Professional LAMP: Linux®, Apache, MySQL®, and PHP5 Web Development

8.3. Exploring PEAR

You should be aware before you delve into the world of PEAR that because it is a class-based system, you should be quite familiar with OOP in PHP in order to use the packages properly. If you are a hard-core function-based coder, it would behoove you to hone those OOP skills through a quick tutorial or a brief review of Chapter 2 of this book.

The first thing you need is the PEAR package itself, which enables you to easily install or upgrade new PEAR packages. Thankfully, this manager comes pre-installed with PHP5 (and versions 4.3.0 and up) and will make your life easier when installing, managing, and upgrading the other PEAR packages. The main PEAR package also includes a set of error-handling functions to enable you to easily detect and manage errors encountered by your PEAR package.

8.3.1. The PEAR Manager

The main purpose of the PEAR manager is to assist you in managing and working with your other PEAR packages, as stated previously. With it comes a set of commands that you can run from the command line (which may or may not require root access). This list can be found in its entirety at http://pear.php.net/manual/en/installation.cli.php, but the following table highlights the main commands for your reference:

Command	What It Does
bundle [package name]	Download and unpack a PECL extension
download [package name]	Download a package without installing it
download-all	Download every available package
info [package name]	Display information about a package
install ...