PHP to a COM object

[Alex]

Hello,

I'm trying to use a (remote) COM object from a PHP script (4.4, server has
apache2 win32).

The basics seem to work : I instantiate the COM object ($o = new COM"..."),
then I use two of the objects methods to authenticate. In the meantime a
property called "ProjectConnected", passes from 0 to 1. So I think the
object is correctly instanciated and the connection works.

But now, I'm doing a var_dump on my object and I get this :
object(COM)(1) {
[0]=resource(127) of type (COM)
}

Arg. I don't understand this and the PHP manual doesnt help either. I would
have expected to get a list of methods/properties. At least the two I use to
authenticate.

var_dump ($obj[0]) returns null.
Could someone explain me more about this ?

Thanks,
--
Alex
[JDR] Visitez Extremia, un monde gratuit et en francais pour D&D et
autres jeux de role.
www.extremia.org

[Jerry Stuckle]

Alex wrote:

Hello,

I'm trying to use a (remote) COM object from a PHP script (4.4, server has
apache2 win32).

The basics seem to work : I instantiate the COM object ($o = new COM"..."),
then I use two of the objects methods to authenticate. In the meantime a
property called "ProjectConnected", passes from 0 to 1. So I think the
object is correctly instanciated and the connection works.

But now, I'm doing a var_dump on my object and I get this :
object(COM)(1) {
[0]=resource(127) of type (COM)
}

Arg. I don't understand this and the PHP manual doesnt help either. I would
have expected to get a list of methods/properties. At least the two I use to
authenticate.

var_dump ($obj[0]) returns null.
Could someone explain me more about this ?

Thanks,

This is correct; this is an external resource in PHP.

AFAIK, the only way you can get a list of properties and methods of a
COM object is if the COM object itself supports such a request.

And the resource object in PHP isn't an array, which is why you get null
when you try to dump $obj[0].

--
==================
Remove the "x" from my email address
Jerry Stuckle
JDS Computer Training Corp.
js*******@attglobal.net
==================

[Csaba Gabor]

On Nov 14, 10:56 am, "Alex" <[e-mail]:
....

I'm trying to use a (remote) COM object from a PHP script (4.4, server has
apache2 win32).

The basics seem to work : I instantiate the COM object ($o = new COM"..."),

....

But now, I'm doing a var_dump on my object and I get this :
object(COM)(1) {
[0]=resource(127) of type (COM)
}

Arg. I don't understand this and the PHP manual doesnt help either. I would
have expected to get a list of methods/properties. At least the two I use to
authenticate.

Check out:
http://php.net/com_print_typeinfo

Csaba Gabor from Vienna

[Alex]

....
subsequent question : gettype returns "object". Shouldnt it return
"resource" ?

As a matter of fact get_resource_type returns nothing at all, nor does
com_print_typeinfo .

What can I deduct ? simply that the object just doesnt support some requests
allowing to have this kind of info ?

--
Alex
[JDR] Visitez Extremia, un monde gratuit et en francais pour D&D et
autres jeux de role.
www.extremia.org

[Alex]

"Steve" <no****@example.comwrote in message
news:Ls*************@newsfe07.lga...

as in, you're a beginner to VB or, a beginner to php?

to COM :) and I havent touched VB since..... Win 3.11. :) I've been coding
in PHP for almost 10 years, but never had to use COM.

i'd create a component if you need to break this and other com objects
apart like this.

if you're using vb classic (the crusty old version), there are several
free and well written libraries that can expose any com object's
interfaces...including types, params, etc.

if you're using vb.net, use it's reflection capabilities to do the same.
give your vb app the path to the dll, let it create it, and then go about
discovering its make-up.

either way, compile it to a com object to make it accessible to php. btw,
if using vb.net, you don't have to create in php the object being exposed.
your reflection-enabled com object can not only break-down the interfaces
for you, but you can also put 'invoke' methods on your object which defers
to the interface of the child object being exposed to php. make sense?

