Here is a bold statement: I believe the existence of the Zend Certified Engineer Program may do more to further PHP in the enterprise than the release of PHP 5. Why? Because while the features PHP 5 introduces put PHP on par with languages like JSP, the truth is that PHP’s popularity was founded on its ability to rapidly deploy web applications. And that is a core focus that not even JSP has caught up with yet. It is the wealth of web-design-specific procedural operations–not the strengthened object model or nuanced handling of data structures–that gets PHP into developer’s minds and therefore in the door of the enterprise. CTOs don’t care about the features of PHP5. They care about adoption, and about use. And they care about certifications that tell them they made the right decision in hiring that new web developer. That is why copying programs like the Sun Certified Programmer For Java with Zend’s own certification program makes good sense to bring PHP to the enterprise.