I just read about Bambalam PHP EXE Compiler/Embedder on phpdeveloper – very cool. Then I spotted WinBinder, genius! (I wonder how well PHP performs for desktop GUI apps).

I bit the bullet last week and ordered a Zend Certification Voucher. This afternoon I went to book an exam; during Pearson Vue’s registration process Zend require you to enter a Zend network username (I forgot I had one). While scouring the site for my username I stumbled across this thread on their forums.

With the new PHP 5 certification going live in just 5½ weeks (26th July) I figure I’ll hold off booking my exam until this materialises. Now to Ebay my Zend Certification Study Guide!

When Zend released their certification in 2004 I promptly picked up their study guide in October 2004 (along with MySQL’s study guide). However, even now I’m still not certified, I’ve studied the material but never booked the exam. When I stumbled across this thread it reminded why I never booked the exam. Read the rest of this entry »

I feel like I’ve learnt a lot as a developer in the last 12 months; increasingly though I am frustrated with PHP. I’ve spent several months researching other languages as a new direction for my personal development efforts (no scope to move from PHP at work). I had my targets set on C#.

Prior to frequenting Channel9 I was quite the anti-MS & an open source zealot. However I believe C# is a promising technology; with some interesting developments in the pipeline.

My only gripe with C# is the cost, being tied to Windows and upgrade cycles. I have installed mono but trying to use MS Visual Web Developer as an IDE (which is .NET 2.0 friendly) caused for a bit of conflict.