PHP application with PHONE-Caller ID??

[jeevanism]

I have some doubts and clouds. I got a project idea from one of my client. They need an application which can store the details of incoming phone calls to the their shop.
ie. its a shop they have. lots of customers will call to the phone. So they need an application which can store information of once called customer. So next time that customer calls, it would be easy to handle him/her.. So is there any idea how can I build such an application using PHP??

well thats a question.. is it possible to integrate such a pHP with caller ID??.. In a nutshell, this project aims to collect the data from the incoming call... Once a stored customer calls, the system must show his details on screen.. is it possible to make such an interface with PHP???

any help would be thankful

[Stefano Mtangoo]

I would suggest you check desktop application!
Though it might be possible, it would we tough task.
Right tool for the right job. Some toolkit have mobile version which abstracts you from much of pain

[chrishea]

This is essentially a (piece of a) customer relationship management (CRM) system. If you do a search, you will find a bunch of these systems, some free and some not. Don't know if any of them have phone system integration but I am sure that you will find out. As mentioned previously, this will need a desktop component (maybe the whole system) if it is going to integrate with the phone system. Unless there is a real need to automatically capture info on every call (including dropped calls) then manual entry may be sufficient. You can certainly track info on calls without the automated interface. You may also be able to use something off the shelf if the requirement is simple. A link to an example is below:
http://www.sharewareconnection.com/voice-call.htm

I'm with the others here, I assume you'll need an OS/desktop front-end if you're dealing with automated number capture/recognition. Attaching that to a php/mysql system is a pain. Perhaps you'd be better off with an MS dev language. I understand that they do a 'Microsoft Telephony Application Programming Interface' or TAPI.

Some freeware as an idea:

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Network_and_Internet/Misc__Communications_Tools/SmartCallMonitor.html

I haven't used it so BEWARE!

BTW, I just checked, TAPI 3.0 is COM-based, so you just might be able to use it in PHP: http://uk2.php.net/COM

[jeevanism]

thanx for all those information.. but I am only into open source technologies. and my programming language is limited in php. So is it impossible to make such a project using PHP??

> I am only into open source technologies

Same here, but if the TAPI (API) is accessible through the PHP's interface with COM objects, it could save you a lot of problems. Your client could be waiting a while for you to cobble together a full-PHP version.

Alternatively, you could go with a Java solution (JTAPI), but those solutions are not open source.

[Stefano Mtangoo]

thanx for all those information.. but I am only into open source technologies. and my programming language is limited in php. So is it impossible to make such a project using PHP??

Learn Python and access TAPI via Pywin32 Module!

[richieking]

Python ruby or perl will do just that.

I think python should be your first option as it is very easy to grasp.
;)