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maxxd
I'm back.
I took on board what you said about VS Code and have spent some time working with it.
Have you actually used it? Including the built in server for PHP?
I can't get the BIS to recognise the sqlsvr driver.
I have all the necessary MSSQL extensions installed and the editor intellisense knows the
sqlsvr objects and can display their properties and methodsin the editor.
But the BIS consitently fails to see the sqlsvr objects at run time.
The project is in it's own workspace and runs fine under IIS.
All database transactions work perfectly.
So it's not a problem with the site.
I can also run queries on the data server in the VS Code IDE.
I am missing something in the VS Code environment.
Any idea what that might be?

Thanks

Ray

      I use VSCode daily on several different machines - to serve the site(s) locally I use either docker or php's built-in server (php -s localhost:8001) (either is started separately from a terminal). Granted, I use MySQL with Apache on linux-based environments (again via docker, through WSL2 on Windows, or OSX on Mac) so maybe there's something weird there. I do remember in eclipse you had to do a whole project location setup, but it's been long enough that I can't remember if that would then simulate a server or not. There's not - that I know of - a similar paradigm in VSCode; you open a directory and that becomes the working directory. Serving the site is a separate thing.

      maxxd
      It shouldn't really make a difference whether it's MSSQL or MySQL really.
      The problem is
      Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function sqlsrv_connect()
      Can't see the function.

      " (either is started separately from a terminal)."
      This tweaked my curiosity.
      I assumed that the server is started by default when I launch VSCode IDE.
      What is this server starting process?

      Cheers

        No, VSCode doesn't actually start a local server. You'll need to open a terminal window (again, I use Ubuntu via WSL2 - I assume you can use powershell or cmd on Windows base) and run php -S localhost:8001. You can also use the terminal built into VSCode to do this, I think. This will start PHP's built-in dev server, which you'll be able to hit in your browser at http://localhost:8001.

        As to the function not found, are you certain you've got the sqlsrv extension installed? Check the output of phpinfo() to make sure it's actually there. You may be able to use PDO intead, but I'm not familiar enough with sqlsrv to speak to that with any level of certainty.

        Weedpacket Yes. As I said the sqlsssrv objects are visible to intellisense and I can interrogate the sql database in vscode.

          maxxd
          I will explore that but if it doesn't work I will just use VSCode as an editor. It's useful for that at least,
          I would add a screen dump to show the enabled extensions but the Add Image function doesn;t work,
          It just puts link ![](https://) in the comment.
          I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with that.
          Not something I have seen befiore.
          It's certainly unconventional

              Weedpacket
              Understand that the project works fine under IIS.
              Everything about it. The pages render properly. Navigation works and all database transactions.
              Obviously PHP knows about the drivers. Otherwise there would be no communication with the database.
              This isn't about the project not working as it should do.
              It's a question of why it won't run in VSCode using the built iin server for PHP.
              It's VSCode that can't see the drivers.

                  But VSCode isn't running your code. PHP is. That's why you have PHP's built-in server (it's not VSCode that has the built-in server, it's PHP). Seems that different configurations are being used in the two cases. Check phpinfo for both and see what they report for "Loaded Configuration File". (Doing this on the internal server is just a matter of having a file phpinfo.php containing <?php phpinfo(); ?> and then requesting that file.) Check, too, for a SQL Server specific section. Might as well also look at the extension_dir and include_path settings while you're there, but that information comes from php.ini so if they're reading the same file those would be the same also.

                  Weedpacket
                  How do you imagine it would run under IIS if PHP wasn't correctly configured?
                  It wouldn't. I know this because it didn't run until I configured PHP properly.
                  There is only one PHP installation folder on the machine. PHP 7.4.33 and compatible drivers.
                  extension=php_sqlsrv_74_nts_x64.dll
                  extension=php_pdo_sqlsrv_74_nts_x64.dll
                  There is only one PHP.ini file in the root of the PHP installation folder
                  Both IIS and VS Code are pointing to the same PHP installation folder.
                  Both IIS and VS Code are pointing to the same workspace folder where the project files are located.
                  Both IIS and VS Code are pointing to and connected to the same SQL Server instance and the same database.
                  Using the same authentication method and credentials.
                  The site runs fine under IIS on localhost.

                      The whole point here is that VSCode is just an editor. Nothing more. It won't "run" your site, and it doesn't care where on your system PHP is installed beyond being able to provide hints and definitions as you code. And unless you've installed an SQL plugin, VSCode doesn't care a thing about your database.

