I have been doing some research on mobile websites, and thus far it seems to me that PHP is not supported by most handsets.
I am trying to create multiple form's that lead up to a auto email response, which would be fairly simple if I could use PHP.
Is there any other way of achieving this?
PHP is server side language, your server has to be support for it. handsets should support html or whatever you output with php.
PHP is usually executed on the server, not the handset itself, so the question is more if your PHP spits out HTML unsuited for a handset.
Yes - its perfectly possible to write WML using PHP, only vaveat is that you need to add a custom header to set the mimetype if your default behaviour for PHP files is to return text/html. And, of course you need to understand WML - which is quite different from HTML.
These days a lot of handhelds can now cope with HTML although don't expect javascript.
PHP is not supported by most handsets
Eh? What's that got to do with it? PHP runs on the server - not on the client.
C.
Have a read up on the basic request/response cycle for a web page.
Assuming by "mobile website" you mean "a normal website that is tailored for display on a mobile device" the answer is that PHP runs on the server not the client, the client only displays HTML given to it by the server.
Related
How to send DOM tree (including HTML, CSS, javascript) from a Php server to a client?
Thanks.
EDIT: As I read the question again, I see that you're interested in concealing the source code, essentially. Being that this is a game, you will likely have tons of javascript/jQuery. If this is what you mean, you should research obfuscating javascript
Original Response:
I understand your question to ask whether or not you can "create" an "entire" page on the server, by running a combination of php, js, jquery, etc. If this is a correct interpretation, then the short answer is no. If it all is to be done server-side, you'd be better off using a server-side scripting language exclusively.
On a related note, you could dynamically generate the jQuery code on the server before sending to the client. I'm not sure that's what you're asking though, because the entire web is composed of pages that are created then sent to the user-side...
The situation is next:
I have php file, which parses a web-page. on that web-page is a phone number and it's digits are mixed with each other. The only way to put each digit on the correct place is to use some JS functions (on the client side). So, when I execute that php file in linux console, it gives me all that I need, except js function's result (no wonder - JavaScript is not a server-side language). So all I see from JS - only a code, that I have written.
The question: can I execute js files via php and how?
Results of a quick google search (terms = javascript engine php)
J4P5 -- not developed since 2005 [BAD](according to its News)
PECL package spidermonkey
a 2008 post by jeresig points to PHPJS but can't see when it was last updated.
I'm sure you'll find many more links on that google search.
Alternatively:
you say that the digits are scrambled and you need to "unscramble" them using js. Can you code that unscrambling logic into a PHP function and just use it? Will sure save you a lot of trouble, but if learning to use js in php is what you're after, then its a whole different story...
Zend tutorial: "Using javascript in PHP with PECL and spidermonkey"?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Server-side_JavaScript_solutions
Alternatively, PHP has simple functions for executing other programs and retrieving their output (I used this along with GPG once to create a PHP file manager which could live-encrypt files as you were uploading them and live-decrypt as you were downloading them)
Using those functions along with http://code.google.com/p/v8/ you should be able to interpret any javascript.
Not unless you know someone who's implemented a Javascript engine in PHP.
In other words, probably not.
Without some sort of browser emulation or passing the unparsed js off to a server side implementation of javascript (maybe node.js?), you won't be able to execute it.
However, does the page use the same js function to unscramble the phone number every time? You should be able to read the incorrect digits and shuffle them with PHP.
If you're prepared to do a bit of work building your own JS runtime to work with it, Tim Whitlock has written a javascript tokenizer and parser in pure PHP
node.js is server-side... but full JS :) no PHP in it so I don't it answer your needs...
Anyway, here is an example : a chat in JS both client & server-side : http://chat.nodejs.org/
Plus, not every host allows you to use the v8 engine...
If you have Javascript data objects, and you need to convert them to/from PHP arrays, that's quite easy using PHP's json_encode() and json_decode() functions.
But actually running Javascript code? No. You can't. You might be able to find a JS interpreter written in PHP (a few other answers have pointed a links that may or may not help you here), or more likely execute the JS using a stand-alone JS interpreter on your server which you call out to from PHP. However if the JS code includes references to the browser's DOM (which is highly likely), that's a whole other set of issues which will almost certainly make it impossible.
