Hi Michael!
(Please turn your HTML off)
The purpose of the work is to make another graphical interface allowing the users to navigate through the records of the database following the hypertext links on foreign keys, as it is now implemented into PhpMyAdmin.
Yes, we have quite a few of feature requests of users who want a 'scaled down' interface with just the most basic options.
- Do you think using PhpMyAdmin as a library is possible? Is it
enough modularized to allow me to use PhpMyAdmin through an API without much difficulties?
You will definitely face problems, as phpMyAdmin is (historically) programmed in a very functional approach. So, there doesn't exist an API as such, only very basic functions. Most of the pages are programmed inside each page, and are not using abstraction layers to access data.
In short: You will either have to build your own API, letting it base on PMA as the foundation. Or you take each page as it is now and implement if/switch structures for privilege/alternative interface display. The first one would be the way to go, but the latter one will be faster to implement.
- Do you have docs showing how PhpMyAdmin is constructed? (Class
diagram, include files diagram, a table saying wich file does wath, a document explaining the structure of PhpMyAdmin, or something else) If yes, is it possible to receive this?
Uhm. No. We haven't. Sorry. :-)
It's more a "see yourself and wade through the code" concept. As phpMyAdmin is a very old application, it has gotten bloated and more unstructurized with every addition.
However, we are lately trying to make the code leaner and it's definitely our "wish" to have an API and be able to template code. So if you would like to help in that major task, we are glad about any manpower willing to be dedicated to the project!
- I think it would be the best to develop my application using PHP
but do you know if it is possible to call php functions from Java? (This is possible for C or C++ functions through the Java Native Interface but I don't know for PHP)
I haven't heard yet of this way, but I do know that you can call Java functions from PHP. Well, thinking about this: I guess there is no way to embed PHP-code in Java. You would probably have to switch to C#/.Net/Mono, where such a thing is in the making.
In advance, thank you very much for you help,
I hope I did in any way help you, even though I guess my answer is more frustrating than helping you.
Looking forward to your answer, Garvin.