On Aug 24, 2005, at 4:36 PM, Dick Applebaum wrote:
The advantage of using a web server in a package like this is that
you don't have to build a custom GUI for your app-- you have a
familiar & ubiquitous GUI: the users web browser of choice.
Agreed... I'm just suggesting that instead of using separate packages
for http (Apache), scripting (PHP) and database (MySQL), you can keep
things simpler and more portable by choosing one tool with the whole
stack.. your suggestions will no doubt work well, as would Python
(and it's embedded http server) with SQLite embedded, rather than the
whole *AMP software stack.
I think you could prolly put together a package that used PHP with
Jetty instead of BlueDragon, but then you start to get into the
situation where the user has to do some installation-- different
binaries for different platforms.
Well, a clever *AMP hacker could run it all off a CD live... I guess
I'm just trying to eliminate as many components as practical. I think
MySQL is overkill for a read-only database running a local app.
As Roger mentioned, MySQL is a problem because you can't legally
redistro it unless you also distro source of your app. And, you
have another install (not an easy install for the lay person).
Well, MySQL doesn't *have* to be installed anymore than the tools
you're proposing - with smartly crafted config files it could all run
happily off a CD.
AFAIK, only Java-based components will allow you to create a
platform-independent, pre-installed package.
This is true in the most literal sense. But you could certain build
binaries for both platforms and host them on the same disc with no
installer required - in fact, you could use a Java front-end to
simplify the launch process, or use the old hybrid CD tricks to only
expose the user to the right version for their platform. There are
also Java-based installers that could handle it, without requiring
all the components to be platform independent.
Anyway, I think we're getting too deep now... and since there's no
Java port of PHP (that I know of), we haven't really answered the
OP's question yet :)
