows
Build the App, Win a Prize
CHAL L E NGE

5. A history of embarrassment
P HP ON
WI N D O WS , T H E
UGL Y

6. I n t h e b e g i n n i n g ...
• First real foray into the enterprise
was Windows NT
• Predominantly a Client/Server OS
• Fundamental approach to server
design used for future Windows
Server versions
Image Source: Wikipedia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Windows_NT_3.5_logo.png)
F u n d a me n t a l P h i l o s o p h y f o r
Wi n d o w s
M a k e m u l t i -t h r e a d i n g e a s y .
S p i n n i n g u p mu l t i p l e p r o c e s s e s i s
n o t a s i mp o r t a n t .

7. Th r e a d v s Pr o c e s s –
t h e r e i n l i e s Wi n d o w s ’
i s s u e wi t h PHP
Each time a request to a PHP page is made, the PHP platform spins
up a new process.
U N I X -B a s e d Wi n d o w s
S y s t e ms
• Spinning up a process is a •S y s t e up s process is a heavy
Spinning m a
lightweight operation operation
• To do this, Windows calls a
• Creating a new thread is not a Hard Page Fault (most costly
lightweight operation operation in the OS)
• Creating a new thread is a very
lightweight operation
A s P H P r e q u e s t s a d d u p , Wi n d o w s g e t s
b o g g e d d o wn u n d e r t h e we i g h t o f
c r e a t i n g p r o c e s s e s .

8. Ea r l y s o l u t i o n s we r e
n o t , u h , o p t i ma l
• We built an ISAPI application to handle PHP
requests which would make response time very
Ru n c r a z y fast
f a s t , c r a s • Sounds great at first, but...
h c r a z y • ISAPI applications are threadsafe and require
of t e n applications using them to be re-entrant
• PHP isn’t really threadsafe and it isn’t re-
entrant.
• Use Common Gateway Interface (CGI), just like
Ru n PHP intended
s l o w, Cr a s • CGI spins up a process for each request
h l e s s • Have a process creation performance problem?
Too bad, so sad.
As y o u c a n s e e , b o t h o f t h e s e
o p t i o n s p r e s e n t t h e i r o wn
c h a l l e n g e s !

9. Po l l t h e
Au d i e n c e
I have:
A. Run Crazy Fast, Crash Crazy Often with PHP
on Windows
B. Run Slow, Crashed Less Often with PHP on
Windows
C. Avoided PHP on Windows to avoid crashing
and slowness.
D. Often wished ICanHasCheezburger didn’t
exist.

10. We’ve made a comeback. And we brought friends.
P HP ON
WI N D O WS , T H E
GOOD

11. E n t e r : F a s t CGI
Ba c k g r o u • Microsoft realized there was a PHP on Windows
n d : Wh a t problem. Finally.
y ou ne e d • Microsoft entered a partnership with Zend to
t o k now fix the problem.
• Result: FastCGI for IIS
• FastCGI is an add-on to IIS 6 and 7 that gives
performance 20x better than other PHP on
Re s u l t Windows solutions
• Very reliable performance and stability
• Free

12. F a s t CGI i n I I S 6 a n d
I I S 7
• FastCGI: The best of both CGI and ISAPI
– Enhancement to CGI protocol
– Web server creates FastCGI process pool for very first request
– Web server re-uses existing FastCGI processes for subsequent
requests
– Configurable Resources
– Download for IIS 6
– Ships in IIS 7, installed with the CGI feature
• Benefits of FastCGI for Windows
– Much faster than CGI because there is no process creation cost
– Much more stable than ISAPI because of single
threaded execution environment
N o n -t h r e a d s a f e P H P b u i l d s a r e
r e c o mme n d e d f o r F a s t C G I

13. H o w F a s t C G I Wo r k s (w i t h
c h e e s y g r a p h i c s )
IIS grabsFastCGI
The an available
The IIS IIS IISready for
is sends
process for theup
Module spins PHP
service is requests
results of PHP
request and uses it
a number of
started request to user.
processes
on Process is
Windows. returned to
pool.
I 
PHP
o n . AUser gets the
User requests
a PHP page User
PHP page. from
thehappy.
is Server