The object is already compiled. It's from a software vendor. I meant to say
that I have doc with the object, but all the examples of object usage are in
VB, which I have long forgotten. They use lists, for example all around the
place, and I don't remember how to translate this to PHP :)

--
Alex
[JDR] Visitez Extremia, un monde gratuit et en francais pour D&D et
autres jeux de role.
www.extremia.org

[Alex]

"Csaba Gabor" <da*****@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@57g2000hsv.googlegro ups.com...

Check out:
http://php.net/com_print_typeinfo

I know how to RTFM :)

Things are getting a bit "better" now : I replaced new COM() by com_load()
and voila, I have com_print_typeinfo working. Now I have to understand how
to access those lists they speak about in the doc.

That got rid of the errors "is not a COM object handler" I had in the PHP
log which I just had enabled.

--
Alex
[JDR] Visitez Extremia, un monde gratuit et en francais pour D&D et
autres jeux de role.
www.extremia.org

[Steve]

"Alex" <d_******@hotmail.comwrote in message
news:47***********************@news.free.fr...

"Steve" <no****@example.comwrote in message
news:Ls*************@newsfe07.lga...

>as in, you're a beginner to VB or, a beginner to php?

to COM :) and I havent touched VB since..... Win 3.11. :) I've been coding
in PHP for almost 10 years, but never had to use COM.

>i'd create a component if you need to break this and other com objects
apart like this.

if you're using vb classic (the crusty old version), there are several
free and well written libraries that can expose any com object's
interfaces...including types, params, etc.

if you're using vb.net, use it's reflection capabilities to do the same.
give your vb app the path to the dll, let it create it, and then go about
discovering its make-up.

either way, compile it to a com object to make it accessible to php. btw,
if using vb.net, you don't have to create in php the object being
exposed. your reflection-enabled com object can not only break-down the
interfaces for you, but you can also put 'invoke' methods on your object
which defers to the interface of the child object being exposed to php.
make sense?

The object is already compiled.

that wasn't the point i was making above...at all. however, no need to get
into that since that suggestion isn't your intended purpose.

It's from a software vendor. I meant to say that I have doc with the
object, but all the examples of object usage are in VB, which I have long
forgotten. They use lists, for example all around the place, and I don't
remember how to translate this to PHP :)

so, you know the object's interfaces...just not how to code it in php? same
way as any other object...

$o->interface;
$o->interface(param);

etc.

am i missing something?

[Alex]

"Steve" <no****@example.comwrote in message
news:od*************@newsfe06.lga...

>It's from a software vendor. I meant to say that I have doc with the
object, but all the examples of object usage are in VB, which I have long
forgotten. They use lists, for example all around the place, and I don't
remember how to translate this to PHP :)

so, you know the object's interfaces...just not how to code it in php?
same way as any other object...

$o->interface;
$o->interface(param);

etc.

am i missing something?

I'm pretty sure you're missing a lot less than I do :)

But it's getting better. I replaced "new COM()" by com_load() and now I can
use com_print_typeinfo which returns all the innards of the object. I don't
really know why com_load works better, but it is the case.

I also got to access one of the lists in the object. $....->item($i) . I'm
not sure whether it's a special syntax instead of item[$i] or those item()s
are really functions.

So things are getting better :)
However, my next blocking point is something called a factory. It is a
property of my COM object that is itself an ever-existing instance of a
class containing other objects. I think it is instanciated automatically by
the COM server when I create the object.

Everytime I put its name in my code ( $a =$obj->Factory; nothing more ),
Apache bombs with no explanation.

I have put the memory limit for PHP to 128M just to see but it doesnt change
anything.
--
Alex
[JDR] Visitez Extremia, un monde gratuit et en francais pour D&D et
autres jeux de role.
www.extremia.org

[Steve]

"Alex" <d_******@hotmail.comwrote in message
news:47***********************@news.free.fr...

"Steve" <no****@example.comwrote in message
news:od*************@newsfe06.lga...

