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General FAQ

Technical FAQ

  • Where do I get WebORB for PHP?
    The latest release of WebORB for PHP can be downloaded from the Midnight Coders download center at:
    http://www.themidnightcoders.net/downloadcenter
     
  • What is WebORB for PHP?
    WebORB for PHP  is a fast, reliable, production quality remoting gateway for Flex and Flash applications. The product provides a non-intrusive way to expose PHP classes for invocation requests from Flex and Flash clients. Flex applications can connect and invoke methods on any PHP class using the RemoteObject MXML tag or API. Traditional flash applications can use the Flash Remoting Components to connect to WebORB for PHP as a remoting gateway to invoke PHP classes via WebORB.
     
  • What are the differences between WebORB for PHP and AMFPHP?
    WebORB design is object-oriented and modular, thus it is easier to maintain and add features. Some key differentiating WebORB features which are not available in AMFPHP include:
    • Comprehensive management console
    • Service and method browser - you can inspect deployed classes and methods
    • Service test drive - lets you invoke any method in the deployed services directly from the console
    • Graphical configuration of the service-level security
    • Built-in examples
    • Variety of code generators including Cairngorm, PureMVC and basic AS3 code generator
    • Destination management
    • Flex messaging support
       
  • How difficult is it to use WebORB?
    Our goal is to make WebORB a completely transparent component of your application architecture. When a PHP class is accessed by a Flex or Flash client, it should appear as if it is a local invocation both from the client and server-side perspectives. To achieve the goal, we added a lot of interesting features into the product. Features like dynamic class loading, type resolution, client-to-server type adaptation and automatic serialization of complex types should make it very easy to use WebORB.
     
  • How much does WebORB for PHP cost?
    WebORB for PHP is an open source project. It is available free of charge under the Mozilla Public License.
     
  • I develop in Java or C# or VB.NET or Ruby, is there anything here for me?
    WebORB is also available for Java, .NET and Ruby on Rails environments. The Ruby on Rails option is also free and open-source. WebORB for .NET and Java are free products which include Flex integration along with a variety of other features.
     
  • Where do I get started with WebORB for PHP?
    We recommend starting with the Getting Started guide. If you experience problems with the product once you go through the guide, or have any questions about WebORB, consider posting to the WebORB for PHP forum.
     
  • How do I expose a PHP class for Flex/Flash clients?
    WebORB can locate and load any class deployed in the /Services folder. Future releases of WebORB will enable special processing for the deployed classes. For instance, automatic update of the configuration files, generation of security descriptors and dynamic client side code generation.
     
  • How can I make an invocation of a PHP class from Flex?
    Consider using the following mini-tutorial:
    http://www.themidnightcoders.com/weborb/php/remoteobjectandphp.htm
     
  • Can I commit changes to the WebORB for PHP source code?
    Currently only authorized project administrators can commit new code, however, we hope to use the collective power of the community to enhance the product and make it better. If you have any ideas for new features of improvements, please post them to the discussion forum or contact us directly.
     
  • Are there restrictions on distribution of the product?
    Only the restrictions associated with the license the product is released under.
     
  • I need help with the product, what are my options?
    There are several options available: (1) You are welcome to use all the resources available on this website including online articles, example and discussion forums. (2) Consider purchasing a support contract which enables you to obtain professional support from the creators of WebORB for PHP.
  • How do I start management console
    Management console is available through index.php located in the root of the product distribution. If you installed WebORB under the /weborb context path in your web server, the console would be available at http://localhost/weborb/index.php
     
  • How do I configure my Flex client to talk to PHP via WebORB
    Locate the directory where Flex Builder places the compiled client application. It is very important to place a copy of weborb.php into the same directory. weborb.php must contain the following PHP code:

    <?php 
       require_once("../Weborb/ORBHttpHandler.php");

       $m_ORBHttpHandler = new ORBHttpHandler();
       $m_ORBHttpHandler->processRequest();
    ?>

    The first line must be edited to point to the Weborb directory from the product distribution. For example, look at weborb.php located in the /Console folder.
     

  • Where can I configure WebORB logging?
    Logging can be configured either in the Management Console under Management > Server Configuration or directly in the configuration file (/Weborb/weborb-config.xml)
     
  • Where does WebORB store the log file?
    WebORB stores log files under the /logs directory located at the same level as the Examples directory.
     
  • How can I configure client/server class mappings?
    Client/server class mappings are configured in /Weborb/weborb-config.xml. You can use either the management console (Management > Server Configuration > Class mappings) or add an entry using the following format to the <classMappings> section of the file:

     <classMapping>
       <clientClass>client-side-class-name</clientClass>
       <serverClass>sevrer-side-class-name</serverClass>
    </classMapping>

    When a client sends an object of a type listed in the <clientClass> element, WebORB will instantiate the corresponding server-side class. Similarly, when server script returns an instance of a complex type that has a client-side mapping, WebORB will serialize it as that client class.
     
  • How does WebORB serialize database results?
    Suppose your PHP code has the following code:

    public function getCustomers()
    {
      mysql_connect($server, $username, $password);
      return mysql_query( "select * from customers" );
    }

    Flex clients will receive the result as an array of objects, Flash Remoting clients will receive it as a pageable record set.
     
  • How does WebORB Security work?
    An introductory description of WebORB Security is available in the weborb blog.

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