PHP WinBinder 2: Introduction: Difference between revisions

I like alternatives and options! In my original [[PHP WinBinder: Introduction | WinBinder tutorial]] I avoided compiling because there was no real need and it would have introduced another level of complexity.

In reality that complexity is a myth because there is an excellent utility PHC-Win, a PHP compiler with WinBinder front end. All it takes is a few mouse clicks to compile a complete project this utility is an excellent piece of work by Andrew Fitzgerald “frantic”. All PHP files are compiled into a nativePHP format greatly reducing their size these are then compiled into a single file.  

You may be wondering how this relates to UniServer? My original tutorial concluded with an alternative Uniform Server controller that is modifiable to meets your own requirements. However the tutorial skipped a need to explore programming Windows applications independent of Uniform Server.

To address this I have repackaged the newest release of WinBinder and converted it to be fully portable. For completeness included PHC-Win as a separate download. These are not strictly plugins however you will find them in the WinBinder plugin folder on SourceForge.

WinBinder portable is a repackaged verion of WinBinder for users that want a working version straight out of the box. Hence anything relating to compiling WinBinder has been removed. Folder structure changed to be more compatible with Uniform Server. The excellent documentation, examples and licence have been retained.

Hand positioning windows controls is tedious; WinBinder contains a “form editor” greatly reducing the tedium of this task. It takes a no frills approach, uses a minimalist interface hence extremely easy to use. Download is worth the effort just for this tool alone.

In the previous tutorial compacting files into a [[PHP WinBinder: Project2#Create a single EXE file | '''single executable''']] file [[PHP WinBinder: Project#Create an EXE file | '''bat_to_exe''']] was used. Although this gets the job done each file needs to be extracted before the application can run. PHP files are not compiled hence their size remains unchanged.

PHC-Win on the other hand compiles each individual PHP file greatly reducing size. These along with any resource files are compacted into a single executable. Advantage of using PHC-Win total number of files to include in an application distribution is minimal.

Note all download file names provide an indication of package content. Once downloaded these can be renamed. This tutorial assumes you will be installing on “C” drive and into a folder named “us_wb” you can chose any other location and folder name just substitute as appropriate in the tutorial description.

There are two file options VC6 or VC9 these refer to the compiler that was used to create the binaries. Reason for including both is to allow you to compare speed of your application when run on either.

'''''Note'':''' Uniform Server all components (Apache MySQL and PHP) currently uses VC6 binaries.

Like Uniform Server they only extract to a folder and sub-folders there is no install program hence nothing is placed in the registry. To uninstall just delete the folder and all it’s content.  

Please note the WinBinder extension '''php_winbinder.dll''' is compatible across a PHP series

 

that means the included dll will run on PHP versions 5.3.0, 5.3.1 and 5.3.2RC1 etc

 

Phc-win does not provide a VC6 version it is released with VC9 binaries only.

This is not a real restriction you must include binaries an application was compiled with.

PHC-Win does not install anything on your PC's system path or registry other than extracting to a folder. Hence the program is inherently portable. To uninstall just delete the folder and all it’s content.

I would like to express my thanks to Alec Gorge "WinBinder forum name alecgorge" for allowing inclusion of his binaries.

Also may thanks to Andrew Fitzgerald (WinBinder Wiki name Frantik) for allowing publication of PHC-Win (I have made only a small modification essentially it remains unchanged)

This WinBinder [http://winbinder.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1058 '''forum thread'''] source of original material

If you like scripting with PHP Alec published a full version of php5ts.dll where he statically compiled most of the PHP extensions including the kitchen sink it has a footprint of 3.8 MB. You also have a choice of using the mini version that has a footprint of 3MB.

Below a list of modules included:

Specifically those users that would like to design and compile alternative control or other Windows application to run the servers or start associated applications.

 

Remainder of this tutorial provides a quick introduction to the above tools.