>>It's from a software vendor. I meant to say that I have doc with the
object, but all the examples of object usage are in VB, which I have
long forgotten. They use lists, for example all around the place, and I
don't remember how to translate this to PHP :)

so, you know the object's interfaces...just not how to code it in php?
same way as any other object...

$o->interface;
$o->interface(param);

>etc.

am i missing something?

I'm pretty sure you're missing a lot less than I do :)

But it's getting better. I replaced "new COM()" by com_load() and now I
can use com_print_typeinfo which returns all the innards of the object. I
don't really know why com_load works better, but it is the case.

I also got to access one of the lists in the object. $....->item($i) . I'm
not sure whether it's a special syntax instead of item[$i] or those
item()s are really functions.

So things are getting better :)
However, my next blocking point is something called a factory. It is a
property of my COM object that is itself an ever-existing instance of a
class containing other objects. I think it is instanciated automatically
by the COM server when I create the object.

Everytime I put its name in my code ( $a =$obj->Factory; nothing more ),

try:

$a = $obj->Factory();

[Alex]

"Alex" <d_******@hotmail.comwrote in message
news:47***********************@news.free.fr...

"Steve" <no****@example.comwrote in message
news:od*************@newsfe06.lga...

>>It's from a software vendor. I meant to say that I have doc with the
object, but all the examples of object usage are in VB, which I have
long forgotten. They use lists, for example all around the place, and I
don't remember how to translate this to PHP :)

so, you know the object's interfaces...just not how to code it in php?
same way as any other object...

$o->interface;
$o->interface(param);

>etc.

am i missing something?

I'm pretty sure you're missing a lot less than I do :)

But it's getting better. I replaced "new COM()" by com_load() and now I
can use com_print_typeinfo which returns all the innards of the object. I
don't really know why com_load works better, but it is the case.

I also got to access one of the lists in the object. $....->item($i) . I'm
not sure whether it's a special syntax instead of item[$i] or those
item()s are really functions.

So things are getting better :)
However, my next blocking point is something called a factory. It is a
property of my COM object that is itself an ever-existing instance of a
class containing other objects. I think it is instanciated automatically
by the COM server when I create the object.

Everytime I put its name in my code ( $a =$obj->Factory; nothing more ),
Apache bombs with no explanation.

I have put the memory limit for PHP to 128M just to see but it doesnt
change anything.

Oh there's something I just realized.

This "factory" object is an instance of a class called Factory. But the doc
also makes mention of something called an interface (IFactory) who has the
same methods/Properties of the class. When I do a com_print_typeinfo on the
Factory, I get almost nothing :
class Factory { /* GUID={F4E856D4-FCD7-11D4-9D8A-0001029DEAF5} */
}When I do it on the interface, I get all my object's properties.

There HAS to be a difference :)

--
Alex
[JDR] Visitez Extremia, un monde gratuit et en francais pour D&D et
autres jeux de role.
www.extremia.org

[Alex]

"Steve" <no****@example.comwrote in message
news:86*************@newsfe07.lga...

try:

$a = $obj->Factory();

Just did it.... Apache inflates to 51M of RAM usage and bombs. grmf :)

--
Alex
[JDR] Visitez Extremia, un monde gratuit et en francais pour D&D et
autres jeux de role.
www.extremia.org

[Steve]

"Alex" <d_******@hotmail.comwrote in message
news:47***********************@news.free.fr...

"Steve" <no****@example.comwrote in message
news:86*************@newsfe07.lga...

>try:

$a = $obj->Factory();

Just did it.... Apache inflates to 51M of RAM usage and bombs. grmf :)

did you say you set your memory limit to -1 (unlimited) in php?

does Factory take a param to just return a single item?

the good new is that it seem to be just a memory issue at this point.

[Steve]

"Alex" <d_******@hotmail.comwrote in message
news:47***********************@news.free.fr...

>
"Alex" <d_******@hotmail.comwrote in message
news:47***********************@news.free.fr...

