Re: [SOAP] Architecture Question - Opinion

> All, > > I originally sent this to the DB list, but I want to hear anyone's opinion > here. > > I am considering moving to a true 3-tier structure where the web server > does not have direct access to the database server - many times a government > requirement. I want to keep the PHP front end and use an application server > (middle tier) to handle all the DB calls and sessions. I could use Java or > something for the middle layer, but I do not really want to. I would like > to implement a PHP application server sitting on top of SQL Relay for > pooling and DB abstraction to reduce the need to have more expertise > necessary for implementation. Interoperability is important, but not 100% > necessary. > > With all that being said, what do you think is the best method of > communication between PHP and the application server. Just to throw it out > there, I have thought about SOAP and XML-RPC. I like SOAP better because it > can decrease payload a great deal by not having to use the whole struct > method and it is more complex. But the XML-RPC functions are written in C > and the SOAP are in PHP. PHP 5 has better object orientation and new XML > libs so the SOAP functions should run much faster, but still not native. > > What are your thoughts? Well, doing all the db call via a soap or xml-rpc interface will be slow. If you just have a few queries it is not a big deal, but on a site with lots of queries and/or heavily frequented it will be different. I wonder why governments fear so much. You make a few views and restrict a user/pass to access only those views. Anyway, if speed is important and wha tyou need is relatively simple the xml-rpc might be best. Arnaud.