Re: [PHP] simple OCR in php
On Tuesday 03 July 2007 12:03 am, Richard Lynch wrote: On Sat, June 30, 2007 12:12 pm, Jay Blanchard wrote: [snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. Why? PHP provides all requisite functions/features so if someone was sadistic enough and talented enough there's nothing to stop them writing an OCR app using it. [/snip] Sure, but then the scanning device would have to be connected to the server. I suppose you could open a socket and stream the information to the server and then have PHP read and interpret the stream as it arrives. See how complex this is becoming? No, the scanning device could be on a desktop that builds a folder of files with names that can be tied back to the documents somehow. Or, for what the OP asked for, the whole thing could be on a server which is really a desktop where having the scanner connected would be pretty normal. actually, the scanner is on a desktop, and (to make a long story short) the server has part of the desktop hard-drive mounted as a network drive. Cron job tells php script to go look in a given folder on the desktop, process all files, and clean up after itself, all at 3 or 4 am. -- Some people have a gift link here. Know what I want? I want you to buy a CD from some indie artist. http://cdbaby.com/browse/from/lynch Yeah, I get a buck. So? -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
RE: [PHP] simple OCR in php
On Sat, June 30, 2007 12:12 pm, Jay Blanchard wrote: [snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. Why? PHP provides all requisite functions/features so if someone was sadistic enough and talented enough there's nothing to stop them writing an OCR app using it. [/snip] Sure, but then the scanning device would have to be connected to the server. I suppose you could open a socket and stream the information to the server and then have PHP read and interpret the stream as it arrives. See how complex this is becoming? No, the scanning device could be on a desktop that builds a folder of files with names that can be tied back to the documents somehow. Or, for what the OP asked for, the whole thing could be on a server which is really a desktop where having the scanner connected would be pretty normal. -- Some people have a gift link here. Know what I want? I want you to buy a CD from some indie artist. http://cdbaby.com/browse/from/lynch Yeah, I get a buck. So? -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
RE: [PHP] simple OCR in php
On Sat, June 30, 2007 12:36 pm, Robert Cummings wrote: It was JUST as complex the first time someone did it in C, or Java, or what have your for a chosen language. No, it was more complex, because it wasn't PHP. :-) -- Some people have a gift link here. Know what I want? I want you to buy a CD from some indie artist. http://cdbaby.com/browse/from/lynch Yeah, I get a buck. So? -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
RE: [PHP] simple OCR in php
On Tue, 2007-07-03 at 01:03 -0500, Richard Lynch wrote: On Sat, June 30, 2007 12:36 pm, Robert Cummings wrote: It was JUST as complex the first time someone did it in C, or Java, or what have your for a chosen language. No, it was more complex, because it wasn't PHP. :-) Good point :) Cheers, Rob. -- .. | InterJinn Application Framework - http://www.interjinn.com | :: | An application and templating framework for PHP. Boasting | | a powerful, scalable system for accessing system services | | such as forms, properties, sessions, and caches. InterJinn | | also provides an extremely flexible architecture for | | creating re-usable components quickly and easily. | `' -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
Re: [PHP] simple OCR in php
Richard Lynch wrote: On Sat, June 30, 2007 12:12 pm, Jay Blanchard wrote: [snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. Why? PHP provides all requisite functions/features so if someone was sadistic enough and talented enough there's nothing to stop them writing an OCR app using it. [/snip] Sure, but then the scanning device would have to be connected to the server. I suppose you could open a socket and stream the information to the server and then have PHP read and interpret the stream as it arrives. See how complex this is becoming? No, the scanning device could be on a desktop that builds a folder of files with names that can be tied back to the documents somehow. Or, for what the OP asked for, the whole thing could be on a server which is really a desktop where having the scanner connected would be pretty normal. It's better to focus on OCR code which reads and parses an image file (usually tiff file). Obtaining the image is not that hard (at least on linux). Andy
RE: [PHP] simple OCR in php
On Fri, June 29, 2007 11:32 am, Jay Blanchard wrote: [snip] I am looking for a way to incorporate some simple OCR into a php script. The user will bulk scan a pile of invoices. I want the php script to look at each invoice and read a number off the invoice. The image will then be renamed, and be organized into a directory and the file name will be added to a database. (all of these steps are straight forward once the number is read.) I have no problem with a system that requires a special OCR font and/or some sort of registration mark to help locate the Invoice number. Can anybody tell me of any tools out there that can do this? [/snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. You could insert an OCR application into the process and have the OCR app pass PHP the information. Really? So that OCR routine I wrote to hack a CAPTCHA doesn't exist? Weird. :-) If you really do want to write OCR in PHP, it's pretty trivial: http://php.net/imagecolorat You'll need to build up a dictionary of known characters and define a distance function to decide when two characters match or not, but it's not rocket science. It doesn't even qualify as Artificial Intelligence anymore. :-) But since you have standard un-obfuscated content, using exec() to run a well-established OCR package might be easier. Or not, as I could never get the dang things to work in the first place, personally. :-v YMMV NAIAA -- Some people have a gift link here. Know what I want? I want you to buy a CD from some indie artist. http://cdbaby.com/browse/from/lynch Yeah, I get a buck. So? -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
RE: [PHP] simple OCR in php
[snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. Why? PHP provides all requisite functions/features so if someone was sadistic enough and talented enough there's nothing to stop them writing an OCR app using it. [/snip] Sure, but then the scanning device would have to be connected to the server. I suppose you could open a socket and stream the information to the server and then have PHP read and interpret the stream as it arrives. See how complex this is becoming? -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
