Zend_Db Adapters Overview

PDO

The Zend_Db_Adapter_Pdo adapters are the preferred method of connecting to most databases. Currently the adapters include Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and SQLite. PDO itself has been judged stable since 2005 and is enabled by default in PHP since version 5.1. In addition, it features superior performance over the standard MySQL and MySQLi interfaces because it essentially uses temporary stored procedures. This also results in greater security (no quoting of bound parameters is required).

External resources

• Official PHP PDO documentation
• PDO homepage - Includes the PDO source code
• PDO Primer - A primer written for PHP 5.0, but still worth reading
• Frequently asked questions concerning PDO

DB2

The DB2 Zend_Db adapter was contributed in version 0.1.4 and is stable. It uses IBM's own ibm_db2 driver (not the PDO driver) for database access.

The Zend Core for IBM package contains the latest ibm_db2 driver and optionally DB2 Express-C, a free version of DB2.

Oracle

Zend_Db_Adapter_Oracle uses PHP's Oracle functions, which require the Oracle client libraries to be installed.

External resources

• Official PHP Oracle documentation

MySQLi

The Zend_Db_Adpater_Mysqli adapter is not yet complete, and is intended only for those who are unable to use a version of PHP with the PDO extension (enabled by default since version 5.1). Note that Zend Framework requires 5.1.4 at the time of this writing.

External resources

• Official PHP MySQLi documentation