Re: ? about php functionality

From: Kartic (kartic.krishnamurthy_at_gmail.com)
Date: 01/10/05 

Date: 10 Jan 2005 10:54:16 -0800

Robert,

PHP is server-side language and used to build dynamic web applcations.
So, PHP itself will not have a function (like a prepackaged tool) to do
it out-of-the-box, if that is what you are looking at.

You will have to write an application that will read, display and
modify the database (in your case, Excel spread***) and provide a
suitable web interface to the admin assistants.

About real time updates, you will do employ something like the server
push method so that the server refreshes the assistants' browser
screens after each update. I believe that is about the most real time
you can get using a web application. Or else, you have to auto refresh
the page every few minutes (using the refresh tag) so that the updated
status is displayed.

Another option might be to use PHP to script a local application (PHP,
GTK with COM), but I have never done it so, I am not in a position to
say more.

Hope that helps in your search.

Thanks,
--Kartic