php_ads

A PHP 8 extension that wraps the Advantage Database Server (ADS) Client Engine (ACE) SDK, exposing native ADS connectivity to PHP via six clean OOP classes.

Requirements

Component	Version
PHP	8.0.x — ZTS VC16 x64 (Thread Safe)
Advantage Database Server	11.x (ACE SDK 11.10)
Visual Studio	2022 (v17.x, MSVC toolset 14.4x)
OS	Windows x64 (Server 2016 / 2019 / 2022 or Windows 10/11)
PHP Dev Pack	php-8.0.1-devel-vs16-x64

Note on VS2022 vs VS2019: PHP 8.0.1 was compiled with VS2019 (linker 14.28). The build script automatically patches the output DLL's PE linker version field from 14.4x → 14.28 so PHP's extension loader accepts it.

Directory layout

php_advantage/
├── src/
│   ├── php_ads.h           # Shared header — structs, macros, class-entry externs
│   ├── php_ads.c           # Module entry, MINIT/RINIT, shared helpers, constants
│   ├── ads_connection.c    # AdsConnection class
│   ├── ads_statement.c     # AdsStatement class
│   ├── ads_table.c         # AdsTable class
│   ├── ads_misc.c          # AdsTransaction + AdsDictionary classes
│   ├── ads_prepared.c      # AdsPreparedStatement class
│   └── ads_arginfo.h       # PHP 8 arginfo descriptors for all methods
├── acesdk/                 # Advantage Client Engine SDK (ace.h, ace64.lib, DLLs)
├── php-devpack/            # PHP 8.0.1 development headers and import library
├── bin/zts/                # Build output: php_ads.dll
├── Makefile.win            # NMake build file
├── build.bat               # One-shot build script (sets up VS2022 + NMake + patch)
└── patch_linker_ver.ps1    # PE linker version patcher (14.4x → 14.28)

Building from source

1. Prerequisites

Install Visual Studio 2022 (Community or Build Tools) with the Desktop development with C++ workload.
Install PHP 8.0.x ZTS x64 (e.g. C:\php\).
Place the PHP 8.0.1 Dev Pack under php-devpack\php-8.0.1-devel-vs16-x64\ (already included).
Place the ACE SDK files under acesdk\ (ace.h + ace64.lib + DLLs — already included).

2. Build

Open a regular Command Prompt (not a Developer Command Prompt — build.bat sets that up):

cd F:\php_advantage
build.bat

The script:

Initialises the VS2022 x64 toolchain via vcvars64.bat.
Runs nmake /f Makefile.win → produces bin\zts\php_ads.dll.
Patches the PE linker version field from 14.4x to 14.28.

3. Install

nmake /f Makefile.win install

This copies php_ads.dll to C:\php\ext\php_ads.dll.

Alternatively, copy manually:

copy bin\zts\php_ads.dll C:\php\ext\php_ads.dll

4. Copy ACE runtime DLLs

The ACE runtime DLLs must be discoverable at the time PHP loads the extension. The simplest approach is to copy them alongside php.exe:

copy acesdk\ace64.dll     C:\php\
copy acesdk\adsloc64.dll  C:\php\
copy acesdk\axcws64.dll   C:\php\
copy acesdk\aicu64.dll    C:\php\

5. Enable the extension in php.ini

Add one line to C:\php\php.ini:

extension=php_ads

6. Verify

C:\php\php.exe -m | findstr ads

Expected output: ads

API reference

All errors throw AdsException (extends RuntimeException). Error codes in getCode() are native ACE error numbers.

