Software to compile a html/php/mysql website into wintel exe?

Question

Is there any software that will compile a database driven website into a Windows executable program?

I think google has something in beta, but if anyone knows of something that does this I love to hear about it.

Something easy - Tell the software your URL, click compile and poof! You have a desktop app that operates just like your online site.

Of course you'd have to access the site. That is why you tell the compiler the URL. So it can go and grab all aspects of the site include DB schema, data, etc. Maybe I oversimplified the question.

NOT Misinformed!

See here:

Google Gears
http://code.google.com/apis/gears


Google Gears is an open source browser extension that lets you create web applications that run offline. It lets you store and serve application resources locally, store data locally in a fully-searchable relational database, and run asynchronous JavaScript to improve application responsiveness.

Perhaps some cannot think of reasons why anyone would want to do this. I can think of a gazzilion commercial applications for this.

And talk about great rapid application development.

So... why not go with google gears you ask. It is beta, go read the docs.

There is also some shareware I found once-upon-a-time that purported to do this but I could never get it to work.

Plus, I really don't need "choice of language advice." If you don't know the answer to a question why are you even bothering to post (sorry, grouchy, dentist appointment earlier!!!).

Answer 1

There are at least two ways to do what you want.

You can buy a PHP compiler from Roadsend:

http://www.roadsend.com/

Or you can buy phpDock, a PHP deployment solution, from nuSphere:

http://www.nusphere.com/products/phpdock.htm

The latter won't even require compiling; you can bundle a PHP execution environment with your scripts.

Answer 2

I hope I'm understanding your question correctly. You basically want something that will turn your web app into a desktop app, and preferably compile the whole thing into an exe.

You may want to check into PHP-GTK for programming desktop apps in PHP. If you properly apply the principles of Model-View-Controller, you could write a PHP app that offers both user interfaces.

There are some compilers that can generate an .exe from PHP but the ones I know about only support up to PHP4. Just do a google search for PHP compiler.

I think that if you have a need for an application to offer a web interface and a desktop client, you need to approach the problem from the point of view of the design of your app. I do not know of any tool that can convert a PHP web app into a desktop app. But hey, maybe you could write such tool! And I would probably buy it! ;)

Answer 3

I think you've been misinformed.
If you want to locally host and run a website including the database you need something like LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, Php) which will run in Windows. You need to install the Apache web server (and configure it), then MySQL (and configure that), then Php (and configure that)... then you just point your web-browser to your local IP (127.0.0.1) to view your website with dynamically created pages from your database, et all.
If you've really got your heart set on a standalone .exe, why not learn a language like Python, Java or even C/C++?

Answer 4

You untar the .tar.gz and that makes a set of nested folders on your computer. You have to have the c++/c header libraries and then you run a shell script called ./config. That links any dependent libraries that Linux has available. Then, you 'make'. you can do it with Win, but it is a special setup with a lot of extra downloading. It is easier to make a dual-boot Ubuntu/whateverWin computer. Before you know it you won't be booting into the Windows.

Answer 5

Generally speaking, you'd have to have access to the site (more than just a URL) or you would not be able to download the SQL databases, scripts, etc.