PHP is one of the programming languages we use here at Omnitech. PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor and is a scripting language suited for web development. This language is maintained and driven by the Open Source community. Since its inception in the 1990s, PHP usage had reached more than 20 million web domains as of April 2007(see usage stats) and continues to grow. We are always striving to meet our clients’ needs and PHP is one of the many pieces of technology that helps us to do exactly that.
PHP can be run on virtually any web server (Apache, IIS, etc.) and offers a powerful level of interaction with the MYSQL open source database. The main advantage of PHP is that anyone can download it, install it on a server and host websites which use it without incurring any licensing costs for the PHP. Our sister company Dataware hosts PHP websites and web applications on both Apache and IIS servers, depending on clients’ needs.
Most of us have heard of the Linux operating system and even more of us have probably used the Firefox web browser by Mozilla. Omnitech ensures that the websites and web applications it develops are compatible with Firefox, unless a particular client does not need it. Both Linux and Firefox are examples of open source alternatives to Microsoft or Apple products.
In the same way that Firefox may be used instead of Internet Explorer or Safari, PHP provides us with one alternative to using the VB or C# programming languages. Multiple frameworks, similar in many regards to the Microsoft .NET framework, are available to assist in PHP development. Zend is one example of a company that supports the open source community with a PHP framework and applications for use by PHP developers. In general, however, support for PHP frameworks depends on the community working on it, rather than a specific corporation.
In the open source environment, programmers around the world contribute, review code, fix bugs and improve security. We use customized open source solutions when they are advantageous to our clients. Over the years we have worked with PHP to build a number of websites for marketing, ecommerce, and course registrations among others. In addition, we have used it to develop private web applications which are critical to our clients' business. Although C# and VB are our primary programming languages, we are able and willing to work with PHP when it is the best fit.