IBM i: Fertile Ground for PHP Developers

IBM i
Fertile ground for PHP developers

Alan Seiden Consulting
alanseiden.com
Thursday, February 6, 14

My focus
Advancing PHP on IBM i
• PHP project leader, Zend/IBM Toolkit
• Contributor, Zend Framework DB2/i enhancements
• Developer, Best Web Solution, IBM/Common
• Authority, subsecondweb performance
on IBM i/iSeries


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IBM i: Fertile Ground for PHP Developers

Contact information
Alan Seiden
alan@alanseiden.com
201-447-2437
alanseiden.com
twitter: @alanseiden


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Where to download these slides
From my site
http://alanseiden.com/presentations
On SlideShare
http://slideshare.net/aseiden
The latest version will be available on both sites


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What we’ll discuss today
•
•
•
•
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Why work with IBM i ?
PHP a perfect fit for i
Opportunities
How to speak ‘i’
Resources
Q&A

To rate this talk:
https://joind.in/6820


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IBM i for
your career

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Advantages to knowing IBM i
• Work with midsize to large size companies
 IBM i runs mission-critical operations
 Real budgets

• Raise your profile in a specialized universe
 Gain interesting assignments
 Make an impact
 Command premium fees for your expertise

• In the words of an IBM’er: “Once joined to the IBM i
application brotherhood you may be set for life”


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IBM i Facts
• Designed, marketed, built by IBM
in Rochester, Minnesota

• Heritage dates back to the 1970s
• Currently runs on Power Systems hardware, also
used by AIX

ibm.com/systems/id/power/hardware/power7ent.html

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Who uses ‘i’?


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Who uses IBM i?
• Over 150,000 companies in more than 115 countries
 40 language translations
 51 national language versions

• From small to very large
 70%: small-to-medium size organizations
 30%: larger, with 1000+ employees
• Reference: IBM i Strategy and Roadmap white paper
• ibm.com/systems/power/software/i/strategy.html


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Typical industries
• The ‘i’ was designed to sail through commercial
transaction processing workloads

• According to IBM, typical industries include:






Wholesale and retail distribution
Manufacturing
Financial services such as banking, insurance
Travel, transportation
Media, entertainment
• music publishing, casino management

 Local government
• including lottery agencies

 School administration

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Selected companies using IBM i
 Transportation/Logistics
• Enterprise Rent-a-Car
• FedEx

 Education management
• EDR/Crosspointe (software for school districts)

 Food and beverage
• AriZona Beverages (iced tea)
• Polar Beverages (Worcester, Mass.)

 Retail
• Bed Bath & Beyond
• Starbucks
• United Rentals

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Integrated system


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Resilient business processing
• How IBM describes IBM i:

• More than an OS: an operating environment
 #IBMi question for @Steve_Will_IBMi
Is IBM i an OS or an Operating Environment?
http://linkd.in/ArNo5w
 @stevencpitcher #IBMi
DB2 is architecture. On other platforms, it is a software package.

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IBM i Architecture

IBM i architecture diagram © 2012 IBM Corporation.
From Steve Will’s “You and i” blog: http://ibmsystemsmag.blogs.com/you_and_i/

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DB2 database at its heart
• DB2 built in
 Transaction processing workhorse
 Database implemented below operating system level!
• IBM i’s “Machine Interface (MI)” between OS and hardware

 Journaling, auditing, commitment control very commonly used
 Never corrupted
• Doesn’t lose data even if knock out power plug

• Database often taken for granted
 So self-managing that DBAs are rare

• MySQL also supported (Zend DBi)
 Can connect to DB2 via DB2 Storage Engine

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Data and programs last forever
• IBM has been dedicated to legacy app longevity and
data longevity

 RPG (and occasionally COBOL) running for 30-40 years
 DB2 data evolving 30-40 years
 Middleware insulates applications from hardware changes


IBM i Heritage chart from Trevor Perry
http://blog.angustheitchap.com/?p=415

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Long-serving back ends, new front ends
• What does this mean to you?
 RPG and DB2, mature and evolving for years, can be part of your
data model, accessed by PHP
 Create web GUI interfaces and web services around these
venerable resources
• Business logic is encapsulated in RPG/COBOL/DB2
• You can keep your hands somewhat clean of business details

 Case studies later in this presentation


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Reliable


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Nondisruptive business growth
• Scales vertically

• One system can handle large and diverse workloads

• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), including reduced operator costs, is said
to be competitive or cheaper than assembling server farms

• Can activate additional processors without restarting system

• Dependable

• Resistant to viruses

• Object-based system since the 1970s

• Journaling, commitment control, replication, high availability
• Security features galore
• Keeps on running
• You will sleep soundly at night


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IBM i can “phone home” with problems


