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php script to desktop application question

by kenwarrior
13 replies
I have a php script that does a useful function and seems to be popular, it is currently running on a website, I'm investigating if I can create a desktop application that does the same thing to use as freebie/lead generator or even sell it etc

I have a few questions

1. To create the application can the programmer use the php source as a starting point or does the whole thing need to be recoded from the start

2. What sort of software programming specification should I be asking for if I want this rum on the average PC (not including mac)

any other useful advice welcome, thanks
#application #desktop #php #question #script
  • Profile picture of the author PHIMind
    You can get a handle on VB.NET that has the lowest learning curve of any type of current windows programming. If the person coding has experience he/she will be able to easily use the existing php source and mimic the behaviour of the code.
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  • Profile picture of the author kenwarrior
    I've been told that C# with .net could be the way to go?, comments anyone?
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  • Profile picture of the author Ken Durham
    might want to have a look at Adobe Air. It is cross platform compatible and will run on most any device. I haven't used it yet but heard a few good things.

    rich Internet applications | Adobe AIR
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim Franklin
    There are a number of solutions, I came across one a while back that was better than this example, but it is interesting, ExeOutput for PHP - Visual PHP to EXE Compiler Software for Windows

    Have a look, as well there are some self contained, scripting libraries as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author expertname
    Originally Posted by kenwarrior View Post

    1. To create the application can the programmer use the php source as a starting point or does the whole thing need to be recoded from the start
    Yes and no. If the windows coder understands php, or the code is well documented, then the code can help. If the coder has to spend more time figuring out the php syntax, or any libraries the code is using, then the code might not help as much as giving them a specification.

    Sometimes showing the Windows coders what the app does is enough of a spec, and the coder can go off and duplicate. But if there are special error handling or exception handling that isn't obvious, and only shows up when the user does the wrong thing, or the program breaks, that should be detailed somewhere so the Window program behaves the same.

    2. What sort of software programming specification should I be asking for if I want this rum on the average PC (not including mac)
    Do you mean what are the specifications of the PCs where the software would run? Like, "Software must run on Windows XP/Vista/Me/2000/7 on PCs with under 512 MB".?

    Can you share the web app via PM? If so I can take a further look and give you better advice. I code on the desktop and the web...
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    • Profile picture of the author kenwarrior
      Originally Posted by expertname View Post

      Do you mean what are the specifications of the PCs where the software would run? Like, "Software must run on Windows XP/Vista/Me/2000/7 on PCs with under 512 MB".?
      No, I mean what would be the best language to code this in, c# etc has been suggested
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      • Profile picture of the author expertname
        Originally Posted by kenwarrior View Post

        No, I mean what would be the best language to code this in, c# etc has been suggested
        Yeah, I'd stick with the languages supported by Visual Studio; Visual Basic, C#, C++.
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  • Profile picture of the author indianbill007
    Hi,

    PHP expert here. ping me
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  • Profile picture of the author kenwarrior
    thanks for all the responses, I think I now have a good idea how to move forward with this project
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  • Profile picture of the author luuda
    if you need a GUI, you can use pecl.php[dot]net/package/cairo
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim Franklin
    @Ken If you dont mind I would love to hear how this project comes out, I looked at the possibility of using an embedded, PHP, MySQL, Apache environment, in the past (probably about 4 years ago) and after looking at the over head, (CPU, Memory, usage, ect) I decided against it, would love to hear how it works out.

    Tim
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    • Profile picture of the author kenwarrior
      Time, as I move ahead I'll try and post some updates, my next step is to write a new spec to solicit new proposals from the freelance sites, my application quite simple so I'm not expecting to run across any of the issues that you listed

      Originally Posted by Tim Franklin View Post

      @Ken If you dont mind I would love to hear how this project comes out, I looked at the possibility of using an embedded, PHP, MySQL, Apache environment, in the past (probably about 4 years ago) and after looking at the over head, (CPU, Memory, usage, ect) I decided against it, would love to hear how it works out.

      Tim
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  • Profile picture of the author lecter
    You can use the Roadsend set of tools to create a windows exe from your code. It also allows you to embed a microserver with your app so that the user can interact with your app locally using their web browser.

    You will find it here: roadsend.com
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