Microsoft Azure + PHP = Opportunity For Another Ted Dziuba Rant

<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/25/dziuba_microsoft_php/>:

Do you write N-squared loops and blame poor execution speed on your
runtime environment? Well, then step right up because I've got the
solution for you.

...

You see, PHP is like a handgun. On its own, it is simply an inanimate
tool that has no moral leaning. In the hands of a responsible citizen,
it can be used to the benefit of society. But in the hands of someone
who is untrained or mentally unstable, it can be used to commit horrible
atrocities.

...

Microsoft has recognized a quality catastrophe in the open source world,
and embraced it.

 

My will this fit into the box routine for the store I am working on with
a mate will be much worse then n squared with each item having multiple
places and stacking orders etc to think about.

But my idea is to push it off to the client PC via flash so that the
server isnt tied up with it

 

Sounds like the knapsack problem, which I think has been proven to be NP-
complete.

 

Well if it was taken to the extreme it would be, but really its just got
to verify that the chosen packing method will take the selected items to
prevent quoting too low for the courier costs. Its seeming that from the
ones we have packed so far that weight is almost always the deciding
factor on if it costs more rather then volume, so its looking like we
can just offer to add lightweight things to the order for no additional
delivery costs and not bother with the fancy maths