[Resolved] RFC : PHP graphics vs. SVG.

Stinger51

I've never used PHP's built in graphics program, mainly because my web host doesn't have the library installed. Three questions then :

How difficult is it to install the library with Apache Server 1.3 (assuming I have downloaded the library)?
What is the learning curve for the graphics library?
Would using XML's Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) be a better solution, more portable? And yes, I know you have to have Adobe's viewer to use such, which could be a turn off to people (e.g., my customers) that don't have that plug in installed.

So, what's the best way to proceed here for using graphics on the Web?

Tnx in advance.

bradgrafelman

I assume you're referring to the GD library that can be installed with PHP.

First off, I'd need to know what O/S your webserver is running on. To install it on Windows is easy - simply uncomment the "extension=php_gd2.dll" line in the php.ini . If you're installing on Unix, I can't remember the exact switch to add, probably something like --with-gd=/path/to/gd/lib once you install the GD library. At any rate, any installation questions such as that would definitely be answered by the fine people watching over the 'Install' forum.

As to your second question, I can't say for sure. I haven't delved deeply into GD, but I do know that the PHP.net manual is very descriptive. Coupled with the user comments, it is a very powerful and comprehensible tool. I suppose it all depends on just how complicated you want to make it! 😉

For your last question, I can't give you a good answer, only an opinion: Don't make them install any more software/plugins/etc than the have to. Using the GD library would seem the best solution, to me, for scalability reasons. If you don't have to make your users depend on one more piece of 3rd-party software, chances are you shouldn't.

Stinger51

I'm using Win XP. I'm going to check out the PHP manual for an simple GD example, then try to run it on-line (and see if my web host, which is Network Solutions, has installed the library). If so, then I will attempt to download the library and install it locally.

I tend to agree with you, that most users, when confronted with trying to load a page that tells them, "You must have Adobe's SVG Plug-in to open this page" would probably be turned off by such -- even if it is a free download.

bradgrafelman

You might already have the GD library downloaded, depending on which flavor of the PHP installer you chose. To check, look in the "extnensions" subfolder of the main PHP folder, and see if you find 'php_gd2.dll' in there.

Stinger51

Yes, the file called php_gd2.dll does indeed exist in my PHP sub-folder called extensions.

I cannot, however, yet run this simple script :

Header("Content-type: image/jpeg");
$image = ImageCreate(200,150);
$gray = ImageColorAllocate($image,204,204,204);
$blue = ImageColorAllocate($image,0,0,255);
ImageLine($image,10,10,150,30,$blue);
ImageJPEG($image);
ImageDestroy($image);

So, I assume there is more setup I must do in my .ini file(s)?

bradgrafelman

Yeah... that code snippet worked fine for me.

Do a phpinfo() and check the value for the "extension_dir" configuration. Is it correct?

Scroll down, and see if you see a "gd" table (mine's after calendar, com, ctype, and ftp && just before mysql). If you do, paste the entire GD table in here.

Also, at the top of the page, check the value of the "Configuration File (php.ini) Path" configuration. Is it correct?

Stinger51

The extension directory looks like : ./

And there is no mention of any gd table. Which probably has something to do with this error (now that I've uncommented the line "extension=php_gd2.dll" in the PHP.ini file) :

"Unable to load the dynamic library ./php_gd2.dll"

So, I guess the gd library was NOT bundled with my PHP 4.3 download?

Stinger51

Do a phpinfo() and check the value for the "extension_dir" configuration. Is it correct? <<

Apparently, I had the GD library bundled with my version of PHP all along. But my extension path was wrong. I set my path to :

extension_dir = "c:/php4_3/php-4.3.6-Win32/extensions"

Then I uncommented the line :

extension=php_gd2.dll

And everything is working fine now.

Thanks