In this new post to his blog, Brandon Savage looks at a few methods you can use to help reduce the overhead connecting to the database can cause.

Below are a list of my top five quick-and-dirty strategies for improving database performance in web applications. These suggestions are culled from recent experience and mixed with some ideas that I've implemented in my own code. They're not high level, but they are something we need consistent reminders about.

Here's the short version of the list:

• Try caching
• Reduce the number of queries that run
• Use indexes
• Optimize data usage
• Avoid functions in WHERE statements

You'll have to check out his post for the full versions, though.

Robert Peake has a new post today with a brief look at where PHP has come from and some of his opinions on the future of PHP in 2006.

We saw the release of PHP 5.1, the renaming of the CSV trunk to 6.0 (in attempts to beat Perl to the punch, apparently), massive security concerns raised by applications ranging from phpBB to Mambo, Zend's numerous partnerships and announcement of the Zend framework, great improvements to Pear, more conferences, more enthusiasm, more realization from the enterprise that PHP is where web application development is headed.

So, where is PHP going from here?

He predicts that the increased push Zend is making for the framework will continue to help improve PHP's image, especially with some of the hurdles PHP has to overcome (including security issues and getting past other lingering problems from PHP's past).