AdsConnection

// Static factory
$conn = AdsConnection::connect([
    'path'       => '\\\\server:6262\\share\\mydb.add', // required
    'user'       => 'username',                          // optional
    'password'   => 'secret',                            // optional
    'serverType' => ADS_REMOTE_SERVER,                   // optional, default: LOCAL|REMOTE
    'options'    => 0,                                   // optional ulOptions bitmask
]);

$conn->close();
$conn->isAlive() : bool
$conn->query(string $sql)           : AdsStatement
$conn->execute(string $sql)         : bool                 // for INSERT / UPDATE / DELETE / DDL
$conn->prepare(string $sql)         : AdsPreparedStatement // parameterized query
$conn->beginTransaction()           : AdsTransaction

AdsConnection does not have a constructor — always use AdsConnection::connect().

AdsStatement

Returned by AdsConnection::query().

$stmt = $conn->query("SELECT PropertyID, Address FROM properties");

$stmt->fetchAssoc()   : array|false   // next row as associative array, false at EOF
$stmt->fetchRow()     : array|false   // next row as indexed array, false at EOF
$stmt->fetchAll()     : array         // all remaining rows as array of assoc arrays
$stmt->columnCount()  : int
$stmt->rowCount()     : int           // total records in result set
$stmt->close()        : void

AdsPreparedStatement

Returned by AdsConnection::prepare(). Use parameterized queries to safely pass user-supplied values without string interpolation or manual escaping.

Parameter syntax

Write :name placeholders in the SQL string.
Call a bind* method for each placeholder before calling execute().
The leading : is optional when calling bind methods — "status" and ":status" are equivalent.
? positional placeholders are not supported; always use named :name markers.

Method reference

$prep->bindString   (string $name, string $value)             : void
$prep->bindInt      (string $name, int    $value)             : void
$prep->bindDouble   (string $name, float  $value)             : void
$prep->bindBool     (string $name, bool   $value)             : void
$prep->bindDate     (string $name, string $value)             : void  // "CCYYMMDD"
$prep->bindTimestamp(string $name, string $value)             : void  // "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS"
$prep->bindMoney    (string $name, int    $value)             : void  // SIGNED64 scaled integer
$prep->bindBinary   (string $name, string $data, int $type = ADS_BINARY) : void
$prep->bindNull     (string $name)                            : void
$prep->bind         (string $name, mixed  $value)             : void  // auto-detects PHP type
$prep->execute()                                              : AdsStatement|true
$prep->paramCount()                                           : int
$prep->close()                                                : void

bind() type mapping:

PHP type	ACE call
`null`	`AdsSetNull`
`bool`	`AdsSetLogical`
`int`	`AdsSetLong`
`float`	`AdsSetDouble`
`string`	`AdsSetString`

bindMoney() note: ADS_MONEY fields store values as a 64-bit scaled integer. The scale factor is set per-field in the table schema (commonly 4 decimal places, so $10.00 must be passed as 100000). Use bindMoney() rather than bindDouble() to avoid floating-point rounding errors.

bindString() and memo fields: bindString() works correctly for ADS_MEMO and ADS_NMEMO parameters. ACE treats memo columns as variable-length text; pass the full string including content longer than any VARCHAR limit.

bindBinary() note: Writes binary data to an ADS_BINARY (BLOB), ADS_IMAGE, or ADS_RAW parameter in a single call. The $type constant selects the ACE blob type: ADS_BINARY (6, default) for arbitrary binary data, ADS_IMAGE (7) for bitmap/image fields. Pass the raw bytes as a PHP string. Do not use bindBinary() for memo (ADS_MEMO) columns — use bindString() instead.

Return value of `execute()`

Query type	Returns
`SELECT`	`AdsStatement` — cursor positioned at first row
`INSERT` / `UPDATE` / `DELETE` / DDL	`true`

After a SELECT execute(), the statement handle is transferred to the returned AdsStatement. The prepared object is marked closed; call prepare() again for a subsequent execution of the same SQL.

AdsTable

Direct (non-SQL) table access.

