There are PHP applications which use MSSQL as the back-end database and such applications require FreeTDS to enable PHP code interface with MSSQL. This article describes how to install PHP and FreeTDS on Linux hosts.
To compile or not?: Typically, it is recommended to use package managers like yum to install software on Linux platforms. Using package managers facilitates installation and administration (e.g. updates) of the software. However, when the software requires special options to be set or modules/extensions to be enabled, it may be difficult to obtain software built to suit those requirements. In such cases, it will be required to compile the software from its source. If compiling, then it will be prudent to organize all compiled software in standard locations on the host.
Given below are the implementation steps that were used for installing PHP 5.3.3 and FreeTDS 0.91 on RHEL 6.2.
NOTE: All commands in the examples below must be executed with root privileges, unless otherwise stated.
STEP 1: Create Installation Directory Structure
- Use the following commands to create an appropriate directory structure for compiled software:
mkdir /opt/src
- Use a standard location (e.g. /opt) to install all software compiled from source to facilitate administration (re-compilation, removal, etc.)
STEP 2: Download and Unpack Software Source
- Download software sources (typically *.tar.gz files) and place them in /opt/src
- Unpack source software (*.tar.gz) as per the following examples:
tar xfz php-5.3.3.tar.gz tar xfz freetds-0.91.tar.gz
The above commands will create directories /opt/src/php-5.3.3 and /opt/src/freetds-0.91
STEP 3: Compile and Build FreeTDS
Compile and build FreeTDS as per the example below:
cd /opt/src/freetds-0.91 ./configure --prefix=/opt/freetds-0.91 make make install
NOTE: In order to facilitate administration, you may create a soft link as follows:
cd /opt ln -s freetds-0.91 freetds
STEP 4: Compile and Build PHP
Compile and build PHP as per the example below:
cd /opt/src/php-5.3.3 ./configure --prefix=/opt/php-5.3.3 --with-config-file-path=/opt/php-5.3.3 make make install
NOTE: In order to facilitate administration, you may create a soft link as follows:
cd /opt ln -s php-5.3.3 php
STEP 5: Compile and Build the PHP Sybase Extension
PHP requires the sybase_ct extension to allow PHP code to interface with MSSQL. You may compile and build the sybase_ct extension as follows:
cd /opt/src/php-5.3.3/ext/sybase_ct sh ../../scripts/phpize ./configure --prefix=/opt/php --with-php-config=/opt/php/bin/php-config --with-sybase-ct=/opt/freetds make make install
STEP 6: Enable the PHP Sybase Extension
Enable the sybase_ct extension by adding the following line to /opt/php/php.ini
extension=sybase_ct.so
STEP 7: Verify the PHP (with FreeTDS) Installation
If PHP and the sybase_ct extension have been successfully installed, you should be able to view the sybase_ct module when displaying the PHP configuration information as shown below:
Execute the following command (any user):
php -i | grep sybase_ct
If you see "sybase_ct" in the output, then it means that PHP and the sybase_ct extension have been successfully installed.
NOTE: Since PHP and FreeTDS have been compiled from source and installed in non-standard locations, you must add /opt/php/bin:/opt/freetds/bin to a user’s PATH environment variable.
