Re: [GENERAL] interesting PHP/MySQL thread - Mailing list pgsql-advocacy

Hi Rory,

My feeling on this is that the most effective thing to do here would be to add information about PostgreSQL functions
tothe PHP manual, and - perhaps even more  
importantly - to add information if possible to the PHP manual mentioning PostgreSQL in key places.

For one small example, in the "Getting Started"->"Installation"->"Unix/Solaris install" section/page it mentions:

"In addition, you will need to install (and possibly compile) any additional software specific to your configuration,
suchas Oracle or MySQL." 

Updating small points like this to specifically mention PostgreSQL in the same place that others are mentioned should
beaffective advocacy/promotion to newbies  
that read through these sections.  i.e.:

"In addition, you will need to install (and possibly compile) any additional software specific to your configuration,
suchas Oracle, PostgreSQL or MySQL." 

An area of the PHP manual that seems very MySQL specific is the "FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions"->"Database issues"
page,where it goes into detail on how to  
access MySQL from Windows.  It would probably be worthwhile adapting that to also cover PostgreSQL properly too.

Perhaps doing a search for "MySQL" and/or "Oracle" and/or "SQL" in the existing PHP manual, then compiling a hit list
ofplaces where it will be effective to  
add mention of PostgreSQL, then doing it, would be the way to go?

As another thought, maybe adding a "Using databases" section, with PostgreSQL examples, to the "Features" section of
thePHP manual would be worthwhile too. 

What do you think?

Regards and best wishes,

Justin Clift


Rory Campbell-Lange wrote:
> Hi Justin
>
> I'm writing to let you know that my availability to work on some new
> documentation has moved somewhat, from now to the middle of August.
>
> I have made contact with Connie (conversation noted at the end of this
> mail) and it appears that work could usefully be done on providing
> better examples and noting bugs on PHP postgres functions in the PHP
> documentation.
>
> I am happy to do this, and it might be the best way for me to contribute
> to the Postgres advocacy initiative, particularly as I have little
> experience of using MySQL and can hardly comment authoritatively on the
> differences between the systems.
>
> Another alternative is that I could write a newbie's gentle introduction
> to using pl/pgsql. With Josh's initial encouragement I have recently
> delivered a very successful project using Postgres functions.
> Development speed was greatly assisted by providing consistent database
> interfaces while the operations behind those interfaces could change.
> The system uses a combination of php and postgres, so I could hit some
> advocacy targets by describing the integration here!
>
> I'd be grateful to know if one or other of these pieces of work are
> desired/needed. Knowing who would review my work would also be useful.
>
> Kind regards
> Rory