Using PHP with MS SQL Server
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Now that PHP runs so well on Windows web servers and speaks natively with SQL Server, there's no longer a need to keep PHP and MS SQL Server separate. The benefits of both are available to use. This article provides instructions on how to enable the sybase or mssql modules in your PHP installation and how to use SQL Server with the DB package.
Most of the articles about using PHP for database applications talk about using it in conjunction with MySQL. If they really want to stretch themselves, they talk about PostgreSQL. The business world uses a different standard though, and Microsoft's SQL Server can be found in most corporate data centers.
Traditionally the installation of a Microsoft architecture meant that it was Microsoft and closed source software all the way. If you needed to talk to a Microsoft SQL Server database, you used Microsoft development tools exclusively. Likewise, if you needed the features of PHP, you stuck to open source database engines. Adding MySQL or PostgreSQL to the database server mix made for some interesting programming to synchronize data, and it made life harder for the system administration staff.
Now that PHP runs so well on Windows web servers and speaks natively with SQL Server, there's no need for this unnecessary division. PHP can be a full corporate citizen. I am experienced with development in both Microsoft and open source technologies, and I admit that they both have their benefits and their limitations. Now I can take the benefits of both. I can have the power of SQL Server with a good programming language that I enjoy using.
This article is making the assumption that you are already familiar with writing PHP database applications. It also assumes that you have at least some familiarity with SQL Server.
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