14. Un d e r t h e c o v e r s wi t h
I I S 7, i t ’s a b o u t t h e
mo d u l a r a r c h i t e c t u r e
FastCGI process pool for
PHP5
FastCGI protocol
IIS Worker Process over named
pipes or TCP
php-cgi.exe
FastCGI process pool for
PHP4
Request php.exe
queue

15. L e t ’s s e e w h a t
d e we c a n c r a s h t o d a y
mo
My god, it’s full of <? phpinfo(); ?>!
• Modular architecture. As opposed to monolithic.
• Hosting multiple versions of PHP: I would do that if I were you, Dave.

16. Po l l t h e
Au d i e n c e
The movie reference on the previous
slide is:
A. Khaaaaaaaan!!!
B. 2001: A Space Odyssey / 2010: Odyssey 2
C. Chariots of Fire
D. One time at bandcamp...

17. Th e I n t e g r a t e d
Pi p e l i n e a n d PHP
• IIS 7’s Integrated Pipeline enables ASP.NET to serve as the
standard .NET extensibility mechanism for IIS7
• Provides the same familiar ASP.NET APIs and features for
building web applications
• ASP.NET provides a rich application framework for rapid
application extensions to existing PHP applications
E x a mp l e : A d d i n g A c c e s s C o n t r o l t o a n existing
PHP application…
Using PHP Using ASP.NET
Building a custom credential store and Rich membership service, built-in credential
cookie-based authentication store providers, the forms authentication
from the ground up. module, and a set of pre-made Login
controls.

18. What? Microsoft made it easy to do something? That’s
crazy talk!
T H E WE B
P L AT F ORM
I NST AL L ER

19. I n t r o d u c i n g t h e We b
Pl a t f o r m I n s t a l l e r
The “plumbing” associated with
Aspiration web solutions should not get in
your way building great
applications.
It’s a mess.
Reality

20. I n t r o d u c i n g t h e We b
Pl a t f o r m I n s t a l l e r
The Microsoft Web Platform Installer is our way of making that mess a
little easier to deal with.
It won’t take away all the pain of setting up an environment, but it
takes away a lot of it.
Today I’ll show you Version 1 and Version 2 Beta of the
WPI and how you can use it to set up your web
environments.
And you don’t even need to use .NET if you don’t want...

21. Wh a t d o e s t h e WP I
wo r k wi t h ?
The Microsoft Web Platform is a powerful set of tools, servers, and technologies optimized
for building and hosting next generation web applications and solutions.
Microsoft Web Platform Installer:
Simple discovery and install free web stack and Web App Gallery apps
Tools Servers Technologies
Can’t We All Just Work Together?
Design and development integration for
pre- packaged Open Source applications
that run on top of the Microsoft Web
Platform including:

22. d e
L e t ’s s e e w h a t we c a n c r a s h t o d a y
mo
Almost one-stop shopping – http://microsoft.com/web

23. R e c a p o f t h e WP I
I n s t a l l e r , Ve r s i o n 1
• Installing base platform
software
Good For • Custom developers building
web solutions from scratch
Not So • Installing third party apps like
WordPress or DotNetNuke
Good For

24. T h e We b A p p G a l l e r y
The Web App Gallery is a component of the Microsoft Web Platform
site that allows you to install community-based web solutions and
to submit your own web solutions.

25. S u b mi t t i n g A p p s t o
t h e We b A p p G a l l e r y
Check out the Web App Gallery Principles document to ensure your
application adheres to the requirements for submission.
• (Link: http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/605/windows-web-application-gallery-principles/)
Package your app into the format required by the WPI in order for it to
be configured via the installer application.
• (Link: http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/578/application-packaging-guide-for-the-
windows-web-application-gallery/ )
Submit your app to the gallery via the process on the site. You’ll need
a Windows Live ID in order to submit your app.
• (Link: http://www.microsoft.com/web/gallery/Submit.aspx )

26. L e t ’s s e e w h a t
d e we c a n c r a s h t o d a y
mo
The Web App Gallery – For both artists and consumers
• Review of the Web App Gallery on http://microsoft.com/web
• Creating and submitting applications to the Web App Gallery

27. Po l l t h e
Au d i e n c e
I plan on:
A. Building an app for the WPI and submitting it
to the gallery
B. Not building an app for the WPI.