Given the way you describe the question, I'd say the easiest solution for you would just be to re-implement the JS code as PHP code; it's unlikely that all the work arounds being suggested would be appropriate for what sounds like a fairly simple bit of utility code.
I want to change my HTML page as an image. Is there a way in PHP to change or save an HTML page as an image?
This is not easy; as NullUserException says in his comment, you would need to render the HTML page on the server-side, which is not something PHP (or any other server-sided language) has built in.
The approach that comes to mind would be to write a program (probably not in PHP, but rather something like C# or C++) that runs on your server, fires up a web browser, and does a series of screen captures (possibly combined with page scrolls). As this is a very nontrivial and bug-prone process, I would suggest looking into third-party components that are capable of doing this.
You would then execute this program from PHP, and when it's done running, display the results from the file it output.
I would advise you to use an external service with an api. This list might be a good start: http://blogs.sitepoint.com/2008/07/10/9-ways-to-put-site-screenshots-in-your-web-app/
Thumbalizr seems great, they allso provide a php script so you can cache the images locally:
http://www.thumbalizr.com/apitools.php
Try taking a look at browsershots.org - source code is available for it if you want to install it locally. Essentially it uses a browser to take screenshots, and can be controlled via an XML-RPC interface, which you can call from PHP.
As others have said this is not a simple job, and not something you can do directly in PHP, so use an external service.
(I'm not affiliated with browsershots.org in any way)
I want to develop a site that will allow be to publish information to users, and give them and opportunity to subscribe to a mailing list so they can be updated each time I make a change to the site.
*Add new information, etc.
I also would like for the users to be able to add comments about reviews posted, and give me suggestions...Things that will encourage user interaction
I understand that this is possible with php...
But I do not know php, and to learn and test it I apparently need a domain to begin with...etc.
Is it possible that I use Xhtml/Html to get the same results?
--
I know I can use the
Mail
but that would also leave my email open to spam...Any suggestions?
And I do apologize if this question has been posted before, I did some research and found no such thing.
All helpful responses are appreciated.
XHTML and HTML are essentially the same thing, just xhtml is based on an xml standard (thats where the x comes from), therefore being a bit more stricter.
HTML/XHTML is generally used for structure of your webpage, where as PHP is a server based language, meaning it works behind the scenes.
You could use html, but it'd be hideously complex to make, so i'd say you'd be better of biting the bullet and making a start on your first php app:) Don't worry it's very easy to get your head around. You do not need a domain to get started with the development, simply install WAMP (for windows), or MAMP (if your apple freak like me), these programs act as self contained mini servers, very useful for development!
Then i'd suggest trying it all out using html for starters, just so you get used to the WAMP/MAMP sever, before heading over to http://devzone.zend.com/article/627 for a brilliant set of tutorials on PHP!
EDIT: Another poster mentioned wordpress, its a great platform too! But i always favour learning the basics so in the event of something going wrong, or not working the way you want it to, you'll know what to do, or at least have an idea. Therefore i'd stick with your own php solution as a starter, then progressing to wordpress, when you feel comfortable.
I hope this helps :)
(X)HTML is the markup language that's interpreted by the browser, to display your web pages.
PHP is a language, used on the server, that can :
Generate that HTML markup
Act as a 'glue' with other systems, such as a database, for data-persitence.
(X)HTML by itself it not dynamic : it's only used to display data.
And PHP by itself doesn't display much information : it generates them.
So, basically, you'll need to use both (X)HTML and PHP :
PHP for everything thats' dynamic
like interaction with a database, a form, ...
HTML (possibly generated by the PHP code) to display the data.
No, you will need some kind of server side scripting language to be able to interrogate a database, print out comments and send the generated HTML to the browser.
If you don't know how to use PHP, how about using an open source solution like WordPress, this is a bloging platform but offers all the things you listed.