$tbl = AdsTable::open(
    $conn,
    'C:\\data\\mytable.adt',
    ADS_ADT,                   // table type
    ADS_COMPATIBLE_LOCKING,    // lock type
    ADS_ANSI,                  // character set
    ADS_SHARED                 // open mode
);

// Navigation
$tbl->gotoTop();
$tbl->gotoBottom();
$tbl->gotoRecord(int $n);
$tbl->skip(int $n = 1);
$tbl->atEOF()   : bool
$tbl->atBOF()   : bool

// Reading fields
$tbl->getString(string $field)  : string
$tbl->getLong(string $field)    : int
$tbl->getDouble(string $field)  : float
$tbl->getLogical(string $field) : bool
$tbl->getRecord()               : array   // all fields as assoc array

// Writing fields (call writeRecord() to flush)
$tbl->setString(string $field, string $value)
$tbl->setLong(string $field, int $value)
$tbl->setDouble(string $field, float $value)
$tbl->setLogical(string $field, bool $value)

// Record operations
$tbl->recordCount()     : int
$tbl->recordNum()       : int
$tbl->appendRecord()            // adds a blank record and locks it
$tbl->writeRecord()             // flush pending changes
$tbl->cancelUpdate()            // discard pending changes
$tbl->deleteRecord()            // mark current record deleted

$tbl->close();

AdsTransaction

$tx = $conn->beginTransaction();

$tx->isActive()  : bool
$tx->commit()    : void
$tx->rollback()  : void

AdsDictionary

Full CRUD access to the SAP ACE data dictionary. Wraps AdsDDxxx functions directly — no SQL, no ODBC.

// Open independently (creates its own connection to the .add file)
$dd = AdsDictionary::open(
    '\\\\server:6262\\share\\mydb.add', // path — required
    ADS_REMOTE_SERVER,                   // server type — optional
    'username',                          // user — optional
    'password'                           // password — optional
);

// Or borrow an existing connection (does not disconnect on close)
$dd = AdsDictionary::fromConnection($conn);

$dd->close();

Database

$dd->getDatabaseProperty(int $prop)                      : string
$dd->setDatabaseProperty(int $prop, string $value)       : void

Tables

$dd->addTable(string $alias, string $path,
              int $tableType = ADS_ADT, int $charType = ADS_ANSI,
              string $indexPath = '', string $comment = '')  : void
$dd->removeTable(string $alias, bool $deleteFiles = false)  : void
$dd->getTableProperty(string $table, int $prop)             : string
$dd->setTableProperty(string $table, int $prop, string $val): void

Fields

$dd->getFieldProperty(string $table, string $field, int $prop)            : string
$dd->setFieldProperty(string $table, string $field, int $prop, string $val): void

Indexes

$dd->addIndexFile(string $table, string $indexPath, string $comment = '') : void
$dd->removeIndexFile(string $table, string $indexPath, bool $del = false) : void
$dd->getIndexProperty(string $table, string $index, int $prop)            : string
$dd->setIndexProperty(string $table, string $index, int $prop, string $val): void

Users

$dd->createUser(string $user, string $password = '',
                string $group = '', string $desc = '')          : void
$dd->deleteUser(string $user)                                   : void
$dd->getUserProperty(string $user, int $prop)                   : string
$dd->setUserProperty(string $user, int $prop, string $val)      : void
$dd->addUserToGroup(string $user, string $group)                : void
$dd->removeUserFromGroup(string $user, string $group)           : void
$dd->getUserTableRights(string $table, string $user)            : int   // bitmask
$dd->setUserTableRights(string $table, string $user, int $rights): void // revoke-all then grant

Views

$dd->createView(string $name, string $sql, string $comment = '') : void
$dd->dropView(string $name)                                      : void
$dd->getViewProperty(string $view, int $prop)                    : string
$dd->setViewProperty(string $view, int $prop, string $val)       : void

Stored Procedures

$dd->createProcedure(string $name, string $container, string $procedure,
                     string $input = '', string $output = '',
                     string $comment = '')              : void
$dd->dropProcedure(string $name)                       : void
$dd->getProcProperty(string $name, int $prop)          : string
$dd->setProcProperty(string $name, int $prop, string $val): void