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PHP’s role on i


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PHP on i
• 2004: i5php.net

 Unofficial PHP binary for “i” available online

• 2005: IBM and Zend got together
• 2006: Zend Core for i5/OS
 Official release with help from IBM, technical support from Zend

• 2007: Zend Studio: IDE/code editor
and Zend Platform: performance booster and code tracer/monitor

• 2008: Zend Framework supports “i” variant of db2
• 2009: Zend Server Beta for “i”
• 2010: Zend Server released
• 2011: New toolkit on “i” beta...GA in 2012
Pin from IBM booth, ZendCon 2011

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Zend/IBM’s commitment from 2005-6

from 2006: “[Andi] Gutmans says Zend intends to
port all its products to System i, treating the
platform's users as first-class citizens.”
http://mcpressonline.com/programming/web-languages/zend-brings-php-to-ibms-i5os.html

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IBM + Zend
• IBM i systems ship with Zend Server (PHP)
• PHP on IBM i packaged and supported by Zend

IBM’s Tony Cairns and Alan S.
working on new toolkit, ZendCon 2011

IBM booth, ZendCon 2010

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Zend Server for IBM i
• PHP stack for IBM i
• Download
• http://www.zend.com/en/products/server/downloads-ibmi

• Zend Server 5.x license types
• Zend Server Community Edition (CE) and regular Zend Server
• Same download, different license

• Zend Server 6.x editions
• http://www.zend.com/en/products/server/editions
• Free, Small Business, Professional, Enterprise
• Same download, different license

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DB2 and PHP Best Practices on IBM i

Installation
•Prerequisites

• http://static.zend.com/topics/ZS-560-IBMi-

ReleaseNotes-20111215-04.txt
• Zend Server 5.6 works on v5r4 and higher
• Zend Server 6.x needs 6.1 or higher

•Try Zend Studio’s IDE (no charge, courtesy of IBM)
• “Zend Studio for Eclipse, IBM i Edition”
• http://zend.com/en/products/studio/downloads
• Look for “IBM i Edition”


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DB2 and PHP Best Practices on IBM i

Zend Server event list


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ibm_db2 middleware
• Manual page
 http://php.net/ibm_db2

• Source code and additional documentation at the
“PECL” PHP extension repository
 http://pecl.php.net/package/ibm_db2


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db2_connect() example with $options
$database = 'MYDB';
$user = 'MYUSER';
$password = 'MYPASS';
$options = array('i5_naming' => DB2_I5_NAMING_ON,
'i5_libl'
=> 'MYLIB1 MYLIB2'
);
$conn = db2_connect($database, $user, $password, $options);
if ($conn) {
echo "Connection succeeded.";
} else {
echo "Connection failed.";
}
// MYTABLE will be found, if in library MYLIB1 or MYLIB2
$stmt=db2_exec($conn,"SELECT * FROM MYTABLE");


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e-Commerce
Case Study #1


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Medrano Express: four into one


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Screen #1, Order header


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Screen #2, Order detail


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Screen #3, Content package from detail
(Option 4 from order header)


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Screen #4, Notes from order detail
F9 key launches this


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Web page combines all 4 “green screens”


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One PHP script, four RPG programs
• Call each RPG, filling a table with data to read
 Repeat 4x !
 “header” RPG returns useful information for calling “detail” RPG,
etc.

• Show results in one PHP view
• Zend/IBM PHP Toolkit helps PHP call RPG
 Info about Toolkit coming up

• (application by Jessie Clark)

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Toolkit welcomes PHP to ‘i’ family
• Call RPG, COBOL, CL

• Including IBM i apis
• Most popular use of toolkit

• Commands

• ADDLIBLE LIB(MYLIB)
• More command types (details later)

• Read/write objects that store data
• Data areas
• User spaces

• Send/receive data queues
• Get lists, read data or attributes from these:
•
•
•
•
•

Spooled files
Job logs
Active jobs
Objects
System values


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Where to get new toolkit
•Included with Zend Server 5.6+
• http://zend.com/en/products/server/downloads
• Approved QA version in latest PTF or hotfix
• Look for latest PTF and hotfix, install in sequence

•Young i Professionals (YiPs) site
• Latest version is here
• http://youngiprofessionals.com/wiki/XMLSERVICE
• Also: a Git repository for collaboration


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How it’s put together
• PHP calls XMLSERVICE through generic stored

procedures (installed automatically with package)
• Any environment that can send/receive XML can
use XMLSERVICE

• PHP is the first major “client” to use XMLSERVICE
but there will be more, further strengthening
XMLSERVICE as a back-end


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e-Commerce
Case Study #2


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Allied Beverage Group


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Original 5250-mode order entry process
• Aimed at expert customer service users
• Sales reps accessed it using Jadvantage java
applet in browser

 Better than nothing
 S-l-o-w logon
 Forced reps to have expert knowledge of system

• Dicey wireless signals on the road = lost sessions
• RPG was powerful but too complex to be updated
with major new functionality


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Intro screen


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Intro with error message (customer)
•f


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Intro with error message (“return to number”)


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Main screen


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Search for a product by description


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Select a product


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Help!


