"Virtually everybody who uses PHP does it to create Web applications," de Visser said.

Zend Core 2.0 includes what Zend calls universal database support, with preinstalled drivers to access databases from Oracle, IBM, and MySQL. The MySQL 5.0 Community database is bundled with the package.

Future plans call for bolstering Microsoft SQL Server support. Users can run Zend Core with SQL Server now, but with limitations. "It's not what we call enterprise-class yet," de Visser said.

Other features of Zend Core 2.0 include the following:

-- Technical improvements offered as part of the 5.2.1 version of PHP.