PHP Hacks

Chapter 9. Alternative UIs

Hacks 86–94: Introduction

HTML and Dynamic HTML (DHTML) aren’t the only user interface technologies that you can take advantage of with PHP. This chapter presents a set of hacks that will get your PHP code producing UIs on a computer desktop—whether it is Linux, Macintosh, Windows, or even PlayStation Portable (PSP). You’ll also learn how to communicate with your application using instant messaging.

Create Custom Maps with MapServer

Use MapServer and PHP to build dynamic maps within your web application.

There has been a recent surge in the popularity of digital mapping. Part of this has been fueled by access to open source mapping tools and free geospatial data; it also hasn’t hurt to see killer applications like Google Maps and MapQuest come on the scene. These are popular incarnations of some exciting web mapping technology that you too can use. With a few pieces of mapping data, a mapping programming library, and a PHP script, almost anyone can create custom and interactive maps.

Several open source mapping tools are available, from desktop applications to web-enabled mapping services. One of these is the University of Minnesota MapServer (http://ms.gis.umn.edu/). With a large user base, active community, and dedicated developers, it is a powerful product for publishing maps over the Web.

MapServer is actively used as the back end to many PHP web page frontends. For example, the Chameleon (http://maptools.org/) and Mapbender (http://mapbender.org/) products ...