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What Allied wanted in web-based order entry
• Good for sales reps and customers
 Keep speed while making it easier for newcomers
 Reps can copy from past orders
 Lots of information at fingertips (fewer clicks)

• Users can save drafts of orders
 Drafts are brand-new functionality
 We use the old RPG logic, but we’re not tied to it

• No problem if temporarily disconnected
 Stateless web connection can easily resume later

• Overcome 90-item limit
 So we didn’t have to treat that as an error
 Internally we split order into 90-item bunches and sent multiple orders to RPG


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Web ordering intro page


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Web with account type/search box


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Web Mode #1: Quick Order Entry


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Search results


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Web Mode #2: Standard Order Entry


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AJAX loads dynamic info


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How to speak ‘i’


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What veteran users call the ‘i’
• IBM i (correct modern name)
• You will also hear
 iSeries
 System i
 The AS/400
• or “The ’400”


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Database terms
• Modern and traditional terminology coexist
Modern term

Traditional term or phrase

Schema

Library

Table
Index

File or Physical File
Logical File*

Row

Record

Column

Field

* a logical file resembles an “index + view”
Modern views, triggers, etc. are supported by DB2

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Learning more


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Conferences and User Groups
• ZendCon
 Has an IBM i track
 Speaking opportunities for ‘i’ savants

• Common
 Common.org
 Largest IBM i and Power Systems user group

• Other user groups
 https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/wikis/home?
lang=en#!/wiki/Power%20Systems/page/IBM%20i%20Local
%20User%20Groups


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Searching the ’net
• Official IBM i site
 ibm.com/systems/power/software/i/

• Midrange.com: treasure trove of information
 midrange.com, wiki.midrange.com/index.php/Main_Page

• Search for “IBM i”
 Lowercase ‘i’ not easily indexed
 If no luck, try:
•
•
•
•

iSeries
System i
i5
AS/400 (for older information)


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IBM i on the cloud (practice your ‘i’ skills)
• IBM i Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Several vendors:





iDevCloud.com (for personal, noncommercial projects)
iInTheCloud.com (commercial hosting)
us.logicalis.com/microsites/cloud-computing.aspx
MindShift.com

• Full list of i-cloud vendors, compiled by Joe Hertvik
 http://joehertvik.com/?p=816


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Zend Server and PHP resources
• Support
 Zend Server CE includes one year of email support
• Upgrade to Zend Server for more years and fast phone support

 Register at http://www.zend.com/en/products/server/downloadsibmi and also get Zend’s IBM i newsletter

• Web:
 Zend’s recorded webinars: http://www.zend.com/resources/
webinars/i5-os
 Zend Forums: forums.zend.com
• Look for IBM i Zend Server forums

 http://alanseiden.com
• Blog, articles, tips newsletter


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DB2 and PHP Resources
• IBM
 IBM_DB2 manual and open source repository
• http://php.net/ibm_db2, http://pecl.php.net/package/ibm_db2

 DeveloperWorks wiki
• http://ibm.com/developerworks/ibmi

 Performance tips from IBM’s Tony Cairns
• http://www.youngiprofessionals.com/wiki/FastCGI

• Zend
 Zend Server for IBM i
• http://www.zend.com/en/products/server/zend-server-ibm-i

 Forums for PHP on IBM i
• http://forums.zend.com/viewforum.php?f=67


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More resources
• IBM i blogs


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

Jon Paris, Susan Gantner: ibmsystemsmag.blogs.com/iDevelop/
Trevor Perry: blog.angustheitchap.com
Mandy Shaw: iperimeter.blogspot.com
Steve Will: ibmsystemsmag.blogs.com/you_and_i/

• PHP on i blogs
 Mike Pavlak: mikepavlak.blogspot.com
 Alan Seiden: alanseiden.com

• Publications:
 iPro Developer, MC Press Online, IBM Systems Magazine


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Questions


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Alan’s upcoming appearances
http://alanseiden.com/presentations/upcoming
Feb. 27
PHP Performance on IBM i, online
March 11-13 Numerous talks WMCPA conf, Wisconsin
May 4-7
Numerous talks COMMON conf, Orlando


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Contact | Get tips
Alan Seiden
Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ

alanseiden.com

alan@alanseiden.com

●

201-447-2437 ● twitter: @alanseiden
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IBM i: Fertile Ground for PHP Developers

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