I normally don't do this. When I see someone write a blog post I don't agree with, I often just dismiss it and go on. But, this particular one caught my attention. It was titled PHP vs Node.js: Yet Another Versus.

He points out some of the problems with some of the arguments, specifically with some of the points made about Gearman, memcache, the PHP.net site and the creation of daemons in PHP.

Listen, I write code in PHP and JavaScript all day. I also use some Ruby, Lua and even dabble in C. I am not a language snob. Use what works for you. I do however take exception when people write about things they clearly have no idea about.

All the code shown in Understanding AJAX is now available from understandingajax.net. You can run the examples on my server or download them and set them up on your own. If you run into any problems leave a comment on this post.

The book's site provdes each chapter (two through twelve) in zip files for easy download as well as a single zip file download if you just want them all at once.

In this part of the series (part 5) they show how to:

• create PDFs
• use positioning in adding text, graphics, and shapes to the document
• manage long blocks of text
• stream out a dynamic PDF to the browser
• add information to an existing PDF document

Part six picks up where the previous part left off and includes information on working with emails in the Zend Frameork. They look at the Zend_Mail component and, making some minor changes to the application they've been constructing (the feed reader). They create an email notification to the user when a feed has been updated.

Code examples and the source code for both of these sections are provided.

The lead story at ComputerWorld.com is an excerpt from my book Understanding AJAX. If you are thinking about buying the book, but needed more information to make a decision nows your chance.

The sample chapter is the first, teaching about the basics of Ajax - how its structured, what it does, even alternatives to it. You can also check out the table of contents and see what other topics are being covered.

Have you wondered whats the easiest way to submit a form using AJAX, what the status of HTML_AJAX development is, or what is covered in Understanding AJAX?

Well nows your chance.

To get your question(s) in, just submit them as a comment on this post and he'll come back in a few days with the answers.

A chapter from my book, Understanding AJAX has been made available as a digital shortcut. This chapter covers the different ways you can use the data you transfer using XMLHttpRequest.

Document centric approaches based on HTML and XML are described as well as various RPC approaches are shown.

The shortcut focuses on consuming data sent back in an XML or JSON format (and costs $9.99 USD). Joshua notes that he, personally, tends more towards "JSON based RPC approaches or HTML document based approaches" for his communication method. He also mentions client-side XSLT as an alternative to having to parse through and style the large amounts of data returned.

John Coggeshall is a respected name in the PHP world, and works as a technical consultant for Zend, and provided a fast-paced introduction to the Zend Framework as it currently exists in pre-release.

Kevin highlights some of the points that John made through out the talk including:

• a simple code demonstration of the Zend Framework functionality
• creating controllers and views
• using the Zend_InputFilter class
• using the Lucene searching functionality

We programmers are a paradoxically lazy lot. By that, I mean that we will spend hours, even days, creating something that allows us to complete a task in 30 seconds instead of five minutes. So perhaps the creation of the Zend Framework isn't much of a surprise. You mean you haven't heard of the Zend Framework? Don't worry -- you will.

This article gives you a high-level view of the Zend Framework, explaining its general concepts and preparing you for the rest of this "Understanding the Zend Framework" series, which goes into the details by chronicling the creation of a new online RSS/Atom feed reader. We won't do much coding in this article, but for the rest of the series, you should be familiar with PHP.

In part one, they take a broad overview of the following topics:

• The modules that make up the framework
• A summary (in the parts of the series) of the sample application they'll build
• Setting up the Framework
• A bit on the MVC pattern
• Some general coding guidelines to follow to keep with the "style" of the Framework

It's always good to get a better idea of what's going on behind the scenes. Too many people just use PHP and think new versions just magically appear. In truth, there are a huge number of developers working on new features and fixing bugs to help make PHP, the language, a better place. And, thanks to Sara, the work those folks do gets a bit more recognition.