28. WP I : T N G *
WPI, Version 2 (Beta) is the next step in providing an easy
way to install the pieces of a web solution you need.
• Platform installation support
(i.e.: What WPI, Version 1
What’s had)
“In the Box” • One-Stop Shopping of the Web
App Gallery inside the WPI
Installer
*: The Next Generation. But you probably already knew that!

29. L e t ’s s e e w h a t
d e we c a n c r a s h t o d a y
mo
WPI Version 2 (Beta) – When you need to “turn it up to 11”
• Tour of WPI, Version 2 (Beta)
• Let’s create a WordPress Instance. Oh, and a DotNetNuke
instance, too. Just for the heck of it.

30. Ex c u s e u s f o r t h e
h i c c u p s
A few words of advice (from someone who has felt the pain):
• Before using the WPI, if you need MySQL for any of your
database needs, install it first!
• The MySQL installer for Windows is a little wonky at times and
may cause issues for you if you need to install apps that need
MySQL
My experience installing MySQL (confirmed with others’ experience as
well):
• The MySQL installer installs the database system without any
noticeable errors
• The issue is that the password you enter for the root user is
ignored and left blank
• Result is that you can’t install any app via the WPI as you need a
root password to install the database

31. Th e s o l u t i o n I u s e d
t o t h e My S Q L i s s u e
Ok, so I didn’t figure this out on my own, but I found an answer that
worked for me. To solve the root password reset issue:
• Link: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/resetting-permissions.html
• Log in as an administrator
• If the MySQL service is running, stop it
S u mma r i z e
• Create a text file on C: with the following text:
So l u t i o n
UPDATE mysql.user SET Password=PASSWORD('MyNewPass') WHERE User='root';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
(where “MyNewPass” is the new password you want. Please note that the UPDATE and
St e p s
FLUSH commands must be on separate lines of the text file, just as you see in the
example above.)
• Save the text file as C:mysql-init.txt.
• Open a command window as administrator and execute the following command:
d
C:%MySQL_BIN_PATH%mysqld --init-file=C:mysql-init.txt
(where “%MySQL_BIN_PATH%” is the path to where your MySQL engine was installed.
On my machine this was c:Program FilesMySQLMySQL 5.1bin.)
• Delete the C:mysql-init.txt file you created.
• Stop the MySQL service and restart it normally (i.e. Using the “Services” utility in
Control Panel, not using the command line)
• The root password should now be the one you designated in the C:mysql-init.txt
file.
• If the password is not recognized, try re-booting the box.

32. If you’re gonna build it, build it with style.
E X P R E S S I O N WE B

33. I n t r o d u c i n g
E x p r e s s i o n We b
Expression Web is Microsoft’s “new” tool for building
professional websites.
Features:
• Native support for PHP, ASP.NET, XML, etc.
• Full CSS management capabilities
• Ability to create standards-based websites

34. d e
L e t ’s s e e w h a t we c a n c r a s h t o d a y
Fr i e n d s
d o n ’t
l e t
f r i e n d s •
•
•
•
Language Support
CSS Support
Standards Support
mo
Cross-Browser Support
u s e
Fr o n t Pa
g e

35. E x p r e s s i o n We b
Su p e r Pr e v i e w f o r I E
Be t a
• Part of Expression Web
3
• IE6 Rendering in
Stand-alone tool (free)
• Visual debugging tools
• Side-by-side view
• Overlay view
• Grids & guides
• Pan & zoom
• DOM highlighting
shows absolute
positioning of rendered
elements
• HTML elements display
CSS properties
Download the beta here: http://www.microsoft.com/expression/try-it/superpreview

36. Po l l t h e
Au d i e n c e
SuperPreview:
A. Is something I wish I had long ago.
B. Is worth the price of Expression Web 3!
C. Rocks!
D. Meh.

