[UPHPU] dynamic PDF creation?

[Alvaro Carrasco]

Wade Preston Shearer wrote:
> For those with experience setting up mini apps that dynamically 
> generate PDFs (Ryan?), how long does it take? For example, if I want a 
> web form for creating a facsimile cover sheet. I want the user to be 
> able to enter in information into the fields (to, from, fax number, 
> memo, page count, etc), submit it, and the have the server generate a 
> PDF laid out a certain way in a certain font. We've had presentations 
> on this before and it's not overly complex I know. My question is this 
> though… I need to be to be educated in regards to development time 
> when I discuss this with my engineering department. How long should 
> something simple like this take to create?
>   
I never liked creating a document (layout) using a procedural language 
(php in this case). So for me, an approach that i really liked was to 
create an xsl-fo document and then transform it into a pdf using some 
tool like FOP. Render times are much slower of course, but development 
time is extremely fast. And also more enjoyable too, since generating 
pdfs this way is not unlike making a web page.

Alvaro