Re: Re: cvs: php4 / TODO

>I'm now wrestling with whether to develop new projects in PHP or Java. >PHP is obviously the practical choice right now. The only thing that >bothers me is whether there are "hooks" or trends toward using PHP with >something other than a HTML browser. Where platforms like Java and >REBOL have an edge is that they also have their own GUI. There are many >times when browsers don't behave the way we would like. What happens >when people demand more user interface that a browser can provide? Will >XML and Gecko save the day, or will Java/Swing edge ahead? We have written some browser side Java applications which communicate with stuff running on the web server via http requests. The server side programs are actually CGIs written in C, but could just as easily be PHP. This gives us the opportunity to provide a user interface that would be impossible to implement in html/javascript (in our case a parametric CAD system) but with all the advantages of centralised server side processing where appropriate. Getting the Java to work across all browsers an platforms, especially for advanced stuff (such as printing :-)) is at least as nightmarish as making html and javascript work. Cheers -- Phil Driscoll Dial Solutions +44 (0)113 294 5112 http://www.dialsolutions.com http://www.dtonline.org