Will Fitch’s Blog

I have finally got my new servers! I am still in the process of configuration, but this is the basic setup:

1. Web / Mail Server
   • Dual-core Xeon 2 GHz
   • 8GB of RAM
   • RHEL 5 64-bit
2. Database Server
   • Dual-core Xeon 2 GHz
   • 2GB of RAM (I know, it will eventually get upgraded)
   • RHEL 5 64-bit

This is especially important to me so I can increase my web services. Free data is always better than free software!

The zip code web service will be under maintenance until April 3rd. I am completing a total overhaul on my blog, so please hang in there with me.

I have completed the major functionality to the SOAP integration of the zip code services. The following methods can be used to get the data you need:

1. getDistanceByZip - Get the distance from one zip code to another
2. getZipsByRadius - Get GPS information within (X) miles of a zip code
3. getLocalTime - Get the local time for a zip code

I am going to describe each function in depth, and give examples of each in a few languages.  If you have suggestions to this service, feel free to contact me using the contact form.

About the Service

This web service is provided absolutely free.  Please don’t abuse this.  If requests start getting out of hand and bringing my server to its knees, I will start limiting the number of queries per user per day.  I don’t want to do this, but I do like my server actually serving :).

It is an RPC style web service, as it really isn’t complicated and is limited to a very specific audience.  It’s also easier for developers to use and understand in comparison to document-literal.

Read the rest of this entry →

2007 marks the third anniversary of the Zend/PHP Conference and Expo. Focused on the fastest growing web development language, this year’s conference is guaranteed to be the best ever.

I will be speaking at the 2007 MySQL Conference and Expo. I will be touching base on how we are using MySQL at work on the arsenal and help build a business case for MySQL in larger corporations and other government entities.

MySQL is certainly a trusted name in my view, and most of my colleagues would agree. Both small and large-scale applications are using this wonderful open source DBMS and I feel it’s time to give credit where credit is due.

The first of two articles I have written for PHP Architect is now out. The second article will be published in the December issue of php|Architect’s magazine.

You can purchase either the electronic or print version of their magazine, and they are well worth it!

Go and check it out here!

The first part of my two-part article, “Relevance Search with AJAX and PHP” will be available in November’s issue of php|Architect magazine. You can get these around the end of November at book stores (if your’s has them) or by going to http://www.phparch.com/.

Contact me at will.fitch@gmail.com if you have questions.

Microsoft Corp. and Zend Technologies Inc. today announced a technical collaboration to enhance the experience of running the PHP scripting language on Windows Server® 2003. The parties expect to extend the collaboration to the next version of Windows Server, code-named ?Longhorn.? The resulting technology enhancements and ongoing interaction with the PHP community is expected to enable customers to take advantage of the Windows Server platform. The cooperative effort seeks to provide customers with richer functionality and better integration, resulting in improved performance and increased reliability.

 ?Interoperability continues to be an important requirement for our customers, particularly when it comes to open source applications that run on Windows. This announcement today continues our commitment to making it easier for partners and developers ? regardless of the development model they employ ? to take advantage of increased reliability of the Microsoft Windows Server platform,? said Bill Hilf, general manager of Technical Platform Strategy at Microsoft. ?Zend is a clear leader in the PHP community, and we are excited to be working with it on this joint collaboration effort designed to provide developers using PHP with the best possible experience within a Microsoft environment.?

Source: Zend.com

The next version of Microsoft Corp.?s Windows operating system, Vista, is ?rock solid and ready to ship? and will be available to retail customers on January 30, the co-president of the company?s platforms and services division said on Wednesday.

Jim Allchin said Microsoft expects consumer adoption of Vista to be ?fast and immediate.? Vista will be available to businesses on or before November 30. Allchin said the company expects that improved security features will drive businesses to adopt Vista.

Source: Reuters.com / TigerDirectBlog.com

For those who attended my “Rich Internet Applications with Flash, PHP and MySQL” at the DC PHP Conference, you will remember Rasmus mentioning the request header security bug in IE 6. I haven’t found an admission of guilt from Adobe, but there are some articles out there about this.

http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/441014/30/0/threaded
This actually affects IE 6.0, Microsoft IE 6.0 SP2 and FireFox 1.5.0.4, running Flash 8.0.22.0
and Flash 7.0.19.0.

Click the above link to find out more info and ways to duplicate this issue.