Skip to main content

DrupalCon San Francisco 2010

mysql

Building Applications with JavaScript and PHP using new AJAX book

jasminet's picture

Packt is pleased to announce a new book on Web 2.0 Applications ,that helps users build user friendly Web 2.0 Applications with JavaScript, PHP, MySQL, and jQuery . Written by Audra Hendrix, Bogdan Brinzarea and Cristian Darie, AJAX and PHP: Building Modern Web Applications 2nd Edition is a friendly tutorial, enhancing the user experience of a PHP website using AJAX, thereby creating faster and better web applications.

Ajax is a group of interrelated web development techniques, used on the client-side to create interactive web applications that retrieve data from the server asynchronously in the background without interfering with the display and behavior of the existing page. PHP is a scripting language designed for web development and to produce dynamic web pages. AJAX enables interactive interfaces that can replace traditional user interfaces and enhance the user experience of PHP websites.

Readers will learn how to write unobtrusive AJAX code and also to debug them using modern tools through this book. This book provides a complete case study of AJAX Form Validation, AJAX Online Chat and AJAX Editable DataGrid with jQuery, thereby combining client-side and server-side functionality to enhance the user experience of the site using AJAX. Advanced AJAX and PHP patterns and techniques such as predictive fetching, progress indicator, graceful degradation, and cross-domain calls are thoroughly discussed in this book.

SilverStripe running on Microsoft SQL database

Bryan's picture

Work is currently underway to provide an extension so that SilverStripe can run on Microsoft SQL Server 2008.  The SilverStripe module allowing for this connection to the SQL Server is currently still being developed, but the alpha version according to Sigurd Magnusson does work.

Other than that, we're using the code with success internally, and know others in the community are too. We're mentioning this SQL Server milestone in the blog to let you know that the feature is well on its way, and to allow careful developers a chance to try it out, provide feedback, and files bugs before we mark it as a publicly stable module.

SilverStripe, as with many PHP-based content management systems, has historically only supported MySQL for it's database.  Besides MS SQL, SilverStripe also hopes to be able to run on additional databases such as PostgreSQL and SQLite.

What happens after the merger of Oracle and Sun?

Bryan's picture

Like a lot of people, I too wonder what will happen to the MySQL, Java, and hardware once Sun is integrated into Oracle.  I have opinions but those opinions alone aren't worth a hill of NetBeans.  Luckily, people like Gavin Clarke know what they're talking about.  Clarke has written an excellent article at The Register titled,  Sun and Oracle: end of a beautiful dream.

Oracle will take the decisions Sun could not, and that's what'll have people at Sun worried. And while change should be welcomed, there's no way this should be seen as a bright new dawn for Sun customers or those who've come to believe in its actions on open source or Java.

The first thing you can expect from a Oracle acquisition is due-diligence of the assets and a comparative analysis where Oracle has competing assets. Oracle will weigh up what's worth keeping and jettison the rest. The latter will be marked by end-of-lifing via support and maintenance, or releasing code to the community - where it will fade and die.

The article isn't as gloomy as the title or the above excerpt would imply. However, the article is pragmatic and leaves little room for dreamers.  Be sure to read the article!

Book on Professional WordPress Themes

shriharshb's picture

Packt is pleased to announce the release of WordPress Themes Design, which is a complete guide to creating professional WordPress themes. Written by Tessa Blakeley Silver, this book will be invaluable to WordPress users or visual designers who want to develop a WordPress theme.

WordPress is an open-source blog engine released under the GNU general public license. It allows users to easily create dynamic blogs with great content and many outstanding features. It is an ideal tool for developing blogs and though it is chiefly used for blogging, it can also be used as a complete CMS with very little effort. Its versatility and ease of use has attracted a large, enthusiastic, and helpful community of users.