I would suggest using WordPress because:
It is easy to learn, the documentation is excellent
There are thousands of free plugins to add functionality to your site
There is a plugin, Contact Form 7, that will allow your users to send your email while doing a good job of curbing spam
There is a built in RSS feed to push out to your users notices when your site is updated
WordPress can be installed on shared hosting, virtual private hosts, and almost any machine with the LAMP stack
If you are new to creating websites, WordPress has free themes which are a good starting place
Finally, to answer your question, XHTML and PHP do different things. XHTML is like the idea of a picture. You can see it, it has shapes, outlines, sometimes words, etc. Where as PHP is like film where viewers can see something, but there is something in the background that is updating and moving.
HTML is just a markup language used by the browser to format data to display to users.
Most hosting solutions provide form mailer scripts that just take an HTML form and email the fields to a specified email address which you can configure.
They also provide mailing list functionality.
So, maybe check for a (PHP) hosting solution that provide this functionality and you won't need to write any PHP until you require more complex, custom functionality.
Suppose I have developed one web portal in PHP/MySQL. I want to make it work in mobile also. What is the easiest way to do this?
Can we use PHP with any mobile based mark up languages like WML or XHTML i.e. as we can use PHP with HTML in web applications used to view in normal web browsers?
PHP has nothing to do directly with the platform you want to display your app on. PHP is just the tool to deliver the kind of markup you need for your page to be displayed on whatever platform you want. It's up to your own knowledge and creativity to render markup which suits your needs. So in other words, yes of course you can send WML, XML, XHTML, you name it to the client!
The client doesn't know anything about PHP anyways (PHP 'exists' only on the server side), the client doesn't understand PHP and doesn't need to. It understands XHTML or any other markup and that's what you have to deliver! What tool you use to do that is completely up to you. PHP is one option.
So all you need to know is for what platform/client you want to render your content and what kind of markup this platform understands and then deliver the right markup to the right platform/client including the respective CSS, js, etc.
What your app does:
detect what client is requesting your site
see if you're able to send the appropriate markup
send this markup or if not available some default or similar markup
Pseudo-code for each page, (or just the template page, if you have that)
<?php if(mobile()): ?>
Mobile HTML and PHP
<?php else: ?>
Desktop HTML and PHP
<?php endif; ?>
I use this.
Depends on what you understand under the term "mobile". Basically it would just mean to adapt your portal displayed data and css to the smaller display sizes and make as ZOMFG said an if statement to output your source accordingly. If you want to enable WAP browsing you have to output your data in the Wireless markup language.
PHP is just a tool which generates some markup language (or anything else, actually, which might not be markup-oriented at all) that is understood by the client -- the browser.
Your PHP code will have to be able to generate two kind of different outputs :
a "full ouput" (likely HTML), which you already have, for computer web browsers
a "light ouput" (maye VML, maybe HTML too but without some heavy stuff), for mobile-based browsers.
The task you'll have to deal with is to differenciate between mobile and non-mobile users ; this might be done by user-agent sniffing, for instance, or detecting what the client requested.
A nice thing to do could be to use a special domain-name for users of mobile platforms ; something like mobile.example.com ; for instance, so they can bookmark it and directly access the "mobile-version" of your site -- can be useful if your detection doesn't work well ^^
If you are targetting advanced-mobile-machines (like iPhone) which have a not too bad browser, you might want to send them "rich" HTML pages ; just test your pages to verify they fit on the small screen of theses machines ; and, maybe you'll want to send less data (like not display some sidebars, or have a smaller menu, ... )
BTW, what kind of platform do you mean by "mobile" ? Those old phones with small screens, or more power-users-oriented phones, like iPhone / Android / stuff like that ?
This could make quite a difference, actually, as the more recent ones have nice functionnalities that the oldest didn't have ^^
In any case, one important thing to remember :
you will spend some time making the site work on these devices
you will have to spend more time maintaining it !
Which means : do something simple, and, as much as possible, use the same PHP code for both mobile and non-mobile version of the site : the less code you duplicate, the less code you'll have to maintain !
Hope these few ideas (not really well sorted, I admit) will help...
Have fun !
Already the mobile browsers support almost full XTHML, Javascript, Flash.
My recommandations are:
have a light css for the mobile
version
restrict some heavy functionalities
validate your code
optimize, optimize, optimize, although this works even for the full version.