Triggers

// 7 required args; priority, comment, options are optional
$dd->createTrigger(string $name, string $table,
                   int $triggerType, int $eventTypes, int $containerType,
                   string $container, string $procedure,
                   int $priority = 1, string $comment = '', int $options = 0): void
$dd->dropTrigger(string $name)                          : void
$dd->getTriggerProperty(string $name, int $prop)        : string
$dd->setTriggerProperty(...)                            // throws — not supported by SAP ACE

Referential Integrity

// updateRule and deleteRule are optional (default 0)
$dd->createRefIntegrity(string $name, string $failTable,
                        string $parent, string $parentTag,
                        string $child,  string $childTag,
                        int $updateRule = 0, int $deleteRule = 0): void
$dd->removeRefIntegrity(string $name)                             : void

Links (cross-dictionary)

$dd->createLink(string $alias, string $path,
                string $user = '', string $password = '') : void
$dd->dropLink(string $alias)                             : void
$dd->modifyLink(string $alias, string $path = '',
                string $user = '', string $password = '') : void

Full example — create a table and configure it

<?php
$dd = AdsDictionary::open('\\\\srv\\data\\mydb.add', ADS_REMOTE_SERVER, 'admin', 'secret');

// Register an existing physical table in the dictionary
$dd->addTable('invoices', 'C:\\data\\invoices.adt', ADS_ADT, ADS_ANSI,
              'C:\\data\\invoices.cdx', 'Customer invoices');

// Set a display description
$dd->setTableProperty('invoices', ADS_DD_TABLE_DESCRIPTION, 'Customer invoice table');

// Create a view over it
$dd->createView('open_invoices',
    "SELECT id, customer_id, amount FROM invoices WHERE paid = FALSE",
    'Unpaid invoices');

// Create a stored procedure
$dd->createProcedure('sp_close_invoice', 'procs.dll', 'CloseInvoice',
    '@invoice_id INTEGER', '', 'Mark an invoice as paid');

// Add a user and grant read access to the table
$dd->createUser('reports_user', 'rp@ss', 'readers', 'Read-only reporting account');
$dd->setUserTableRights('invoices', 'reports_user', ADS_READ_RIGHT);

// Set up referential integrity: invoices.customer_id → customers.id
$dd->createRefIntegrity('ri_inv_cust', 'ri_errors',
    'customers', 'cust_pk', 'invoices', 'inv_fk',
    ADS_RI_RESTRICT, ADS_RI_RESTRICT);

$dd->close();

AdsException

try {
    $conn = AdsConnection::connect(['path' => '...']);
} catch (AdsException $e) {
    echo $e->getMessage();   // human-readable ACE message (+ last-error detail)
    echo $e->getCode();      // native ACE error code
}

Registered constants

Category	Constants
Server type	`ADS_LOCAL_SERVER`, `ADS_REMOTE_SERVER`
Table type	`ADS_NTX`, `ADS_CDX`, `ADS_ADT`, `ADS_VFP`
Character set	`ADS_ANSI`, `ADS_OEM`
Open mode	`ADS_SHARED`, `ADS_EXCLUSIVE`
Locking	`ADS_COMPATIBLE_LOCKING`, `ADS_PROPRIETARY_LOCKING`
Rights	`ADS_CHECKRIGHTS`, `ADS_IGNORERIGHTS`
Filters	`ADS_RESPECTFILTERS`, `ADS_IGNOREFILTERS`
String trim	`ADS_TRIM`, `ADS_LTRIM`, `ADS_RTRIM`
Field types	`ADS_LOGICAL`, `ADS_NUMERIC`, `ADS_DATE`, `ADS_STRING`, `ADS_MEMO`, `ADS_BINARY`, `ADS_IMAGE`, `ADS_VARCHAR`, `ADS_DOUBLE`, `ADS_INTEGER`, `ADS_SHORTINT`, `ADS_TIME`, `ADS_TIMESTAMP`, `ADS_AUTOINC`, `ADS_RAW`, `ADS_CURDOUBLE`, `ADS_MONEY`, `ADS_ROWVERSION`, `ADS_MODTIME`, `ADS_NCHAR`, `ADS_NMEMO`

