Open-source grand slam

FEW IN IT continue to nurse doubts about the capabilities of open-source software. Yet when companies weigh open-source Web and database servers against costly commercial alternatives, open source often loses out. It’s difficult for developers and administrators schooled in commercial software to make the transition to the comparatively Spartan world of open source. Their struggle to adjust can make free software look like more trouble than it’s worth.

The NuSphere Pro Advantage bundle brings together the heavyweights of open-source server software: the PHP 4 Web scripting engine, NuSphere’s enhanced version of the MySQL database manager, the Apache Web server with SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and WebDAV (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning), and the CVS (Concurrent Versions System) source-code control system. NuSphere also folded in the automated installation, graphical administrative tools, and online documentation.

The icing is the powerful PHPEd, a Visual Studio-like IDE (integrated development environment) that combines a highly configurable editor/debugger with the database and project management tools needed to complete a developer’s desktop.

NuSphere Pro Advantage is much more than an ad hoc collection of open-source software. NuSphere has chosen its components so well and has tied them together so neatly that no developer or administrator could feel the slightest trepidation about building or managing database-enabled Web applications.

The PHPEd IDE runs only under Windows, but NuSphere supplies identical server components for Solaris, Linux, and Windows. We tested NuSphere Pro Advantage under Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Red Hat Linux 7.2.

The installation is completely automated via a browser-based interface. Linux users can elect to bypass the installer and manually unpack the components from RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) files included on the CD. The NuSphere installer also supports remote installation, making deployment to a server farm or cluster easier to manage.

NuSphere Pro Advantage throws in a passel of useful tomes including a tutorial book on MySQL and PHP database applications, a thick guide to NuSphere’s version of MySQL, and the indispensable O’Reilly pocket guides to Apache, PHP, and Perl. There’s also a helpful guide to the PHPEd IDE and a brief installation manual. NuSphere’s online documentation for the PHPEd IDE, however, is terse and tough to navigate. Also, context-sensitive help within the IDE is inconsistent. Pressing the F1 key while editing PHP script usually pops up help for the keyword under the cursor, but sometimes it doesn’t.

NuSphere’s MySQL database manual is a real eye-opener for anyone familiar with commercial relational databases. MySQL is an amazingly capable SQL database, yet it suffers a few limitations when compared to DB2, Oracle, and SQL Server. NuSphere developed a MySQL data storage engine called Gemini that brings MySQL closer to parity with its commercial competitors. Gemini supports transactions, replication, backup, clusters, and crash recovery, features required by large-scale applications but not part of the open-source distribution of MySQL.

The PHPEd IDE fairly imitates key elements of the all-encompassing Microsoft Visual Studio environment. The code editor handles PHP scripts, HTML, Perl, Python, and even C++ files with equal aplomb. PHPEd’s features include Code Cues — basic syntax aids that pop up as you type — and the IDE also supports code templates and abbreviations (user-defined keywords that expand into blocks of code).

PHPEd features a built-in Web server that simplifies local development and debugging. When the time comes to deploy a project to a production server, PHPEd’s integrated FTP and WebDAV clients reduce the task to child’s play. Once configured, FTP and WebDAV client settings are saved with PHPEd projects to make future interaction with remote servers automatic. PHPEd also has built-in support for the CVS source-code control system so that developers can check files in and out and merge their changes with existing code.

PHPEd’s database explorer presents a tree view of available MySQL databases. You can examine each table’s structure and perform SQL queries, but the explorer does not support database or table creation. Fortunately, NuSphere includes a Web interface called phpMyAdmin that eases the creation of databases and tables.

The value of NuSphere Pro Advantage lies in its cross-platform completeness, its ease of installation and use, and its high-quality printed documentation. We strongly recommend that you consider this impressive bundle for your next database-driven Web application project.