Originally put together by user mkly in this thread. Thanks for sharing!

This one is for all you speed demons out there. You know who are. I haven't benchmarked this a ton yet but the ADOdb page describes this a 100% speedup and it does feel a lot faster.

This quick guide will explain compiling, installing and configuring the ADOdb PHP extension written in C on a LAMP(Linux) based VPS or dedicated server environment.

There is also a quick guide for install on a Dreamhost shared account. This may be similar to your shared hosting provider but I would recommend referring to their documentation or sending them a quick note. I'm sure additions for other shared hosts would be greatly appreciated.

On a VPS/Dedicated Server

1) Download and unzip the ADOdb extension. Note: If using PHP5.3 download this patched adodb file and replace the one previously downloaded.

2) Install php development tool:

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install php5-dev

Redhat/CentOS

sudo yum install php-devel

3) Open a terminal and navigate inside the unzipped adodb extension directory.

4) Run:

phpize
./configure
make
sudo make install

5) Edit php.ini with

extension = adodb.so

On Dreamhost

1) Download and unzip the ADOdb extension. Note: If using PHP5.3 download this patched adodb file and replace the one previously downloaded.

2) Copy the files to your shared host via FTP.

3) If not already enabled, you need to enable ssh access through the Dreamhost panel.

4) This guide only describes php5.3 configuration as it is much simpler so you will need to upgrade you domain to use PHP 5.3 FastCGI. (Under "Manage Domains")

5) Log into your account via ssh

6) Add:

export PATH=/usr/local/php53/bin:$PATH

to

~/.bash_profile

You will need to log out of the ssh session and back in after modifying the ~/.bash_profile.

7) Change to the directory you uploaded with the ADOdb files.

8) Enter the commands:

phpize
./configure
make
mkdir ~./php
mkdir ~./php/5.3
copy ./modules/adodb.so ~/.php/5.3/

9) On this next command replace [username] with your Dreamhost username:

echo "extension = /home/[username]/.php/5.3/adodb.so" > ~./php/5.3/phprc

10) To check if it loaded properly, you can create a phpinfo file:

Create a php file in the domain root named

dontnamefilesphpinfo.php

and place it in:

<?php phpinfo() ?>

11) You should see under "Configuration" "ADOdb" note that this could take a couple of minutes for Dreamhost to update so be a little patient.