A new Community Technology Preview for SQL Server Driver for PHP 1.1 is now available for download straight from Microsoft. SQL Server Driver for PHP 1.1 CTP August 2009 went live on the Microsoft Download Center on August 17th, 2009, and is provided as an extension for versions 2005 and 2008 of SQL Server. SQL Server Driver for PHP 1.1 is designed to bridge Microsoft’s data platforms with web-based applications and to allow data to be joggled between the SQL databases and PHP scripts. Work on version 1.1 of the SQL Server Driver for PHP debuted earlier this year, according to David Sceppa, program manager, Microsoft SQL Server Driver for PHP.

“Version 1.1 of the SQL Server Driver for PHP is under development. A community technology preview is now available for you to evaluate. Refer to the documentation that is installed with the driver for a description of the new features in this release. The SQL Server Driver for PHP download is available to all SQL Server users at no additional charge. The SQL Server Driver for PHP is a PHP 5 extension that allows for the reading and writing of SQL Server data from within PHP scripts. The extension provides a procedural interface for accessing data in all editions of SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008,” reads an excerpt from the download’s overview.

Sceppa revealed that introducing support for PHP 5.3 was the main focus of version 1.1. In addition, SQL Server Driver for PHP 1.1 is also set up to deliver “support for handling UTF-8 strings in parameters and resultset values, without requiring calls to iconv or other extensions, [as well as] support for scrollable results and row count,” he noted.

As early as February 2009, Microsoft was working to integrate feedback from PHP developers into the next iteration of the SQL Server Driver for PHP. At the same time, the Redmond company made sure that developers could leverage PHP 5.3 with the version 1.0 driver. However, in order to benefit from full PHP 5.3 support developers need to grab SQL Server Driver for PHP 1.1, and the August 2009 CTP is a good place to start.

SQL Server Driver for PHP 1.1 Community Technology Preview - August 2009 is available for download here.