Explore the Premium Content

PHP and XML #3: WDDX

In the first part of this tutorial series, we looked at XML the technology – saw what it was, and how a valid XML document in formed. In the second part we looked at how to process XML using SAX, to read XML and use the information, or to translate it into different formats such as HTML.

 We're now going to start looking at various uses of XML and the various different technologies available on the web that utilize XML. In this tutorial we're going to look at Web Distributed Data eXchange (WDDX).

Getting a handle on this technology can be enormously useful - for example by using the WDDX format for data you can send an array constructed on one page using a Perl CGI Script off for processing on a page using PHP.

In this tutorial we'll find out a bit more about the basics of WDDX before we start working with it practically.

PHP and XML #2: Processing XML Documents

Installing PHP 5 under Windows

PHP 5 was officially released on the 13^th July 2004, so now is a great time to start working with the new version. In this article Allan will show you how to install PHP 5 on Windows using both the Apache and the IIS web servers.

Since, at the time of writing, there isn't an installer version of PHP 5 available, Allan is going to show you how to install PHP manually from the downloadable Zip archive.

This approach is not only straightforward, but is actually also preferable, as it allows you to customise your PHP installation for your system. Allan will show you the options and take you through the changes – such as enabling MySQL support (not automatic in PHP 5).

PHP and XML: Part 1

Today sees the start of a new series, with Gareth embarking on a set of articles that are going to show how to use PHP and XML together.

In this first article Gareth is going to run through the theory of XML, looking at creating an XML document and the structure of an XML document. By the end of the tutorial he puts the theory into practice by creating an example XML document.