| The PHP-GTK extension is apowerful solution for creating stand-alone GUI applications. It
takes the benefits of programming with PHP and combines them with the visual capabilities
of GTK (the GIMP Toolkit). The goal of this book is to get you started developing your own
desktop applications with PHP-GTK.
This book isn’t just arehashing of PHP-GTK’s documentation. There is really no point in
that. The documentation does aperfect job of providing an API reference. If you want to know
the interface for agiven method, then the online documentation is the best place for you. If,
however, you want to know which is the best widget for displaying alist of airline reservations
that can be sorted by departure or arrival times, the documentation isn’t going to be much help.
Here, I’ll give you problem-based analysis of PHP-GTK, as opposed to the function-based
analysis you get with the documentation. Imay refer you to the documentation from time to
time, because in some situations, it is the best resource around. But in other situations, the
documentation just isn’t designed to allow you to understand the why behind adecision.
I feel the best way to learn is by getting your hands dirty and experiencing things for yourself.
Throughout this book, I’ll ask you to implement the examples that Italk about to see for your-
self exactly what is happening. PHP-GTK is designed to interact with the user. You need to click
certain places in the application and drag things around the screen. Only when you see firsthand
how parts of aprogram react can you be ready to make an informed decision.
This book is packed full of examples and screenshots, but Ibeg you to not be satisfied with
just what Ihave provided. You should always be asking, “Well, what if Ichanged this part . . . ?”
The more you question what Iam trying to explain, the deeper your understanding will be. If
you just read through this book, you will be ready to make some pretty decent applications.
But if you implement the examples and see what happens when you change afew values, there
won’t be anything you can’t accomplish within the limits of PHP-GTK.
Who This Book Is For
This book is intended for PHP developers of all skill levels who want to break free from the
web browser and create desktop applications. You’ll find it easier going if you’re familiar with
PHP 5.1 and are comfortable with the principles of object-oriented programming. |