>"Steve" <no****@example.comwrote in message
news:od*************@newsfe06.lga...

>>>It's from a software vendor. I meant to say that I have doc with the
object, but all the examples of object usage are in VB, which I have
long forgotten. They use lists, for example all around the place, and I
don't remember how to translate this to PHP :)

so, you know the object's interfaces...just not how to code it in php?
same way as any other object...

$o->interface;
$o->interface(param);

>>etc.

am i missing something?

I'm pretty sure you're missing a lot less than I do :)

But it's getting better. I replaced "new COM()" by com_load() and now I
can use com_print_typeinfo which returns all the innards of the object. I
don't really know why com_load works better, but it is the case.

I also got to access one of the lists in the object. $....->item($i) .
I'm not sure whether it's a special syntax instead of item[$i] or those
item()s are really functions.

So things are getting better :)
However, my next blocking point is something called a factory. It is a
property of my COM object that is itself an ever-existing instance of a
class containing other objects. I think it is instanciated automatically
by the COM server when I create the object.

Everytime I put its name in my code ( $a =$obj->Factory; nothing more ),
Apache bombs with no explanation.

I have put the memory limit for PHP to 128M just to see but it doesnt
change anything.

Oh there's something I just realized.

This "factory" object is an instance of a class called Factory. But the
doc also makes mention of something called an interface (IFactory) who has
the same methods/Properties of the class. When I do a com_print_typeinfo
on the Factory, I get almost nothing :
class Factory { /* GUID={F4E856D4-FCD7-11D4-9D8A-0001029DEAF5} */
}When I do it on the interface, I get all my object's properties.

There HAS to be a difference :)

a difference, yes. something that will make your code quit bombing and still
get the Factory functionality...probably not. all an interface (IFactory in
this case) is, is a contract...a definition of what *all usable* objects
that *implement* that interface will provide a caller, i.e. your php code.
make sense? IFactory will provide you no other functionality than that.
here's an example in vb.

public interface iFactory
public property foo as integer
end interface

public class sawMill
implements iFactory
public property get foo() implements iFactory.foo
get
return 666
end get
set (byval value as integer)
# do nothing...however, set is *required*
# because iFactory is read/write
end property
public function saw()
debug.print "sawing..."
end function
end class

public class brewery
implements iFactory
private myFoo as integer
public property get foo() implements iFactory.foo
get
return myFoo
end get
set (byval value as integer)
myFoo = value
end property
public function brew()
debug.print "brewing " & myFoo
end function
end class

in the above, both completely unrelated classes (sawMill and brewery) have
iFactory.foo as part of their definition. how they implement them is
different, but each must have a read and write foo.

if i simply say:

private myFactory as iFactory

and then try:

myFactory.foo()

it will do nothing. myFactory is an interface that has no working parts.
however, if i do:

private myFactory as iFactory = new brewery
myFactory.foo = 15

i'll get somewhere. notice that the above works whether or not i set
myFactory to new brewery OR sawMill. both have a foo interface. however, if
i continue the above code with:

myFactory.saw()

it'll blow up. both saw and brew are specific interfaces defined by each
class respectively...not by iFactory. let's say that myFactory is set
somewhere unbeknownst to me, how would i take specific action?

public function factoryToString(byval factory as iFactory, byval fooValue as
integer)
factory.foo = fooValue
if typeof factory is sawMill then
factory.saw()
end if
if typeof factory is brewery then
factory.brew()
end if
end function

anyway...i think i got off track, but does that help you know that you're
going to have to get at an actual Factory object in the list...which doesn't
solve your memory problem?

[Alex]

"Steve" <no****@example.comwrote in message
news:mK************@newsfe02.lga...

a difference, yes. something that will make your code quit bombing and
still get the Factory functionality...probably not. all an interface
(IFactory in this case) is, is a contract...a definition of what *all
usable* objects that *implement* that interface will provide a caller,
i.e. your php code. make sense? IFactory will provide you no other
functionality than that. here's an example in vb.

