I’ve got a new series of articles and tutorials on how to develop an application using Java with a web interface using PHP. The eventual goal is to use the PHP/Java Bridge, but along the way we look at building the main application, redeploying it a Java-based web application, exposing the application through web services, and finally at the PHP/Java Bridge solution. The series is split into six parts:

• Part 1 looks at the application and sets up an environment ready for building Java applications and serving Java-based Web applications using Tomcat.
• Part 2 covers the main application code and the development of a simple Java Servlet to provide a Web interface to the information.
• Part 3 connects the core application to a DB2 database for the storage of the survey questions and responses.
• Part 4 converts the original application into one that can be accessed as a Web service, and it provides the base for the PHP interface.
• Part 5 builds the PHP interface to the Java application by using the PHP Java Bridge.
• Part 6 redevelops the application to make use of the PHP Java Bridge in place of the Web service interface.

For the first part: Develop a Java application on AIX and learn how to extend it by using a PHP interface to look at the underlying Java code. It is possible to develop applications that employ both Java and PHP technology on AIX. You can use Java code for the core logic (or redeploy an existing Java-based application), while gaining the benefits of PHP as a Web-based interface platform. This article, the first in a series, examines the basics of the Java environment and PHP integration methods on AIX, provides a quick overview of a sample application that uses this structure, and then looks at the core elements required before you start developing the application itself by installing the Java programming language and Apache Tomcat.Read: Develop with Java and PHP technology on AIX Version 5.3, Part 1: Setting up the Java environment