Usage examples

Connect and run a SQL query

<?php
$conn = AdsConnection::connect([
    'path'       => '\\\\192.168.0.10:6262\\share\\mydb.add',
    'user'       => 'admin',
    'password'   => 'secret',
    'serverType' => ADS_REMOTE_SERVER,
]);

$stmt = $conn->query(
    "SELECT TOP 10 CustomerID, Name, Balance FROM customers ORDER BY Balance DESC"
);

echo $stmt->columnCount() . " columns, " . $stmt->rowCount() . " rows\n";

while (($row = $stmt->fetchAssoc()) !== false) {
    printf("%-6d  %-30s  %10.2f\n",
           $row['CustomerID'], trim($row['Name']), $row['Balance']);
}

$stmt->close();
$conn->close();

Transaction with rollback on error

<?php
$conn = AdsConnection::connect(['path' => '...']);
$tx   = $conn->beginTransaction();

try {
    $conn->execute("UPDATE accounts SET balance = balance - 100 WHERE id = 1");
    $conn->execute("UPDATE accounts SET balance = balance + 100 WHERE id = 2");
    $tx->commit();
} catch (AdsException $e) {
    $tx->rollback();
    throw $e;
}

$conn->close();

Direct table access

<?php
$conn = AdsConnection::connect(['path' => '...']);

$tbl = AdsTable::open($conn, 'C:\\data\\inventory.adt', ADS_ADT,
                      ADS_COMPATIBLE_LOCKING, ADS_ANSI, ADS_SHARED);

$tbl->gotoTop();
while (!$tbl->atEOF()) {
    $row = $tbl->getRecord();
    echo $row['SKU'] . ': ' . $row['Description'] . "\n";
    $tbl->skip();
}

$tbl->close();
$conn->close();

Append a new record

<?php
$conn = AdsConnection::connect(['path' => '...']);
$tbl  = AdsTable::open($conn, 'C:\\data\\inventory.adt', ADS_ADT,
                       ADS_COMPATIBLE_LOCKING, ADS_ANSI, ADS_EXCLUSIVE);

$tbl->appendRecord();
$tbl->setString('SKU',         'WIDGET-42');
$tbl->setString('Description', 'Blue Widget');
$tbl->setDouble('Price',       9.99);
$tbl->setLong  ('Stock',       100);
$tbl->setLogical('Active',     true);
$tbl->writeRecord();

$tbl->close();
$conn->close();

Parameterized SELECT query

Use prepare() instead of query() whenever query criteria come from user input or application variables. Parameters are never interpreted as SQL, so there is no risk of SQL injection.

<?php
$conn = AdsConnection::connect([
    'path'       => '\\\\192.168.0.10:6262\\share\\mydb.add',
    'user'       => 'admin',
    'password'   => 'secret',
    'serverType' => ADS_REMOTE_SERVER,
]);

// Prepare once, bind, execute
$prep = $conn->prepare(
    "SELECT CustomerID, Name, Balance
     FROM   customers
     WHERE  Status = :status
     AND    Balance > :minbal
     ORDER  BY Balance DESC"
);

$prep->bindString('status', 'ACTIVE');
$prep->bindDouble('minbal', 1000.00);

$stmt = $prep->execute();   // returns AdsStatement

echo $stmt->rowCount() . " customers found\n";

while (($row = $stmt->fetchAssoc()) !== false) {
    printf("%6d  %-30s  %10.2f\n",
           $row['CustomerID'], trim($row['Name']), $row['Balance']);
}

$stmt->close();
$conn->close();

Parameterized INSERT

<?php
$conn = AdsConnection::connect(['path' => '...', 'serverType' => ADS_REMOTE_SERVER]);

