Zend to extend Windows PHP work

@Joel Stobart

Mysql isn't free when you start having to uy the enterprise versions.

also with the advent of SQL 2005 which upped it's game, SQL is a more enterprise level server than MySQL is.

thus the two aren't exactly comparable,

try comparing Oracle with MSSQL, do you automatically assume that MSSQL is better because it's cheaper? no you look at what each can do, and how well they do it...

if you go to ZENDs site you'll see that PHP with their support tools isn't exactly free either... (in fact it's not too far from being a visual studio price).

nor is a full enterprise release of say redhat with the support and updates free.

it all goes back to the fact that free Linux, free MySQL and free PHP are for people developing small sites, whilst people making business critical apps, generally pay for the business level support from their vendors and the two technology platforms work out about the same price...

considering that Linux generally has a shorter (officially) supported life cycle, (from memory I think w2k was stopped being supported in 2006, [release 2000 support stop 2006 = 6 years] whilst red hat AS 3 was release in around 2003 or 4 and support stopped in 2006/7 -you can't get updates anymore, so that's a 2 or 3 year support cycle before you have to pay out again for the product, and pay for updates)...

this pushes a Microsoft platform to being a cheaper option that Linux... even if you can seemingly download desktop versions of Linux for nothing. (redhat charge in excess of £1000 for the ability to download updates and fixes [for a limited period of time] whilst microsoft release updates and fixed free of charge [for the life time of the product]). -both releases eventually go out of support.

with this price argument out of the window (we'll say that over the life cycle they are about the same even though figures seem to suggest that MS software is much cheaper), it then comes down to what platform does the job best, and which platform is maintainable.

the point is here that Microsoft are trynig to up their game and get better performance on their platform.

@WIMP

wouldnt that be

Windows, IIS, MSSQL, PHP.

not MySql :)