PHP Advanced for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickPro Guide

Chapter 11. Creating PDFs

You're probably familiar with the Portable Document Format invented by Adobe Systems Inc. that provides a reliable way to create, transmit, and read complex documents while retaining all the original formatting. With Adobe Acrobat, you can create PDFs on your computer that anyone can read by downloading and installing the freely available and widely used Adobe Acrobat Reader. What you may not know is that you can also make PDFs directly with PHP. Just as you can have PHP dynamically create graphs or buttons on the fly (as you saw in the previous chapter), you can have it generate PDF invoices for you, make reports, or manufacture contracts and documents for your clients. (PHP 4 can make Macromedia Flash and Shockwave ...