$prep = $conn->prepare(
    "INSERT INTO products (SKU, Description, Price, Stock, Active, CreatedDate)
     VALUES (:sku, :desc, :price, :stock, :active, :created)"
);

$prep->bindString   ('sku',     'WIDGET-99');
$prep->bindString   ('desc',    'Deluxe Widget');
$prep->bindDouble   ('price',   24.99);
$prep->bindInt      ('stock',   250);
$prep->bindBool     ('active',  true);
$prep->bindDate     ('created', '20260521');   // CCYYMMDD format

$prep->execute();   // INSERT → returns true

echo "Product inserted.\n";

$conn->close();

Batch INSERT using a loop

Prepare the statement once, then re-bind and re-execute for each row. This is significantly faster than issuing individual execute() calls with concatenated SQL strings.

<?php
$conn = AdsConnection::connect(['path' => '...', 'serverType' => ADS_REMOTE_SERVER]);
$tx   = $conn->beginTransaction();

$products = [
    ['SKU' => 'AAA-01', 'Description' => 'Alpha Widget', 'Price' => 9.99,  'Stock' => 100],
    ['SKU' => 'BBB-02', 'Description' => 'Beta Widget',  'Price' => 14.99, 'Stock' => 50],
    ['SKU' => 'CCC-03', 'Description' => 'Gamma Widget', 'Price' => 4.99,  'Stock' => 200],
];

try {
    // Prepare the INSERT once outside the loop
    $prep = $conn->prepare(
        "INSERT INTO products (SKU, Description, Price, Stock)
         VALUES (:sku, :desc, :price, :stock)"
    );

    foreach ($products as $p) {
        $prep->bindString('sku',   $p['SKU']);
        $prep->bindString('desc',  $p['Description']);
        $prep->bindDouble('price', $p['Price']);
        $prep->bindInt   ('stock', $p['Stock']);
        $prep->execute();

        // Re-prepare after each execute() to reset the handle for the next iteration
        $prep = $conn->prepare(
            "INSERT INTO products (SKU, Description, Price, Stock)
             VALUES (:sku, :desc, :price, :stock)"
        );
    }

    $tx->commit();
    echo count($products) . " products inserted.\n";

} catch (AdsException $e) {
    $tx->rollback();
    echo "Batch failed: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
}

$conn->close();

Note: After execute() the prepared handle is consumed (transferred to the returned AdsStatement for SELECT, or released for DML). Call prepare() again before the next iteration. For INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE loops, wrapping in a transaction also provides a substantial speed improvement over auto-commit.

Parameterized UPDATE with transaction

<?php
$conn = AdsConnection::connect(['path' => '...', 'serverType' => ADS_REMOTE_SERVER]);
$tx   = $conn->beginTransaction();

try {
    // Deactivate all records in a category
    $disable = $conn->prepare(
        "UPDATE products SET Active = :flag WHERE CategoryID = :catid"
    );
    $disable->bindBool('flag',  false);
    $disable->bindInt ('catid', 7);
    $disable->execute();

    // Record the change in an audit log
    $audit = $conn->prepare(
        "INSERT INTO audit_log (Action, TableName, RecordID, ChangedAt)
         VALUES (:action, :tbl, :recid, :ts)"
    );
    $audit->bindString   ('action', 'DEACTIVATE');
    $audit->bindString   ('tbl',    'products');
    $audit->bindInt      ('recid',  7);
    $audit->bindTimestamp('ts',     date('Y-m-d H:i:s'));
    $audit->execute();

    $tx->commit();
    echo "Category deactivated and audit entry written.\n";

} catch (AdsException $e) {
    $tx->rollback();
    echo "Update failed: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    throw $e;
}

$conn->close();

Using NULL parameters and auto-detect bind

bind() automatically selects the correct ACE setter based on the PHP type of the value, including null. Use it when building generic data-access layers where the type is determined at runtime.