                      As to the 'Add Image' function, I'm not really sure what that refers to. However, the ![](https://) is pretty standard Markdown, which has been around since about 2004. In fact, this board uses it. Click the link button in the editor and you'll see almost exactly what you posted (the exclamation mark lets the interpreter know you mean an image, not a hyperlink).

                      If your site is working on the same machine you're developing on, then it sounds like the confusion has to do with what you expect VSCode to do. If it's working on a different machine, then you need to heed Weedpacket's advice and check the setup on your local machine - something is different between the two systems.

                      It sounds like you've gotten used to doing things a specific way, which is very understandable. In the meantime, the world has moved on and you're just now getting shoved into it. I've been at this for ~25 years so I get it but I can tell you it's much better now then it was back then.

                      maxxd
                      Maybe I am expecting too much from VS Code.
                      VS Code is a good PHP editor. No problem with that.
                      But it is called an IDE and an IDE is more than just an editor.
                      It has run and debug facilities and they do launch the site.
                      Bottom line is it can't see the drivers whereas the IIS webserver can.
                      It's the runtime and debug that's not working.
                      It's not a show stopper. I will still use the editor and run the projects under IIS.
                      It would be nice to inderstand why it doesn't work.

                      Typical Add Image function, at least in my websites, allows you to Browse local images and upload them.
                      It uses a an HTML input type="file" name="filename" tag. This renders a Browse button on the form.
                      But I have never seen this ![](https://)
                      What am I supposed to do with that link when presented with it?
                      What would I have to do with that to link it to and upload a local file?

                      I am a .Net developer. Every version from the first in 2000 to the latest 2022 version.
                      Been using SQL Server and IIS just as long. Began developing web applications in 1998.
                      HTML/Javascript/Perl/CGI first off and the Classic ASP. Picked up .Net in 2000.
                      So I am the same vintage as you.

                          Weedpacket
                          What do you want to know about the phpinfo() report?

                          Her are the module loaded in teh php.ini

                          C:\php-7.4.33-nts-Win32-vc15-x64>php -m
                          [PHP Modules]
                          bcmath
                          calendar
                          Core
                          ctype
                          date
                          dom
                          filter
                          hash
                          iconv
                          json
                          libxml
                          mbstring
                          mysqlnd
                          odbc
                          pcre
                          PDO
                          pdo_mysql
                          PDO_ODBC
                          pdo_sqlite
                          pdo_sqlsrv
                          Phar
                          readline
                          Reflection
                          session
                          SimpleXML
                          SPL
                          sqlsrv
                          standard
                          tokenizer
                          xml
                          xmlreader
                          xmlwriter
                          zip
                          zlib

                          C:\php-7.4.33-nts-Win32-vc15-x64>

                              Well, I said what I wanted to see ...
                              And pdo_sqlrv/sqlsrv are listed (I expect there would also be ... but I said that already). Now, what do you see if you try this in an environment (i.e. VSCode) and debugging workflow where it would fail with an unknown function error?

                                Not to be pedantic, but VSCode actually doesn't claim to be an IDE - https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/supporting/faq#_what-is-the-difference-between-visual-studio-code-and-visual-studio-ide.

                                It does support in-app debugging; in the case of PHP through PHPDebug but that takes a bit of setup and, if I'm not mistaken, a plugin. If that's what you're asking about then there may have been a misunderstanding at the outset - probably mine, to be honest.

                                maxxd Then perhaps recommending VSCode over Eclipse, which is an IDE, is not such a greatr idea after all.

                                  RayPooley Then perhaps recommending VSCode over Eclipse, which is an IDE, is not such a great idea after all.

                                  Probably true if using an IDE in its fullest definition is important to you -- and I don't mean that to sound like I'm saying that's wrong, mind you. 😉

                                  In my personal case -- which has never included working in an IIS environment -- I've always depended on local testing via a browser with a local instance of a web server/PHP/database running. Therefore I've never concerned myself with that aspect of any IDE I've used (running/testing the app from within the IDE itself).

                                  Nowadays, FWIW, I'm usually running things in a Docker container, with my local project file directory mounted by the container so that I can instantly test any changes as I make them.

                                  And again, I'm not saying either approach is better, just me rambling on a Sunday morning while watching the final stage of le Tour de France. 🙂

                                    NogDog It's probably fair to say that I have been spoiled as a .Net developer
                                    working with Visual Studio since the late 1990s. It's a brilliant development environment that works
                                    seamlessly with it's internal server and IIS straight out of the box. VS 2022 actual has a PHP development
                                    platform now too. I would rather keep .Net and PHP developmentenvironments seperate.

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