Darryl E. Clarke

A long time ago I posted some instructions on installing PHP/Java Bridge on Ubuntu and that post is getting quite a few reads, so I figured I’d post a follow up on how it was used.

Over the last year I had been using a Java Bridge from a Zend Framework application to access a Java only API.  And really, between the two bridges there are no differences.  They both work identical, they both work great.  Would I pay Zend for Zend Platform’s Enterprise license? No.  Why? Because both bridges perform the same.  The only differences are:

1. Zend’s Java bridge already has a function called java_require and the open source PHP/Java Bridge needs you to include a file.
2. PHP/Java Bridge has a java_cast function, and you need it.  Zend’s Java Bridge does not have, or need this.

With these two differences all you need is a little code in your bootstrap (or somewhere else useful) to cover them and all is golden. Your app should work with both Java Bridges without any issue.

/* no java_require() include the java.inc for PHP/Java Bridge */
if ( ! function_exists('java_require') ) {
    include "java/Java.inc";
}

/* declare this, it doesn't exist with Zend Java, but is needed for PHP/Java Bridge */
if ( ! function_exists('java_cast')) {
    function java_cast($whatever) {
        return $whatever;
    }
}

There’s probably a more graceful way of checking and doing this but that’s it, and it’s worked on a multi tiered build environment for over a year now.

I was reading a post over here about why the ActionStack in Zend Framework is evil.  And I agree. I’ve used ActionStack before in a few older ZF sites (where better alternatives weren’t ready or I just didn’t know about them) but now as the framework has progressed there are many better alternatives to get other ‘actions’ to be executed on every request.

That better alternative is to simply not stack actions. One practice that I’ve been bringing into habit over the last year or so with my coding is to keep my controllers thinned out. As Ryan states: Fat Models, Thin Controllers.  And as things have rolled out over the last few months, I’ve discovered that is a Good Thing™.

Skinny supermodels beware, your jobs are at risk…

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Why is it that when one tries to parse some fairly simple xml:

<placemarks>
	<placemark>
		<name>Placemark 1</name>
		<latitude>-79.00</latitude>
		<longiude>42.00</longitude>
	</placemark>
	<placemark>
		<name>Placemark 2</name>
		<latitude>-129.00</latitude>
		<longiude>43.00</longitude>
	</placemark>
</placemarks>

For example, iterating through all the placemarks and extracting the names, lats and longs using javascript is a very tedious affair. In fact, I’ve found it almost pointless to even try without my head exploding.

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