<?php
$conn = AdsConnection::connect(['path' => '...', 'serverType' => ADS_REMOTE_SERVER]);

$prep = $conn->prepare(
    "UPDATE customers
     SET    Phone    = :phone,
            FaxNo    = :fax,
            CreditLimit = :limit,
            Active   = :active
     WHERE  CustomerID = :id"
);

// $fax may be null if the customer has no fax number
$phone = '+1-555-0100';
$fax   = null;            // will bind as SQL NULL
$limit = 5000.00;
$active = true;
$customerId = 42;

$prep->bind('phone',  $phone);     // string  → AdsSetString
$prep->bind('fax',    $fax);       // null    → AdsSetNull
$prep->bind('limit',  $limit);     // float   → AdsSetDouble
$prep->bind('active', $active);    // bool    → AdsSetLogical
$prep->bind('id',     $customerId); // int     → AdsSetLong

$prep->execute();

echo "Customer updated.\n";
$conn->close();

Storing money values with bindMoney()

ADS_MONEY fields are stored internally as a 64-bit scaled integer, not a floating-point number. The scale (number of implied decimal places) is defined per-field in the table schema — commonly 4, meaning the value is stored in units of 0.0001 of the currency. Always use bindMoney() for money fields; bindDouble() will corrupt values through floating-point rounding.

<?php
$conn = AdsConnection::connect(['path' => '...', 'serverType' => ADS_REMOTE_SERVER]);

// Helper: convert a decimal dollar amount to the ADS_MONEY integer
// representation with 4 implied decimal places.
function moneyToScaled(float $dollars): int
{
    return (int) round($dollars * 10000);
}

$prep = $conn->prepare(
    "INSERT INTO invoices (CustomerID, InvoiceDate, Amount, Tax, Total)
     VALUES (:cid, :invdate, :amount, :tax, :total)"
);

$amount = 1234.56;   // $1,234.56
$tax    = $amount * 0.08;
$total  = $amount + $tax;

$prep->bindInt   ('cid',     42);
$prep->bindDate  ('invdate', date('Ymd'));          // CCYYMMDD
$prep->bindMoney ('amount',  moneyToScaled($amount));  // 12345600
$prep->bindMoney ('tax',     moneyToScaled($tax));     // 988448  (≈ $98.8448)
$prep->bindMoney ('total',   moneyToScaled($total));   // 13334048

$prep->execute();
echo "Invoice inserted.\n";

// Reading money back: divide by scale factor to get decimal value
$prep2 = $conn->prepare(
    "SELECT Amount, Tax, Total FROM invoices WHERE CustomerID = :cid ORDER BY InvoiceDate DESC"
);
$prep2->bindInt('cid', 42);
$stmt = $prep2->execute();

while (($row = $stmt->fetchAssoc()) !== false) {
    // ADS returns money fields as strings when fetched via AdsGetString
    printf("Amount: %s  Tax: %s  Total: %s\n",
           $row['Amount'], $row['Tax'], $row['Total']);
}
$stmt->close();

$conn->close();

Storing and retrieving binary data with bindBinary()

Use bindBinary() for ADS_BINARY (BLOB), ADS_IMAGE, and ADS_RAW fields. Pass the raw bytes as a PHP string. For image fields, pass ADS_IMAGE as the $type argument; for arbitrary binary data, use the default ADS_BINARY.

<?php
$conn = AdsConnection::connect(['path' => '...', 'serverType' => ADS_REMOTE_SERVER]);

// ---- Store an image from disk ----
$imageData = file_get_contents('C:\\images\\product_42.jpg');
if ($imageData === false) {
    die("Could not read image file.\n");
}

$prep = $conn->prepare(
    "UPDATE products
     SET    Photo       = :photo,
            PhotoSize   = :size,
            PhotoFormat = :fmt
     WHERE  ProductID   = :pid"
);

$prep->bindBinary('photo', $imageData, ADS_IMAGE);   // store as image BLOB
$prep->bindInt   ('size',  strlen($imageData));
$prep->bindString('fmt',   'JPEG');
$prep->bindInt   ('pid',   42);

