Top 5 Databases for PHP Web Application Development

PHP has turned out to be the most popular platforms for web development today. Not only websites, as well as enterprise applications like ERP, web-based based open source CRM for SMEs and e-Commerce solutions, are also quite famous today. The vast majority of us tend to think that MySQL is the only database which connects with PHP. Others are aware that PHP supports other databases but don’t know which ones. In many cases, customers are choosy about the database they would need for their usage.

This article is meant for PHP developers, web development organizations and other people who need to understand the databases which are supported by PHP. Please note that the information contained in this article may become outdated with time, however it would nevertheless be useful.

Popular Databases for PHP Web Application Development

We have attempted to list down the databases as decreasing order of use cases with PHP. Therefore database which is most popular is listed on the top and the ones which are not that popular are listed further down. We would also attempt and keep up this article as and when new databases are included.

Here is the list below

** MySQL:** No points for guessing this. MySQL stays the most popular database for PHP applications. The database is the world's most popular open source database. The enterprise version of the database is accessible too and is aTop 5 Databases for PHP Web Application Development paid one. Numerous well-known applications like SugarCRM, Magento, WordPress, and Drupal use MySQL. Big websites like Wikipedia, Facebook and Google are also its customers. The MySQL workspace database provides a web-based user interface to manage the database.

PostgreSQL: PostgreSQL was launched in 1995 and focused on compliance and standards. Compared to MySQL, it is rich and the database is currently under its Release 9.3 compared to MySQL release 5.6.
PostGrey has advanced optimization and compression features which put it in parallel with Oracle. Popular applications using PostgreSQL are OpenBravo and PostERP among others. However, PostgreSQL is believed to be a fraction slower than MySQL.
If your users are accustomed to Windows and you already have related infrastructure. you might need to utilize MS-SQL. Yet, web development using .Net and.ASP technologies may cost you more.

So some customers still use PHP and connect it to MS-SQL. However, it should be noted that this works only for PHP version 5+

** SYBASE:** Founded in Berkley in 1984, SYBASE is currently part of SAP AG. Solution enterprise is a popular choice for database management.

It is also proven to perform under extreme load and is suitable where an association needs a major database. It interfaces with PHP utilizing sasql_connect() command similar to MySQL.

** IBM-DB2:** This came into existence in 1983 through the establishment work for this began in the 1970s. This was utilized widely in conjunction with mainframe systems. The database is now being utilized in numerous huge scale ERP and E-Commerce implementations. For connecting it with PHP you would require PECL extension.

Oracle Database: One of the most prevalent databases of our occasions, Oracle database is similarly well known for Windows and Linux based servers. It is hard to run over associations which don't utilize this database. For connecting with PHP applications, OCI8 extension is required. When the extension is in place oci_connect function can be utilized to interface with the database. Function oci_close() can be used to disconnect the connection.

Other supported databases

Different databases which can be connected with PHP are listed below. Some of them are proprietary and others are open source. You can get more information about them by going to their home page. This list has been arranged in alphabetical order.

Cubrid
DB++
dBase
filePro
FireBird/InterBase
FrontBase
Informix
Ingres
MaxDB
Mongo
mSQL
Obrimos SQL
Paradox
SQLite
SQLite3
SQLSRV
Tokyo Tyrant

PHP programming ideas for handling database

Some of the most proficient PHP developers treat the database as an external entity to ensure the best performance for their application. The following are the best practices we suggest

Minimize the number of selects you write in your PHP program. Try selecting the data in a single shot and filter using arrays.
Utilize fields which characterize the keys while selecting the data.
Joining more than 3 tables is not advisable.
Select just the fields that you require for processing instead of using SELECT *.
Avoid aggregate functions like SUM, AVERAGE, MAX. Use them if they are not optional and in case the database is small.

Summary of the Article

Having understood the different database choices PHP gives you can take an informed decision regarding which database you might need to use in your case. We hope that the best practices mentioned above will help you in achieving performance optimized deliverables for your client.

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