It's not often that I talk about .net here as I prefer PHP - and I'm sure there are other developers that feel the same way - and vice-versa! An amazing achievement from a UK company called Jadu (a company I can honestly say I'm very proud to work for!), a leader in the CMS market, is a joining of these two languages for the first time ever.
The Phalanger PHP compiler was developed and funded by Jadu, but is being released to the open source community, the company said.
The tool works by allowing the compilation of PHP applications which can run natively under the .NET Framework, allowing firms to make use of PHP apps without needing to rip out existing .NET/Visual Studio infrastructure, according to Jadu chief executive Suraj Kika.
So this means if you're on a .net based system, but require the use of phpBB or some other PHP development, you could use Phalanger to get it running in the same environment as your .aspx based scripts! That's a pretty amazing feat really. Thinking about it, that also means you could write what you want in PHP, and then have it work and accessible from C# scripts.
If you want to use WordPress but you're a Microsoft house, you can compile WordPress down to an executable and drop it onto .NET with Phalanger," he said. "You can then start working on it in Visual Studio, and build your own apps around it. It is extremely portable.
It's like Yin and Yang - two opposites, yet working together to produce something that is more than the sum of it's parts. I can imagine ASP.net pages using their "special" forms, but validating and submitting it to the database via a PHP script. It certainly opens a whole new door to .net developers and PHP developers alike, and it is looking like a bright future for Phalanger. I'm sure this is only the beginning of what may change web development as we know it forever...
