asp/php communication to local service/application

Question

Hi,

I have a local application which parses data. What i need is to develop a web interface to query statistics and set configurations for the application thats running at all times. Since I am the developer of both applications I have full access to both source.

My main goals here are: - have a service or app running at all times on the webserver doing most of the work - have a webUI which will connect to this app and display stats and make configurations - service/app will be writen in C# - WebUI will be written in asp or php - the WebUI must be accessable through the web domain ie: http://server/TestApp on default port 80 were there are other web apps running already.

I know there are ways to do this using a specific port to communicate to eachother, but i would like to avoid this. What is the best way to communicate between these apps?

Thanks, -Stewart

Answer 1

Use a FileWatcher in C# to watch a file that PHP can read/write to. When something needs parsed, you can try it that way.

You could also give PHP permissions to exec or use the ` character to execute your program which return the result to a varible ex:

$var = `C:\What\Ever\program.exe $param1`;

The local port listener is not a bad idea though.