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NEW YORK—IBM is helping developers gain broader access to the companys open-source cache of products and unveiling a partnership designed to let developers build and deploy services and applications based on the PHP Web scripting language.
The Armonk, N.Y., company last week announced it is joining Zend Technologies Inc., in Cupertino, Calif., to create Zend Core for IBM, an offering that will integrate IBMs Cloudscape database and Zends PHP environment, which are each based on open-source technology, said Jon Prial, vice president of information management software at IBM, in an interview here.
Zend Core for IBM will provide native PHP-connector integration with IBMs Cloudscape database server.
The Cloudscape code currently resides with the Apache Software Foundation and is being used in an incubator project, called Derby, that will eventually serve as a code-based model for commercial versions of Cloudscape.
Prial said the alliance with Zend is a prime opportunity to showcase IBMs open-source database clout to a cost-conscious audience targeted by open-source database vendors such as MySQL AB, PostgreSQL Inc. and Db4objects Inc., as those vendors gain acceptance among larger enterprise customers.
“As other open-source databases announce enterprise [offerings], we need to hit some low-end [solutions],” said Prial. “Open source to IBM is a deep commitment.”
IBM and Zend plan to further PHP technology by collaborating on efforts to augment high-level database frameworks and enhance PHP Web services standards.
IBM said it is extending more than 30 software projects, including its Jikes fast Java compiler and Life Science Identifier, which automatically scans networks for biologically significant data, as well as SourceForge.Net, to foster open-source innovation and development.
This week IBM will announce the availability of IDS (Informix Database Server) Version 10. Tagged as IBMs biggest IDS upgrade since 1999, Version 10 offers new automated capabilities and simplified administration.
IBM has added enhanced security options, such as column-level encryption, to the product to prevent unauthorized access to the database.
The new version of IDS includes support for online rebuilding of indexes to reduce scheduled maintenance and offers flexible licensing options.
IDS Version 10 offers a new “DBA only” mode to allow database administrators full access to the database engine while restricting all other access. Along with improved high availability, backup-and-restore utilities have been enhanced.
Prial said IBM will not require customers to migrate from IDS to DB2. He said an integrated evolutionary code base between the databases is years away.