Harry Fuecks writes that Damien Katz’s CouchDb project is at the point of a working prototype; the server is implemented in Erlang and a demonstration client application (a simple forum) in PHP.

According to Harry starting the CouchDb server on Windows is simple. You need to follow the README. PHP-wise, you need the new 'http extension', which is easily done on Win32 by using the most recent PHP 5 release (5.1.6) and the corresponding collection of PECL modules. Alternatively the most recent XAMPP packs the extension.

The interface between CouchDb and PHP is REST—XML + HTTP—you can also point your browser directly at the CouchDb server and get around with a little help from the CouchDb wiki, Harry says.

Harry poses the question, "What is CouchDb and why is CouchDb interesting, given relational DBs?" and gives a prompt reply "To an extent it’s hard to define—best starting point is Damien’s discussion of Document Oriented Development. He gives a quick overview but still it’s difficult to find a truly selling argument", he concludes.