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List:       php-evangelism
Subject:    Redhad Fedora
From:       Warren Vail <warren () phppilot ! com>
Date:       2005-01-31 0:36:38
Message-ID: 1107131798.23614.43.camel () localhost ! localdomain
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I finally tried to implement my own linux box and experienced difficulty
connecting to mysql from PHP applications.  I struggled with the issue
for a while, then began researching if other people were having similar
problems.  I am writing this list because the difficulty I am
experiencing reminds me of tactics employed by IBM and Microsoft to
maintain their hold on their customers, or so it appears to me.

The version of linux I tried to implement from CD's which accompanied a
rather large book on Linux Fedora Core 2.  It seems that the apache
server that came with the Redhat Fedora version, came with php
implemented as an apache module (mod_php).  Running php_info() disclosed
that php had been compiled with "--with-mysql=shared,/usr" yet
attempting to access mysql results in "cannot load mysql extension,
please check PHP Configuration" after installing phpMyAdmin, even though
services report "mysqld (pid 2890) is running...".  So I then found that
there was an option to install "php_mysql", but when attempting to
install the application I get "Unlocatable package "php", required by
('php-mbstring','4.3.10','2.4')". 

My point in all this is this seems to be the only difficulty I had with
the install, and with my paranoia working overtime, I began to notice
that;
1. PHP was carried in the product as a Web server add-on only and not a
development language.
2. The php interface module seemed to be missing even though the
php_info seemed to think it was pre-configured (the binaries certainly
didn't execute as if it were installed).
3. there seemed to be much confusion about which modules were included
and which weren't (probably caused by my lack of experience).

Red Hat recently split development between the open source version
(Fedora) and the version that it was selling (Enterprise), and my
paranoia suggests that to break the most commonly used DB in its install
of PHP would encourage more than one site to consider shelling out cash
for the Enterprise edition (where I assume these problems don't exist),
suggesting that if the break was not intentional, it was at least
fortuitous (the kind of thing that the other big boys have all done to
boost their own sales, or so they deny).

My concern is that PHP will suffer in credibility as a result of this. 
Does this list become involved in this kind of thing?  Just curious.

Warren Vail
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