Read a PDF file via PHP

I'm working on a file upload system that accepts PDF files, reads the text in those files, and enters it into a database, which makes the text from the PDF indexable and searchable. I've got it all down except for the ability to read the text from a PDF file. When the PHP read file function is used, the PDF file is read just fine, but when I return the results to my browser, they're of course nothing but jumble, because the code for the entire file was read. Is there any way to get PHP to simply read the PDF file for text only--just the surface of it, just the words, as if it were a human reading the PDF itself--and not for the internal code of the file? Thanks, Steve