This section contains a gentle introduction to what PEAR is and has
to offer. Included is general information about installing and using
PEAR, support options, and answers to frequently asked PEAR related
questions.
This section contains documentation about the core PEAR classes.
These core components are the base to every PEAR class and
understanding the basics will allow general use of the PEAR library.
Topics include the PEAR base, PEAR administration, error
handling through use of the PEAR_Error object, and system
commands. These classes are generally shipped with every source
PHP distribution.
There are many PEAR packages with the number growing every day. Most
every package is documented and most are not installed by default.
For information on installing PEAR classes on your system, be sure to
read the Installation chapter.
Each documented class contains basic documentation about the packages
publically available functions. There may also be additional
information like an introduction, list of available constants, and
example uses of the given package. Additional information may also
exist within the package source files themselves.
The description of each function may contain some or all of the
following parts:
Synopsis
Shows the structure and prototype of the function.
Description
Gives a description about what the function does.
Parameter
Describes each parameter for the function along with the paramater
types and names. Both required and optional parameters are listed.
Returns
Describes the returned value, if the function
doesn't fail.
Throws
Describes the returned PEAR_Error
objects, if the function fails.
Note
Additional notes and information about the function. An example
note would be if the function can be called statically.
See
Links to other related functions or manual entries.
