The schedule for php|architect's September conference has been posted, with some heavy hitters making a presence, as usual. This, along with the preplanned social events happening nightly (such as Arbi's gaming challenge where you can win an Xbox 360) makes this one conference you shouldn't miss. It's being held September 12-15, 2006 in Toronto, Canada - and as the folks at php|architect are quick to point out, their last conference sold out weeks before the conference. To sign up or for more information, go to the php|works-db|works site.

A new version of PhpED, which offers some very nice upgrades, is available for purchase. Some of the upgrades include:

• Launch Box. PhpED saves run and debug parameters and lets you re-use them. The feature is fully configurable and allows modifying variables and browsers for every launch. Now you can see how your script behaves with different entry parameters and how it looks in different browsers.
• Working with different external browsers. PhpED can now recognize and use any browser installed on your system. You can set a default browser or specify a browser for the current launch.
• Expression True Global breakpoints. Now you can set global breakpoints that stop execution when a certain expression becomes true, regardless of the current execution point.
• SSL connection for remote debugging is now supported. Debug your scripts on the production server directly using the secured connection.
• Set Execution point (jump to another line). This option lets you change the execution point within the current context (during debug sessions only).
• Commenting/Uncommenting blocks of code. The editor allows commenting and uncommenting blocks of code both in PHP and HTML with just a few clicks. If no current block is selected, the editor comments the current line. Using the same shortcut on the commented block uncomments it.
• Pre-defined shortcuts for most common html tags. Save time typing numerous <td>s, <div>s and <span>s — it's all automated.
• Low-cost version is available. PhpED Standard has all the base functionality you need for simple everyday tasks. If you're new to PHP this option is best-suited for you. (For more details, see the version comparison.)
• Free Version Upgrades. PhpED Professional and PhpED Advantage come with 1 and 3 years, respectively, of free upgrades to the latest versions of PhpED. This way your investment in PhpED will increase in value as time goes by. At the end of free upgrades period you can renew it and continue getting the latest and the greates from the best PHP IDE. (Unavailable for Standard and Academic editions).

For a complete feature list, go to http://www.nusphere.com/products/phped_features.htm.

The latest version of phpMyAdmin includes a few security and bug fixes, including:

• XSS vulnerability from requests not containing a token
• Reenable XML option in Export
• State in documentation that your browser must accept cookies
• CVS link was broken on main page
• Adding a user with password containing a backslash
• Removing a default value
• Setup script: compatibility with security tokens
• Setup script: detection of writable config
• Reading the database list with MySQL wildcards

For more information, or to download, go to http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/downloads.php#2.8.2

In a recent post, Sebastian Bergmann announced that the PHPUnit extension will no longer be offered on the PEAR website, but will instead be offered on its own PEAR channel. Sebastian states, "Please no longer report bugs about PHPUnit at the PEAR website and do not check out the PHPUnit sources from cvs.php.net." He will also be setting up dedicated mailing lists just for PHPUnit. To read the full blog post, go to http://www.sebastian-bergmann.de/blog/

The PHP Developer's Network recently announced a call to would-be authors looking to participate in a community driven project. They are working on a beginning-level PHP book, that would be delivered in e-book format, and anyone interested in contributing should post on the site as indicated. To read the full announcement, go to http://forums.devnetwork.net/.

The Zend Developer Zone is actively seeking PHP authors to write articles for the DevZone. If yours is published, you will be entered in a drawing for a free trip (including airfare, hotel, and registration fees) to the Zend Conference to be held October 29 - November 2, 2006 in San Jose. So get your writer's block out of the way and get entered! To read more, go to the DevZone posting: http://devzone.zend.com/node/view/id/604.

Zend released the next version of it's preview Framework. Some new features include end_Controller_RewriteRouter (incubator), Zend_Config, Zend_Cache, Zend_Db_Adapter_Db2, & Zend_Db_Xml (incubator). For a complete list of all the changes, visit the Zend Developer Zone post at: http://devzone.zend.com/node/view/id/606

Several sources are indicating that there have been SQL injection security flaws found in recent releases of both of these popular CMSs. If you haven't already, you really should upgrade. Joomla users can upgrade at http://www.joomla.org/ and Mambo users can go to http://www.mamboserver.com/.

I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't include what's new at PEAR and PECL. Recent PEAR releases include:

• PHP_Beautifier 0.1.11
• MDB2 2.1.0
• MDB2_Driver_mysql 1.1.0
• MDB2_Driver_mysqli 1.1.0
• MDB2_Driver_oci8 0.3.0
• MDB2_Driver_pgsql 1.1.0
• MDB2_Driver_sqlite 1.1.0
• MDB2_Driver_ibase 1.1.0
• MDB2_Driver_mssql 1.1.0
• PHP_CompatInfo 1.0.2
• XML_RPC 1.5.0RC1
• Net_Curl 1.2.3
• Net_NNTP 1.4.0RC1
• Structures_DataGrid_Renderer_CSV 0.1.0
• Structures_DataGrid_Renderer_HTMLSortForm 0.1.0
• Structures_DataGrid_Renderer_HTMLTable 0.1.0
• Structures_DataGrid_Renderer_Pager 0.1.0
• Structures_DataGrid_Renderer_Smarty 0.1.0
• Structures_DataGrid_Renderer_XLS 0.1.0
• Structures_DataGrid_Renderer_XML 0.1.0
• Structures_DataGrid_Renderer_XUL 0.1.0
• Structures_DataGrid_DataSource_DataObject 0.1.0
• Structures_DataGrid 0.7.1
• Text_PathNavigator 0.1.0dev1
• XML_RPC 1.5.0RC2
• HTML_QuickForm 3.2.6
• Net_Server 1.0.0
• Structures_DataGrid_DataSource_DBQuery 0.1.1
• HTML_QuickForm_Livesearch 0.3.0
• HTML_Table 1.7.1
• HTML_CSS 1.0.0
• Mail_Mbox 0.5.0
• Net_Server 1.0.1
• Services_Delicious 0.4.0
• PEAR_Command_Packaging 0.1.2
• Structures_BibTex 0.1.0
• PHP_CompatInfo 1.1.0
• Structures_DataGrid_DataSource_CSV 0.1.1
• File_Find 1.3.0
• File_Bittorrent 1.0.1
• HTML_Common2 0.2.0
• Validate_NZ 0.1.0
• Structures_DataGrid_DataSource_DBTable 0.1.1

And for PECL, we had:

• ibm_db2 1.4.9
• pecl_http 1.0.1
• zip 1.4.0
• docblock 0.2.0
• zip 1.4.1
• Xdebug 2.0.0beta6
• sdo 1.0.2
• expect 0.2.1
• timezonedb 2006.7
• expect 0.2.2
• lzf 1.4

As always, you can download or learn more about these packages at http://pear.php.net and http://pecl.php.net.

We're switching formats for our "In Case You Missed It" so we'll see you next month with our news and tidbits from the PHP World!