Using HTML_QuickForm To Manage Web Forms, Part 1 - Installing The HTML_QuickForm Package
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A quick word about PEAR itself before I move to the HTML_QuickForm package: according to the official website, PEAR (an acronym for PHP Extension and Application Repository) is "a framework and distribution system for reusable PHP components." Simply put, it is a Open Source library of classes for common programming requirements such as accessing a database or sending email, using well-defined best practices and pre-defined coding standards. You can learn more about PEAR at http://pear.php.net.
Back to my big discovery, the HTML_QuickForm PEAR package. While I have listed the basic functionality of this package earlier, a quick review of its features, listed at http://pear.php.net/package/HTML_QuickForm, indicates that the aforementioned summary was just the tip of the iceberg. The only way to find out more is to take this HTML_QuickForm package for a little test ride.
Well - not so fast!
First, I need to ensure that I have installed and configured the PEAR package correctly on my local server. Fortunately, the official PEAR manual comes with a step-by-step guide on installation - just point your browser to http://pear.php.net/manual/en/installation.php for complete details.
Once I have installed and configured PEAR correctly, I can proceed to download the latest version (version 3.2.4pl1) of the HTML_QuickForm package from this URL - http://pear.php.net/package/HTML_QuickForm/download. Next, I used the PEAR command line installer to install the latest version of the package or update the existing version. Further details about this tool are available in the PEAR manual.
Now that the HTML_QuickForm package has been installed on my local server, it is time to get my hands dirty!
Next: My First HTML_QuickForm >>
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