37. O k , s o w h a t ’s n e x t ?
• First and foremost, try the WPI (either Version 1 or Version 2).
• Don’t believe me, try PHP on Windows for yourself and see how
it runs!
• Try out the trial of Expression Web for your PHP development
• Download the Expression Web SuperPreview for IE Beta
• If you install an application and use it outside of testing the WPI
out, let me know. If you build an app for the WPI, let me know.
We have opportunities to help you market it!
• Check out the resource links at the end of this presentation (if
you’re watching this via the webcast, you can download the
slide deck from Live Meeting which I’ll now explain how to do.
• Check out the offers on the next few slides. They may interest
you.

38. O k , s o w h a t ’s n e x t ?
• First and foremost, try the WPI (either Version 1 or Version 2).
• If you install an application and use it outside of testing the WPI
out, let me know. If you build an app for the WPI, let me know.
We have opportunities to help you market it!
• Check out the resource links at the end of this presentation

39. Yo u a r e c o r d i a l l y
i n v i t e d
Registration Link: http://www.microsoft.com/canada/emailcampaigns/ptr/mwnw2pt/eng/default.aspx

40. Where to get the info
RE S OURCE S

41. L i n k s a n d Re s o u r c e s
• Main Websites
• Microsoft Web Platform Portal: http://www.microsoft.com/web
• Canadian PHP on Windows Portal: http://phponwindows.ca
• Everything PHP on IIS: http://www.iis.net/php
• Microsoft Canada Web Solutions Portal: http://www.microsoft.com/canada/websolutions/
• CodePlex – Microsoft’s Open Source Portal: http://www.codeplex.com
• Port25 – Microsoft’s Open Source Community Site: http://port25.technet.com/
• Main ASP.NET Portal: http://www.asp.net
• Blogs
• Canadian Developer Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/cdndevs
• Canadian IT Pro Blog: http://blogs.technet.com/canitpro
• Joey deVilla’s Blog: http://www.globalnerdy.com/
• Tutorials and Tips
• MySQL Root Password Change Issue: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/resetting-
permissions.html
• IIS 7 Learning Centre: http://learn.iis.net/
• Offers and Contests
• FTW! The Ultimate App Throwdown Contest: http://www.phponwindows.ca/FTW/index.php
• Join the Microsoft Canada Partner Program: http://www.microsoft.com/canada/websolutions/partner-
program.aspx
• myhosting Windows Hosting Offer: http://myhosting.com/Promotions/2009MS/
• RackForce Windows Hosting Offer: http://www.rackforce.com/windows_servers/mspro.html
• Recommended Twitter Follows
• Microsoft Canada for PHP on Windows (@PHPonWindows): http://www.twitter.com/PHPonWindows
• Joey deVilla (@AccordianGuy): http://www.twitter.com/AccordianGuy
• Nik Garkusha (@Nik_G): http://www.twitter.com/Nik_G
• Paul Laberge (@plaberge): http://www.twitter.com/plaberge
• The Microsoft Web Platform (@mswebplatform): http://www.twitter.com/mswebplatform
• Angie Lim (@angielim): http://www.twitter.com/angielim
• Microsoft Partner Program (@msPartner): http://www.twitter.com/msPartner

42. L i n k s a n d
Re s o u r c e s , Co n t i n u e d
• Main Websites
• Main Expression Studio Portal: http://expression.microsoft.com
• Expression Web Portal: http://expression.microsoft.com/en-ca/cc136529.aspx
• SuperPreview Beta Download: http://www.microsoft.com/expression/try-it/superpreview
• Microsoft’s Canadian Web Solutions Portal: http://www.microsoft.ca/websolutions
• Blogs
• Canadian UX Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/canux
• Anna Ullrich’s Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/anna/
• Morten Rand-Hendriksen’s Blog: http://www.designisphilosophy.com
• Expression Web Product Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/xweb/
• Tutorials and Tips
• Free Expression Web Training Videos: http://expression.microsoft.com/en-ca/cc197140.aspx
• LearnExpression: http://www.learnexpression.com/
• Recommended Twitter Follows
• Morten Rand-Hendriksen: @mor10
• Anna Ullrich: @annaullrich
• Official Expression Product Account: @MSExpression
• Tina Clarke’s Account: @expressionweb

43. Visual Studio
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44. © 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries. The information
herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should
not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO
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