OK it's like a class from which another inherits, then ?

(snip the example)

anyway...i think i got off track, but does that help you know that you're
going to have to get at an actual Factory object in the list...which
doesn't solve your memory problem?

Yes, that's very helpful. But it raises a question in PHP. Can I assume that
COM tells PHP what type the objects in a class (or Interface) are ? I don't
have to explicitely instanciate or cast the objects that are childs of a COM
object ?

Now, I tried different values for memory_limit in php.ini and it doesnt
change anything. I had a closer look at the memory usage, and Apache also
takes almost 50M on a working page. So I'm not really sure it's a memory
problem.

Actually, the COM syntax is not really complicated. So I'm beginning to
think of a bug (in the object or PHP).

I'm considering trying a newer version of PHP. But I fear the impacts.

Thank you very much again, things are getting clearer :)
--
Alex
[JDR] Visitez Extremia, un monde gratuit et en francais pour D&D et
autres jeux de role.
www.extremia.org

[Csaba Gabor]

Steve, thanks for your awesome exposition on VB interfaces, replete
with example. This type of post is all too rare on the web.

Csaba

On Nov 14, 8:10 pm, "Steve" <[e-mail]:

"Alex" <[e-mail] in message

....

a difference, yes. something that will make your code quit bombing and still
get the Factory functionality...probably not. all an interface (IFactory in
this case) is, is a contract...a definition of what *all usable* objects
that *implement* that interface will provide a caller, i.e. your php code.
make sense? IFactory will provide you no other functionality than that.
here's an example in vb.

public interface iFactory
public property foo as integer
end interface

public class sawMill
implements iFactory
public property get foo() implements iFactory.foo
get
return 666
end get
set (byval value as integer)
# do nothing...however, set is *required*
# because iFactory is read/write
end property
public function saw()
debug.print "sawing..."
end function
end class

public class brewery
implements iFactory
private myFoo as integer
public property get foo() implements iFactory.foo
get
return myFoo
end get
set (byval value as integer)
myFoo = value
end property
public function brew()
debug.print "brewing " & myFoo
end function
end class

in the above, both completely unrelated classes (sawMill and brewery) have
iFactory.foo as part of their definition. how they implement them is
different, but each must have a read and write foo.

if i simply say:

private myFactory as iFactory

and then try:

myFactory.foo()

it will do nothing. myFactory is an interface that has no working parts.
however, if i do:

private myFactory as iFactory = new brewery
myFactory.foo = 15

i'll get somewhere. notice that the above works whether or not i set
myFactory to new brewery OR sawMill. both have a foo interface. however, if
i continue the above code with:

myFactory.saw()

it'll blow up. both saw and brew are specific interfaces defined by each
class respectively...not by iFactory. let's say that myFactory is set
somewhere unbeknownst to me, how would i take specific action?

public function factoryToString(byval factory as iFactory, byval fooValue as
integer)
factory.foo = fooValue
if typeof factory is sawMill then
factory.saw()
end if
if typeof factory is brewery then
factory.brew()
end if
end function

anyway...i think i got off track, but does that help you know that you're
going to have to get at an actual Factory object in the list...which doesn't
solve your memory problem?

[Steve]

"Alex" <d_******@hotmail.comwrote in message
news:47***********************@news.free.fr...

"Steve" <no****@example.comwrote in message
news:mK************@newsfe02.lga...

>a difference, yes. something that will make your code quit bombing and
still get the Factory functionality...probably not. all an interface
(IFactory in this case) is, is a contract...a definition of what *all
usable* objects that *implement* that interface will provide a caller,
i.e. your php code. make sense? IFactory will provide you no other
functionality than that. here's an example in vb.