$prep->execute();
echo "Photo stored (" . strlen($imageData) . " bytes).\n";

// ---- Store a raw binary document (PDF, etc.) ----
$pdfData = file_get_contents('C:\\docs\\contract_7.pdf');

$prep2 = $conn->prepare(
    "INSERT INTO documents (CustomerID, DocType, Content, FileSize)
     VALUES (:cid, :dtype, :content, :sz)"
);

$prep2->bindInt   ('cid',     100);
$prep2->bindString('dtype',   'PDF');
$prep2->bindBinary('content', $pdfData);   // ADS_BINARY default
$prep2->bindInt   ('sz',      strlen($pdfData));

$prep2->execute();
echo "Document stored (" . strlen($pdfData) . " bytes).\n";

$conn->close();

Apache / mod_php setup

If running under Apache with mod_php:

Install the extension as above (C:\php\ext\php_ads.dll).
Make sure C:\php\ (where the ACE DLLs live) is in the system PATH, not just the user PATH — Apache runs as a service under SYSTEM.
Restart Apache: httpd -k restart or via Services.

# C:\Apache24\conf\httpd.conf
LoadModule php_module "C:/php/php8apache2_4.dll"
PHPIniDir "C:/php"
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
`PHP Warning: PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library 'php_ads'`	DLL not found or ACE DLLs missing	Check `C:\php\ext\php_ads.dll` exists; copy ACE DLLs to `C:\php\`
Extension loads but `AdsConnection::connect()` throws immediately	ACE DLLs not on PATH at load time	Copy `ace64.dll`, `adsloc64.dll`, `axcws64.dll`, `aicu64.dll` to the `php.exe` directory
Build fails with `C1083: Cannot open include file: 'php.h'`	Dev pack path wrong	Check `PHP_DEVPACK` in `Makefile.win`
Extension loads but crashes (0xC0000005)	ZTS TSRM cache not initialised	Ensure `ZEND_TSRMLS_CACHE_EXTERN()` is in `php_ads.h` and `ZEND_TSRMLS_CACHE_UPDATE()` is called in both MINIT and RINIT
`AdsException [5091]` or similar ACE error at connect	Server not reachable or wrong path	Verify ADS server is running and the path uses the correct UNC format

License

This extension is provided as-is for use with licensed copies of Advantage Database Server. The ACE SDK headers and libraries (acesdk/) are copyright SAP / iAnywhere Solutions and are included under the terms of the ADS developer license — they must not be redistributed separately.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 9 Commits
acesdk		acesdk
examples		examples
src		src
.gitignore		.gitignore
Makefile.win		Makefile.win
README.md		README.md
build.bat		build.bat
initial-instructions.txt		initial-instructions.txt
patch_linker_ver.ps1		patch_linker_ver.ps1
test_smoke.php		test_smoke.php

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php_ads

Requirements

Directory layout

Building from source

1. Prerequisites

2. Build

3. Install

4. Copy ACE runtime DLLs

5. Enable the extension in php.ini

6. Verify

API reference

AdsConnection

AdsStatement

AdsPreparedStatement

Parameter syntax

Method reference

Return value of execute()

AdsTable

AdsTransaction

AdsDictionary

Database

Tables

Fields

Indexes

Users

Views

Stored Procedures

Triggers

Referential Integrity

Links (cross-dictionary)

Full example — create a table and configure it

AdsException

Registered constants

Usage examples

Connect and run a SQL query

Transaction with rollback on error

Direct table access

Append a new record

Parameterized SELECT query

Parameterized INSERT

Batch INSERT using a loop

Parameterized UPDATE with transaction

Using NULL parameters and auto-detect bind

Storing money values with bindMoney()

Storing and retrieving binary data with bindBinary()

Apache / mod_php setup

Troubleshooting

License

See also

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Return value of `execute()`

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