NYCPHP Meetup

[Jonathan]

Hans, here's what Shannon at Roadsend had to say:

Hi Jonathan,

Thanks for you interest in the Roadsend Compiler!

hendler at simmons.edu wrote:

> Hi,
> I am considering a purchase within the next 3 months for an 
> application I want to distribute. I'm excited by the compiler but have 
> more questions.
> I glanced at the FAQ, sorry if I missed something.
>
> 1. Are you planning PHP 5 support?


Yes we are planning PHP 5 support, but it will probably not be available 
until a release sometime next year. Currently we are focused on adding 
more extension support through a compatibility layer that will allow the 
use of open source php extensions.

We are also working on adding the ability to compile an application with 
a built in web server, so you can distribute web applications as stand 
alone programs.

> 2. Are you planning Apache 2 support? The reason it only works under 
> apache 1.x is because the complier can create an apache module?


Yes, but before native Apache 2 support shows up we will probably have a 
better CGI interface (using FastCGI) that would allow the use of a 
compiled apps under Apache 2, IIS and other web servers.

> 3. Did you run your benchmarks against php with eAccelerater, etc.?


The benchmarks posted on the site were run against a plain open source 
PHP install.

> 4. For a stand alone webserver app - how does this work? I see that I 
> would have to write custom HTTP output - but what handles incoming 
> requests? Would I still bundle apache?


In the current release there is no easy way to do a stand alone web 
server app.

The new feature we are working on that I mentioned above will embed a 
small web server right into the final executable. When the executable is 
run, it begins listening on a (customizable) port so all the user has to 
do is point a browser to it. It will then begin serving (compiled) pages 
like a normal PHP application.

You would not have to bundle anything besides the required binaries and 
supporting files (images, external files the app uses, required 
supporting libraries, etc).

> 5. If I write my own .so or use libxml2 or mcrypt, technically 
> speaking, would I be able to create a binary that includes these 
> libraries?
>

Our compiler will allow you to create a binary that uses external 
libraries, but you are still responsible for adhering to the license 
restrictions for that particular library. For example, if you create a 
commercial, closed source application that requires the MySQL library, 
they require you to purchase a license, as explained here: 
http://www.mysql.com/company/legal/licensing/faq.html

On the other hand, libxml2 and libpcre are free to use commercially, so 
it depends on the library.

> Thanks very much for your time.
>
> Regards,
> Jonathan Hendler
>
>

Let me know if I can answer any more questions.

Thanks,
Shannon
Roadsend, Inc.

Hans Zaunere wrote:

> There used to be (perhaps still are?) some Roadsend developers on this 
> list.
>
>They're out in Long Island.
>
>I know the last time I spoke to them, they were working on some of the above
>items.  Would be interested to hear where things stand now.
>
>
>---
>Hans Zaunere
>President, Founder
>New York PHP
>http://www.nyphp.org
>
>AMP Technology
>Supporting Apache, MySQL and PHP
>
>
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