OK it's like a class from which another inherits, then ?

kind of. the difference being that there is no functionality given to a
class that implements an interface (ifactory). if i inherit from a class in
the traditional sense, whatever functionality is present in the parent class
will be part of the inheriting class...the inheriting class can add more
interfaces (functions, properties, etc.) or rewrite/override/shadow the
parent class' interfaces (functions, properties, etc.)

other than that, yes, they're pretty similar.

(snip the example)

>anyway...i think i got off track, but does that help you know that you're
going to have to get at an actual Factory object in the list...which
doesn't solve your memory problem?

Yes, that's very helpful. But it raises a question in PHP. Can I assume
that COM tells PHP what type the objects in a class (or Interface) are ? I
don't have to explicitely instanciate or cast the objects that are childs
of a COM object ?

can you assume? no, not really. while COM defines everything about itself
and makes that information know to any callers, php doesn't need to know any
of it. php basically 'invokes' on a com object whatever you tell it to
attempt. it doesn't need to know about sawMill.foo, it simply attempts to
invoke 'foo' on the sawMill object. php only needs to handle errors thrown
from the invocation or supply the results thereof back to the caller.

Now, I tried different values for memory_limit in php.ini and it doesnt
change anything. I had a closer look at the memory usage, and Apache also
takes almost 50M on a working page. So I'm not really sure it's a memory
problem.

hmmm. glad i see in another post that you've got it figured out. i'd have
focused on memory a while longer...and have gotten no where.

Actually, the COM syntax is not really complicated. So I'm beginning to
think of a bug (in the object or PHP).

really? there are only a few ways to call things. what's puzzling you?

I'm considering trying a newer version of PHP. But I fear the impacts.

Thank you very much again, things are getting clearer :)

cheers

[Steve]

"Csaba Gabor" <da*****@gmail.comwrote in message
news:89**********************************@l1g2000h sa.googlegroups.com...

Steve, thanks for your awesome exposition on VB interfaces, replete
with example. This type of post is all too rare on the web.

Csaba

wow! thanks. i'm glad it helped.

cheers.

On Nov 14, 8:10 pm, "Steve" <[e-mail]:

>"Alex" <[e-mail] in message

...

>a difference, yes. something that will make your code quit bombing and
still
get the Factory functionality...probably not. all an interface (IFactory
in
this case) is, is a contract...a definition of what *all usable* objects
that *implement* that interface will provide a caller, i.e. your php
code.
make sense? IFactory will provide you no other functionality than that.
here's an example in vb.

public interface iFactory
public property foo as integer
end interface

public class sawMill
implements iFactory
public property get foo() implements iFactory.foo
get
return 666
end get
set (byval value as integer)
# do nothing...however, set is *required*
# because iFactory is read/write
end property
public function saw()
debug.print "sawing..."
end function
end class

public class brewery
implements iFactory
private myFoo as integer
public property get foo() implements iFactory.foo
get
return myFoo
end get
set (byval value as integer)
myFoo = value
end property
public function brew()
debug.print "brewing " & myFoo
end function
end class

in the above, both completely unrelated classes (sawMill and brewery)
have
iFactory.foo as part of their definition. how they implement them is
different, but each must have a read and write foo.

if i simply say:

private myFactory as iFactory

and then try:

myFactory.foo()

it will do nothing. myFactory is an interface that has no working parts.
however, if i do:

private myFactory as iFactory = new brewery
myFactory.foo = 15

i'll get somewhere. notice that the above works whether or not i set
myFactory to new brewery OR sawMill. both have a foo interface. however,
if
i continue the above code with:

myFactory.saw()

it'll blow up. both saw and brew are specific interfaces defined by each
class respectively...not by iFactory. let's say that myFactory is set
somewhere unbeknownst to me, how would i take specific action?

public function factoryToString(byval factory as iFactory, byval fooValue
as
integer)
factory.foo = fooValue
if typeof factory is sawMill then
factory.saw()
end if
if typeof factory is brewery then
factory.brew()
end if
end function

anyway...i think i got off track, but does that help you know that you're
going to have to get at an actual Factory object in the list...which
doesn't
solve your memory problem?