How to Create a PHP Ebook Library Manager for Handling Collections of Ebooks on the Web

Introduction

In this tutorial you will learn about:

What is a Ebook Library Manager?

Why You May Need to Use a Ebook Library Manager?

How Can You Implement a Ebook Library Manager in PHP?

Where Can We Try a Demonstration of the PHP Ebook Library Manager?

What is a Ebook Library Manager?

A Ebook library manager is a system that lets its users perform several tasks to manage a collection of ebooks that are stored in a central repository.

These tasks may include:

1. Handling the uploading process of ebook files
2. Manage information about each ebook in a database
3. Serving the ebook files for download or for being viewed in computers or mobile phones

Why You May Need to Use a Ebook Library Manager?

Many people in the world evolved and they no longer use printed versions of the books that they want to read. They just use ebooks that consist of files that can be stored in your computer, in a server on the Internet or made available in a cloud hosting service.

If you have a large collection of ebooks or you have a site that aims to serve many ebooks to many users that visit that site, a ebook manager system will make your life easier, as it will automate many tasks that are necessary to manage collections of many ebooks.

How Can You Implement a Ebook Library Manager in PHP?

This tutorial is about the OPDS PHP Ebook Publisher Class system.

So, to start using this system to manage your ebook library or your ebook site, you need to follow just a few steps.

1. Install the OPDS PHP Ebook Publisher Class in a Web server

   The first step to install this package is to download it from the PHP Classes site by going to the page download.

   Once you have downloaded the package archive from the site, you just need to unpack the archive in a directory named for instance opds .

   You can do this in a production server directly but it is advised that you do it first in a development machine that you may use to do your work. Later you can submit the whole project files to the server.

2. Install the database

   This system works with a MySQL database. To install the database, use your favorite MySQL database manager program and create a new database named opds.

   Then use the opds.sql file and pass it to the mysql command, so it can create the database table structure.

   If you can execute the mysql command for instance from the command line in a Linux machine, use the following command, replacing mysql-user by the user name of the MySQL user that you want to use to access this system database.

   mysql -p -u mysql-user opds <opds.sql

3. Configure the database access details

   The system is already set to use default values to configure the access to the database, so it does not need much more configuration changes.

   Currently, you need to edit a few scripts to change the database access parameter values. Those scripts are: index.php , ebooks.php and gestion/init.php .

   In these scripts you may need to change the values of the lines that set database access constant values like this:

   define("DBTYPE", "mysql"); // Type of database

   define("PORT", "port=3306"); // Port of the database server

   define("SERVER", "host=000.000.00.00"); // IP number or FQDN

   define("BASE", "dbname=opds"); // Database name

   define("USER", "login"); // Database user

   define("PASS", "password"); // Database access password

4. Configure the library catalog

   Once you have the database installed, the application is ready to run.

   The next step is to configure the ebook library catalog details.

   If you have installed the system to run in a directory of your Web server with name opds inside the domain www.yoursite.com , you can access to the catalog configuration pages by accessing the URL:

   http://www.yoursite.com/opds/gestion

   In that page you can add books to the catalog.

Where Can We Try a Live Demonstration of the PHP Ebook Library Manager?

Before you try using this system for your own purposes, you may want to see a live demonstration of the way it works in practice.

For that, just go the site of Pierre Fauque's Ebook library management demo, so you can see this system in action.

About the OPDS PHP Ebook Publisher Class Package

The package OPDS PHP Ebook Publisher Class is one of the few PHP packages that was considered notable recently because it does something that is worth paying attention.

The basic purpose is: Publish and distribute ebooks for download

Here follows in more detail what it does:

This class can be used to publish and distribute ebooks for download.

It provides classes that can be used to publish ebooks file that can be viewed well either in computers and mobile phones.

It supports ebooks with different possible formats like PDF, EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, etc..

The package also provides management scripts to feed the database with new publications.

Conclusion

The OPDS PHP Ebook Publisher Class can be downloaded from download page or be installed using the PHP Composer tool following instructions in the Composer install instructions page.

This package was considered notable for implementing its benefits in a way that is worth noticing.

Notable PHP packages can be often considered innovative. If this package is also innovative, it can be nominated to the PHP Innovation Award and the author may win prizes and recognition for sharing innovative packages.

If you also developed your own notable or innovative packages consider sharing them, so you can also earn more visibility for your package as well nice prizes.

One nice prize that many PHP developers want and you may like is the PHP elePHPant mascot plush.