I am trying to run php files on localhost, the php files are encoded with zend, which I am actually not sure why and what purpose does it have. I get the message that to run the files you should download Zend optimizer.
My question is can I run the php files with Installing Zend optimizer, If yes How?, what are the changes I need to make to my php files. Or should I delete some modules inside the scripts directory/
Thanks Mike
On
You can only run PHP files w/o Zend Optimizer if you have them in their source form. The source form is the preferred form to make changes to the software.
Contact the person where you obtained those encoded files from and ask for the source form of these files. Then use these instead and you do not need to use the Zend Optimizer.
On
Yes you can. But there are some conditions. If PHP < 5.3 then you need to zend guard for decode and zend optimizer for encode. If PHP >= 5.3 then you need to zend guard for decode and zend guard loader for encode. Only zend optimizer is free and you can download all of them in zend formal website. There are 2 versions for download.a zip version and a standalone installation version.
Take care
I have a few documents in my Knowledge Base about Zend Guard (see links at the bottom) but here's the quick scoop about your question(s).
You cannot run the code without a decoder but the decoders are usually free and installation instructions are provided with the decoder. However, the provider of the php files may have included a license key because they expect you pay a license fee. When you don't have a license key you won't be able to run the encoded files. You cannot make any changes to a file because the integrity of the encoded files is verified at runtime. You don't have to make any changes to your existing php files, unless they are encoded with another provider. You can run encoded and plain php files side by side.
If your php files have been encoded with Zend Guard you will need a decoder from Zend. For PHP up to version 5.2.x you will need "Zend Optimizer" and for 5.3.x "Zend Guard Loader". Both decoders are available for free by Zend and just a single module file you need to have on your server and include the path in your php configuration file (usually php.ini).
Encoding source files is usually done to protect the intellectual property of the code, i.e. nobody can just copy/paste (steal) parts of it. In many cases these applications are also sold and require a license key. In that case somewhere in the php files is the license key hidden and the proper key required to actually run the application. There is maybe also a performance boost because the code is basically pre-compiled.
Zend Guard/Optimizer