As a open source programmer, I have used several classes or codes widely available over the internet. I was thinking to contribute some of my knowledge as well. So, I decided to contribute on regular basis classes to phpclasses repository. Here are two of my contributions.

WEB EXPLORE 1.0

This package is about displaying folders and files in windows explorer style. Basically, I was learning observer-observable design pattern and somehow extended the pattern to produce this application. Since I am a very good designer, the package interface is horrible to get. Basically, you need a lot of work to get it a decent look. Regarding the class, I tried my best to keep it flexible enough for modification. You can do anything with the code as it is completely free.

GET THE WEBEXPLORE 1.0 HERE.

YAHOO BOSS SEARCH

This package uses Yahoo Boss Search API to display web and image search result. In this package too, you will experience my design skill. It’s not poor, it’s not worst, it’s simply terrible. I hope you won’t mind that and will change the design while using the class. I also tried to put an ajax example using jquery.

GET YAHOO BOSS SEARCH 1.0.1 HERE

Alternative PHP Cache is a PECL extension, which can be utilized for many purposes. The best thing is that it can check if a file has been modified on every request. Rasmus Lerdorf (you should know the name if you are a PHP guy) who was also a pioneer in the extension development, came up with a classic example.

The example is available in http://progphp.com/progress.php and you can view the source code here. This code example uses YUI code library for presentation layer and JSON for data transfer. apc_fetch function is being used to get the status from the cache. To use it fully all you need to do is to install PECL and this extension in your system. The rest is pure magic.

I came across the timeline project of SIMILE and found that it is simply wonderful. This project creates a band of time and date of events. I found that this project can be used to create historical time period mapping with important dates and events. Creating GANTT chart for project management software will be a cakewalk if the code base is used. Practically this project can be used in several areas. I am going to explore it. What about you?

Have you ever faced any situation where you need to provide download option as MS-Word, Excel etc. If the situation is exactly like this (This kind of situation you might face while preparing report) then the easiest way is to prepare the html, and pass correct header to download as excel or word.

Let try an example.

<?php
$wertex = file_get_contents("http://www.wertex.org/index.php");
$len = strlen($wertex);
header("Expires: 0");
header("Cache-Control: must-revalidate, post-check=0, pre-check=0");
header("Cache-Control: public");
header("Content-Description: File Transfer");
header("Content-Type: application/vnd.ms-excel");
header('Content-Transfer-Encoding: Binary');
//Force the download
header("Content-Length: ".$len);
header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="wertex.xls";');
print($wertex);
exit();?>

In the above we are simply printing the HTML and passing the header so that browser asks to download it. The rest will be handled by excel. If you don’t believe me, run the code and see the result

Here is a small code piece written in PHP 5. The code piece mainly creates a web based windows explorer. This is not complete yet. However, I prefer to upload so I can get valuable suggestions. The code base is using the observer-observable design pattern. The entire design pattern is as follows.

The code base is divided into two folder viz Model and controller. There are two classes written in model folder. One is explorer.class.php and another is observable.class.php .

In the explorer class and interface is created. This interface is implemented in an abstract class widdir. Finally winfolder class extends the abstract class and creates the observer. In the observable abstract class folderAction has been created.

I did not get much time in commenting out the code. Once I finish the coding, I will publish the entire code. Till then please email me any suggestion of yours.

Download Webexplorer

Package and Install Information: Unzip the package. Place it in the web folder. Open index.php and change the line define("BASE_DIR","e:"); // change this to the top folder. For linux it should be / .Set it to the folder/drive you want to display. Looking forward to your suggestions.