what is peer?

[AARTI SHRIVAS]

interviewer ask me a quetion what is peer can any body tell me in terms of php what it means to peer?

[sophiaya]

a member of a nobility; nobleman

[oop_php]

If it is PHP related, can't it be the question was about PEAR instead of peer?

If it is PEAR, then PEAR is a framework and distribution system for reusable PHP components. PEAR = PHP Extension and Application Repository

If it is referring to peer as in group of people in the society, sophiaya is correct, and also someone belonging to the same group based on group, age, job as in programmers, and etc... it can be based on equal standing or status within group of people or workgroup..

[raavn111]

PEAR is short for "PHP Extension and Application Repository" and is pronounced just like the fruit

[raavn111]

The purpose of PEAR is to provide:

• A structured library of open-sourced code for PHP users
• A system for code distribution and package maintenance
• A standard style for code written in PHP
• The PHP Extension Community Library (PECL)
• A web site, mailing lists and download mirrors to support the PHP/PEAR community

[AARTI SHRIVAS]

thankyou to all for replying
@oop php yes it pear i am littel confuse about spelling

[AARTI SHRIVAS]

so how can we start to work in pear with php any extra things required for that or knowlagde of core php is enough

[oop_php]

pear can be used as a database abstraction layer to accomodate different types of databases. However, the Zend Engine II enterpreter were already package with PDO (PHP Data Objects), which can perform the work aimed by the PEAR developers.

PEAR extensions and classes were also used in eCommerce applications. However, at this very moment I don't see feasible use of it. PHP have gotten really advance, and besides if it is just a calendar, sales reports I have to make, there are other solutions like jquery..

For the purpose of database abstraction, I would definitely use PDO than heading for the PEAR abstraction layer or mysqli.

[diafol]

PEAR can be extremely useful for developing functionality that's not built into core PHP. They are like plug-ins to an extent and should work out of the box. The package code is standardised and there should be documentation on each one. A quick visit to the package page: http://pear.php.net/packages.php should give you an idea of what's currently available.

However, as pointed out, you may find better options out in the wild. One really nice site is phpclasses: http://www.phpclasses.org/ and also googlecode: https://code.google.com/hosting/search?q=label%3aPHP

If you're a dedicated Windows user without much experience of UNIX, DOS or the cmd window, you may find installing new PEAR packages a bit confusing. However, read the documentation and you should be ok :)

In addition, local PEAR packages that you use aren't always available on host. Depending on your hosting deal, you may be able to install these packages. You can however usually fiddle the pear packages as include files (can be tricky) so that they can be made to work even if you can't install them via PEAR on the host.

[<M/>]

I think the person speaking to you pronounced it wrong, he/she probably meant "PEAR".

[AARTI SHRIVAS]

thankyou all to giving me such a wonderfull knowledge

[<M/>]

Do you have any other questions about PEAR?

[AARTI SHRIVAS]

@diafol
so what things needed to learn php and pear oop php is required and,
is pear compatible with framworks?
what are the essential requirment to learn this thing and what kind of help we get in our project when using pear

[diafol]

PEAR usually consists of class(es), which should slip in seemlessly with other php functions and constructs. TBH I can't remember using them with frameworks, but I can't see why it/they wouldn't be compatible.

As I mentioned, documnetation exists for each package and it's usually comprehensive. This is down to the strict requirements set by PEAR. Just be aware that some PEAR packages have dependencies, i.e. they may depend on other packages being installed.

PEAR has an external support forum: http://forums.codewalkers.com/pear-packages-47/