Generating printable content from php

[fnbcprog]

To all users around the world...

PHP and its various other attachable components are proving to be some of the most revolutionary, as well as, invaluable tools for web-based applications. However, somewhere along the line of development with PHP a critical component was left out. PRINTING!!!

Most packaged database/scripting languages that PHP is in competition with all have some sort of reports generating component. .NET + Crystal Reports. Oracle + Designer 10, and various others along for the ride.

Why has this been an oversight for PHP developers? The whole reason for ever writing an ERP-type application is to retrieve data and formulate through REPORTS into information to benefit the user/company.

If anyone has anything to share on this topic please respond. Also, if you know of a solution here basic/advanced please fill me in.

I am also curious as to how PHP may function with printers, for instance, printing a business check straight from the database in some sort of accounting system?

[Weedpacket]

There are plenty of PDF-construction classes for PHP that wrap around PHP's PDF extension.

I put one together for a job that did quite a nice report if I do say so myself. Three-dimensional pie charts and all.

Why it's not so full-on? Maybe because web servers usually don't have much need to generate pretty-printed reports, and usually isn't used by non-programmers who want to do programming (Crystal Reports; yech).

[etully]

Our company does an enormous amount of printing from PHP.

Typically, we construct PDF, TIFF, and SVG files on the fly from our web site and they roll off the printers 24 hours a day whether we're at the office or not.

There's no need for PHP to have these things built in when it can interface with other tools that already do those things well.