The December issue of International PHP Magazine includes my latest article "Seamless AJAX with PRADO - An introduction to ActiveControls". In this article I discuss some AJAX design patterns and show you how to make use of them in AJAX enabled components that ships with the PRADO framework.

More information about this issue (and subscribing to the International PHP Magazine) can be found on this page of their site and details on the PRADO framework are over on the project's website.

Back in the day, when I first started writing, I wrote a number of articles for the International PHP Magazine. However, today, looking at their site, for a reason I forget, I noticed something. Actually, several things...

He (and others) have noticed unfit content (Ruby stories on a PHP magazine website), lagging behind on the release of new issues and problems getting in contact with the magazine's offices to find out what might be the issue.

I was happy to contribute to their recently released June edition. I did an interview with the new PEAR Group on the future of PEAR. I'm glad to see such enthusiasm and collaboration among the newly elected group.

You can check out the issue and order your copy from the International PHP Magazine website (here's the table of contents too showing the rest of the articles/columns in this month's edition.

In this article we take a look the connection methods used for PHP and Oracle database using the PHP OCI8 extension. Specifically we cover non-persistent and persistent connections while offering some suggestions for choosing the right approach. In addition we will cover some upcoming features in the next major release of the Oracle database to significantly improve scalability of PHP applications.

He talks about [pdf] the types of Oracle->PHP connections, what the database name connection strings are (with examples) the environment variables for connections, closing the connections, a look at connection pooling, and an overview of using DRCP (Database Resident Connection Pooling) to accomplish it.

The April issue (Issue 04.07) of International PHP Magazine is available on virtual newsstands. This issue provides you with the latest PHP Databases information. The Oracle PHP connection, an introduction to the MaxDB PHP interface, Slony replication and IBM databases are some of the topics covered in this issue which gives you a holistic view of the databases in vogue in PHP.

Articles included in this issue cover topics like:

• Robert Bernier's look at slave/master replication for your databases
• Coverage of the MaxDB functionality for PHP from Thomas Simenec
• an article from Richard Rendell about the Oracle drivers and functionality for PHP
• Srini Bhagavan and Kellen Bombardier's look at what IBM has to offer PHP

Featured in this issue are articles on:

• An introduction to web services by Anant Narayanan (cover story)
• Working with Rich Internet Applications by Lorrie Mac Vittie
• Making web applications more like desktop applications by Amir Mohammad Saied
• and the Security and Spotlight columns presented by PHP Magazine