Member Avatar for Syakoban

Hi,

I'm trying to get an "app" created to run a com port on my local machine to control some electromechanical equipment. The issue is connecting to the local machine from a phone or laptop using WiFi and pulling up a "web page" (in PHP???) that can then communicate to the local com port and send ASCII commands.

Can this be done with PHP? How does the WiFi router find the local "app" and connect to it? What's involved in connecting to the com port?

Is this a PHP project or should it be done some other way?

I need help. :confused:

Thanks guys!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by metalix

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Member Avatar for Encrypted

Does it need to be through WiFi or can it go through a server? I'm not sure how you'd be able to do it through WiFi, but if both ends are connected to the internet, why not just transfer the info through a database or something. Have the client post the info to the db and have the machine pull the info off the db.

If it needs to be through WiFi, my best guess would be that you'd probably be best using C or C++ and write apps that run on both machines.

Edited by Encrypted because: n/a
Member Avatar for Syakoban

Does it need to be through WiFi or can it go through a server? I'm not sure how you'd be able to do it through WiFi, but if both ends are connected to the internet, why not just transfer the info through a database or something. Have the client post the info to the db and have the machine pull the info off the db.

If it needs to be through WiFi, my best guess would be that you'd probably be best using C or C++ and write apps that run on both machines.

Thanks. It does need to be WiFi and the original plan was to have a program on the PC w/the com port written in C and then a phone developer said that approach was overkill. He said that it's no different than a server to printer scenario and that a PHP "web page" should be able to do it simply. I've had PHP written to do typical web DB kind of stuff and didn't know what he was saying was possible. It sounds like you're saying it isn't. (???)

Member Avatar for Encrypted

Thanks. It does need to be WiFi and the original plan was to have a program on the PC w/the com port written in C and then a phone developer said that approach was overkill. He said that it's no different than a server to printer scenario and that a PHP "web page" should be able to do it simply. I've had PHP written to do typical web DB kind of stuff and didn't know what he was saying was possible. It sounds like you're saying it isn't. (???)

It probably is, I just don't know how.

Edit: If you figure it out though let me know how you did it, because I wouldn't mind knowing. I just searched around for 6/7 minutes and came up empty.

Edited by Encrypted because: n/a
Member Avatar for metalix

if this is simply to control your computer away from home via the internet, then it would be much easier to use a remote desktop application, they are free and dont require programming.

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