Introduction

Obviously databases are essential if we want to store data, and with all the different kinds of database engines around, it is sometimes hard to see the wood through the trees. Zend Framework 2, however, brings us a bit of hope of standardizing the way we work with databases. In this chapter, we will be showing loads of examples from database connections to optimizing the performance of our queries.

Default database engines available

Zend Framework 2 has a default collection of database drivers available to use, and obviously it also supports the PHP PDO extension for a more standardized way of using databases.

IBM DB2 driver

IBM DB2 is a database server designed by IBM and is the second most used DBMS according to IDC's report of 2009 (http://www.marketresearch.com/IDC-v2477/Worldwide-Database-Management-Systems-Forecast-2393193/view-stat/ibm-14.html). The database engine can be traced back to the 1970's and was mainly only available for the IBM mainframe until the 1990's when...