This article covers the following sections:

• What is Zend Optimizer and why is it used in ViArt
• How to install Zend Optimizer
• How to ensure Zend Optimizer is installed
• Frequently asked questions

What is Zend Optimizer and why is it used in ViArt

Some of ViArt's files are decoded with an application called Zend Optimizer. These files will not be executed without Zend Optimizer being installed and configured properly on your Web Site's Host Server.

Zend Optimizer can decode and execute 'optimised' files with greatly improved performance when compared to standard PHP files.

We use Zend optimisation primarily to provide you with:

• Improved performance: There is a very complex and sophisticated PHP structure which gives ViArt its power, speed and flexibility. When ViArt is running, a lot of operations are being carried to create what you see in your web browser. We have found that by compiling our files with Zend Encoder we can greatly improve the speed these operations are performed, thus creating a faster page rendering time, and a more responsive web site.


• Safety: The files that govern Viart's underlying framework i.e. the file which hold certain 'protected information' and the other files we would not expect customers would need to modify, are processed with Zend Encoder.

Since Viart's whole reason for being is to allow customization, we have not encoded all of Viart's files; only those files which we feel will protect our intellectual property. Any files pertaining to the look and feel of the interface: Style Sheets, HTML, layout files, shopping cart messages and system function variables are all open to alteration in any way you wish.

We would estimate that 97% of Viart is 'open' for modification and only 3% is encoded. Below is the list of encoded files:

• date_functions.php
• editgrid.php
• navigator.php
• record.php
• sorter.php
• support_parser.php
• template.php
• tree.php
• url.php
• va_functions.php

How to install Zend Optimizer

The Zend Optimizer is a fully free package that can be downloaded from zend.com. Click here for the latest version of Zend Optimizer. To download and install the Zend Optimizer, please do the following steps:

1. Log in or register with your Zend account. The Zend Optimizer – Free Download page opens.
2. Select the Optimizer version that corresponds with the platform system you use and select “Download Now”. The File Download dialog opens.
3. Choose the Save option and save the selected file to your local system.

From this point the installation instructions differ depending on the operating system you're installing Zend Optimizer, namely:

1. Double click on the package ZendOptimizer-x.x.x-windows-i386.exe The Optimizer Install Shield opens.
2. Follow the instructions in the Installer. These instructions define the basic system configurations necessary for installing the Zend Optimizer such as the Web Server in use and the location of the php.ini.

You can now jump to the section: Installation Verification, page 5 for instructions on how to confirm the Zend Optimizer was successfully installed.

1. Open a terminal window and change dir to the directory in which the Zend Optimizer package was saved. To untar the package use the command: gunzip -c | tar xf -
2. From the extracted package's directory, type the following command: ./install. The installer is launched
3. Follow the instructions in the installer. These instructions define the basic system configurations necessary for installing the Zend Optimizer, such as the Web Server in use and the location of the php.ini.
4. If for some reason, the graphical installation will not start or is illegible, use the command: ./install-tty which is useful on low-end terminals such as when installing on a remote server via SSH/Telnet.". The text only installation starts

Important note: To install or uninstall Zend Optimizer, you must be logged in with Administrator/root permissions.

How to ensure Zend Optimizer is installed

To check that Zend Optimizer is properly installed on your server, please create a file called phpinfo.php that contains only 1 string:

<?php phpinfo();?>

Save this file an upload it to the root folder of your shop. Further, open a browser you're using and call this script typying something like: www.yoursite.com/phpinfo.php, where yoursite.com is the domain name of your site with the shop and phpinfo.php is the name of your test file.

Press the enter button to open a page with the test file and view the output information, you need a block of parameters, as on the following image:

If you do not see such a block, Zend Optimizer is not installed on your server. Ask your hosting provider to install Zend Optmizer for your hosting package. There shouldn't be any problems as this is a free application and is rather easy to install.

Frequently asked questions

My Web Host doesn't have Zend Optimizer, what should I do?

Zend Optimizer is a completely free application: it costs nothing to install and run it on your server. If you have your own web server and you have "root administrator permissions", you will be able to download Zend Optimizer from the above link and install it without issue. In most cases where you are relying on another company to host your site, your hosting company's Technical Support will carry out this operation for you.

Unfortunately, if your web host refuses to install Zend Optimizer, you won't be able to run ViArt Shop on their server. You can use ViArt's Web Hosting services instead. Please, refer to this page to get information on ViArt hosting packages: here.

How to enable Zend Optimizer?

You can try to enable Zend Optimizer manually via your php.ini file using the below settings for C:\xampp\apache\bin\php.ini:

When the file php.ini is saved, please restart the Apache web server.

What versions of PHP and Zend Optimizer are to be used?

Please, refer to the Zend Optimizer product page for the detailed information. We recommend to use Zend Optimizer 3.2 or later for PHP 5.x and Zend 2.6.2 - for PHP 4.2.x.