
MING THE MODULE

It's an SWF output library.  And it's a PHP module.

It lets you create: shapes (including morphs), text, sprites (aka movie
clips), buttons, and actions in flash movies.  There's also a bit of mp3
streaming just for fun..

The library code comes in two parts: a set of functions only concerned with
writing a valid swf file, and a separate body of code to abstract out the
details of the SWF format.  The idea is that one shouldn't need to know
anything about the SWF specification to make it work.

The PHP module wraps Ming objects in PHP objects.  Pretty cool..

Ming is released under the LGPL.  See file LICENSE for the gory details.

-dave@opaque.net


BUILDING and INSTALLING:

no fancy autoconf nonsense here, just raw old-fashioned Makefiles.

  unpack the tarfile (which you've obviously already done)
  make

  mkdir <phpdir>/ext/ming
  cp php_ext/* <phpdir>/ext/ming
  cd <phpdir>
  ./buildconf
  ./configure --with-ming=<mingdir> <other config options>
  build and install php as usual,
  restart web server if necessary


USING MING:

  Copy the examples from the examples directory to your web doc space.
  Look at them with your web browser.
  Make your own, better, examples and send them to me.


Ming appears to work fine on RH6.1 with PHP-4.0.0.

---

F(un)AQ:

Q: Is Ming related to the Macromedia(r) Flash(tm) file format (SWF) SDK?
A: Nope.  I didn't really feel like being bound to the terms of their license,
   whatever those are (couldn't make much sense of the legalese, really), so
   this has been written from scratch using open documentation.

Q: Aren't Ming and Flash enemies?
A: Maybe, I dunno.  I liked the name.  Maybe there's a homoerotic subtext
   there.  (Actually, all I remember from the movie was somebody putting
   their arm in a rock and green blood.  And that awful, awful song.)  If
   that bothers you, just think of vases and ancient China.

Q: Where do I get FDB files?
A: You make 'em.  They're just a crutch until Ming can read real font
   formats like truetype and postscript.  Read the docs.


Macromedia(r) and Flash(tm) are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Macromedia, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Macromedia(r) does not sponsor, affiliate, or endorse this product and/or
services.  Nor does the country of China.
