Re: Good resources for beginning PEAR

As of right now, there isn't a good resource for this. Someone is working on a HOWTO for developers of PEAR modules, but there isn't a decent resource for getting started with PEAR as a PEAR user. I was planning on working on this for the PEAR website. For right now, the easiest way to get started is to execute this: lynx -source http://pear.php.net/go-pear | sh This will download and install the standard PEAR distribution. You may want to read through http://pear.php.net/manual/en/installation.php Most (if not all) PEAR modules are class definitions. Note that you don't need to write OO code to use objects. You can write structural code using objects. (Does that count as OOP? :)) Using large numbers of libraries written in PHP will certainly be slower than implementing your own solution. Your program will need to parse all of the code that is included regardless of if it is used. This is the drawback to using modules written in the language. However, the PHP parser is very fast. It really depends on the application you're developing. The PEAR modules are written to make it easier to write portable reusable code. If you're going for raw speed and application performance, you'll want to implement your own modules so the parser won't be parsing code that you'll never use. The problem with object oriented code is that there is a _LOT_ of code that exists simply to maintain the object, perform checks, etc. If you know what the bounds and limitations are, you know that you'll never need to check for some errors. Sometimes your application doesn't care if there is an error. But in the object, the code is there and is executed none-the-less to deal with the error condition. This is why a lot of "structural" programmers dislike OO code. Good luck :) eric On Thu, 23 May 2002, olinux wrote: > Hi all - I am looking for a good resource to begin > learning how to use the PEAR repository. > > I am specifically interested in the caching classes. > Should I learn OO prgramming? > > one specific question that I have: > It seems that you would have to include several > packages to get desired results. i.e caching - > cache/outputCompression/DB - can this get to intensive > on the server (numerous includes - defining excess > functions - renaming functions)? > > Thanks Much, > olinux > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience > http://launch.yahoo.com > >