Re: MySQL on System i

[David Gibbs <david@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Joe Pluta wrote:
> This would mean a situation where a PHP application is critical enough that
> the robustness of the i5 outweighs the cost of entry.  And it seems to me
> (and I might be wrong here) the primary reason people use PHP is because
> it's free.

While it is free, it's also pretty powerful ... and a lot of people, and
organizations, have built some pretty sophisticated applications using PHP.

Of course, since it's free, that means the cost of taking if for a spin
is pretty low ... and there are a lot of PHP developers out there.

> How many commercial PHP applications are making lots of money?  If there are
> a lot, then that's one issue.  If not, then this is another instance of "run
> free applications on your expensive server".

Dunno for sure ... but there are a bunch of commercial organizations
that are running their web apps with PHP.

> I'm not disagreeing.  I'm just worried about over-hyping this, the same way
> that Java and WebSphere was over-hyped.  There are things i5/OS is good at
> and things it is not.  

No doubt ... use the right tool for the right job.  PHP might not be the
right tool, even for a web app.

> My guess is that PHP, like Java, likes a dedicated
> processor and so interaction with RPG will need to be carefully managed.

My gut says that PHP won't quite be that intensive ... I *THINK* it will
run as a module in Apache (same as it does in other platforms) so the
resources required shouldn't be all that incredible.

david