The article contest running on PHPWomen.org through July just got more exciting. We have asked people to post entries to our Best Practices forum. The authors of the best two entries will win copies of Zend Studio for Eclipse.

Besides the possibility of winning one of these licenses, entrants will also be entered into the running (two winners) to get a 1 year subscription to Linux Pro Magazine and have the opportunity for their article to be featured on the magazine's website.

Oracle Magazine's May/June 2008 issue contains a "Developer Nation" article. In it, David Kelly interviews Levi Dixon from Community Connect about using PHP and Oracle.

The article references the Oracle/PHP "strange combination" that used to exist and how it's evolved into a vital, living part of Oracle's stack (like with the OCI8 extension).

There is a new PHP magazine called "Enterprise PHP" available in English, German and French which might even console those missing the apparently ill-fated International PHP Magazine. Back before publication the usual tree of suspects led me to being interviewed for the initial edition published a short while back.

The current issue (which you can get for free after a survey) has articles looking at testing your PHP scripts, how "professional" it is to use PHP and the fact that Java is not PHP (wait, isn't that backwards?)

So, in the digital toolbox of the developer, where has PHP been designed to work best? And where is it, perhaps, not the best tool for the job? [...] While other languages can surely be used to solve The Web Problem, in this article I explain why PHP is the premier solution for server-side Web scripting.

John talks about how PHP was written for the web, how it approaches and handles web requests, the security of the language and some of the major software packages that are being used in PHP development today (like the Zend Framework, PHPUnit and PECL extensions).

It's a pretty good article about database design and I think all PHP developers who are just starting to integrate databases in their applications should read it. However, there are a few things I'd like to add and point out.

The "blurb" for the article mentions MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL, SQLite and database schemas. You can find out more about this issue, including how to get your own copy, from the php|architect website.

I wrote an introductory article on the Zend Framework for the german t3n-Magazin. It is published in issue #11 and covers all the stuff you should know, to get started with the Zend Framework.

It includes some basic knowledge of the request processing the framework does, how the MVC pattern works, a look at some of the components and an introduction to renderers and helpers.

I was recently interviewed by Computerworld UK regarding our launch in the UK and the current rise of PHP in the corporate world. The result is online here.

He also asks readers how they see PHP adoption going in their companies: "Post a comment to let me know how 'PHP' and 'Business' go together in your region."

• PHAR: PHP Archive Files from Gregory Beaver
• Webmail 2.0: Introducing RoundCube by Tim Klampackel
• Killing the For Loop from Paul Chandler
• The Doctrine Framework by Nicolas Berard-Nault
• and the usual columns - /Etc and Test Pattern

If you're already subscribed, you should be getting your issue any time now but, if you're not, there's two ways you can get your hands on a copy - either "quick buy" it from the php|architect website or subscribe and get this and other great future issues jam packed full of great PHP content.