RE: [PHP] simple OCR in php
On Sat, 2007-06-30 at 12:12 -0500, Jay Blanchard wrote: [snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. Why? PHP provides all requisite functions/features so if someone was sadistic enough and talented enough there's nothing to stop them writing an OCR app using it. [/snip] Sure, but then the scanning device would have to be connected to the server. I suppose you could open a socket and stream the information to the server and then have PHP read and interpret the stream as it arrives. See how complex this is becoming? It was JUST as complex the first time someone did it in C, or Java, or what have your for a chosen language. Cheers, Rob. -- .. | InterJinn Application Framework - http://www.interjinn.com | :: | An application and templating framework for PHP. Boasting | | a powerful, scalable system for accessing system services | | such as forms, properties, sessions, and caches. InterJinn | | also provides an extremely flexible architecture for | | creating re-usable components quickly and easily. | `' -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
Re: [PHP] simple OCR in php
Jay Blanchard wrote: [snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. Why? PHP provides all requisite functions/features so if someone was sadistic enough and talented enough there's nothing to stop them writing an OCR app using it. [/snip] Sure, but then the scanning device would have to be connected to the server. I suppose you could open a socket and stream the information to the server and then have PHP read and interpret the stream as it arrives. See how complex this is becoming? Maybe it's just me, but OCR and scanning are certainly related but are by no means dependant on each other. Is it becoming complex or are you over-complicating it? -Stut -- http://stut.net/ -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
RE: [PHP] simple OCR in php
[snip] I am looking for a way to incorporate some simple OCR into a php script. The user will bulk scan a pile of invoices. I want the php script to look at each invoice and read a number off the invoice. The image will then be renamed, and be organized into a directory and the file name will be added to a database. (all of these steps are straight forward once the number is read.) I have no problem with a system that requires a special OCR font and/or some sort of registration mark to help locate the Invoice number. Can anybody tell me of any tools out there that can do this? [/snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. You could insert an OCR application into the process and have the OCR app pass PHP the information. -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
Re: [PHP] simple OCR in php
On Friday 29 June 2007 10:32 am, you wrote: [snip] I am looking for a way to incorporate some simple OCR into a php script. The user will bulk scan a pile of invoices. I want the php script to look at each invoice and read a number off the invoice. The image will then be renamed, and be organized into a directory and the file name will be added to a database. (all of these steps are straight forward once the number is read.) I have no problem with a system that requires a special OCR font and/or some sort of registration mark to help locate the Invoice number. Can anybody tell me of any tools out there that can do this? [/snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. You could insert an OCR application into the process and have the OCR app pass PHP the information. Exactly. Are there any third party tools or OCR applications that anybody can recommend? (I suppose you could write an OCR application in PHP, but that sounds like an awful lot of work.) Thanks Ray -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
RE: [PHP] simple OCR in php
On Fri, 2007-06-29 at 11:32 -0500, Jay Blanchard wrote: [snip] I am looking for a way to incorporate some simple OCR into a php script. The user will bulk scan a pile of invoices. I want the php script to look at each invoice and read a number off the invoice. The image will then be renamed, and be organized into a directory and the file name will be added to a database. (all of these steps are straight forward once the number is read.) I have no problem with a system that requires a special OCR font and/or some sort of registration mark to help locate the Invoice number. Can anybody tell me of any tools out there that can do this? [/snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. You could insert an OCR application into the process and have the OCR app pass PHP the information. Why can PHP not perform OCR functions? Cheers, Rob. -- .. | InterJinn Application Framework - http://www.interjinn.com | :: | An application and templating framework for PHP. Boasting | | a powerful, scalable system for accessing system services | | such as forms, properties, sessions, and caches. InterJinn | | also provides an extremely flexible architecture for | | creating re-usable components quickly and easily. | `' -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
Re: [PHP] simple OCR in php
On Saturday 30 June 2007 00:32, Jay Blanchard wrote: In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. Why? PHP provides all requisite functions/features so if someone was sadistic enough and talented enough there's nothing to stop them writing an OCR app using it. You could insert an OCR application into the process and have the OCR app pass PHP the information. That would be the smart choice though. -- Crayon -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
Re: [PHP] simple OCR in php
Robert Cummings wrote: On Fri, 2007-06-29 at 11:32 -0500, Jay Blanchard wrote: [snip] I am looking for a way to incorporate some simple OCR into a php script. The user will bulk scan a pile of invoices. I want the php script to look at each invoice and read a number off the invoice. The image will then be renamed, and be organized into a directory and the file name will be added to a database. (all of these steps are straight forward once the number is read.) I have no problem with a system that requires a special OCR font and/or some sort of registration mark to help locate the Invoice number. Can anybody tell me of any tools out there that can do this? [/snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. You could insert an OCR application into the process and have the OCR app pass PHP the information. Why can PHP not perform OCR functions? Cheers, Rob. It's not so much impossible to perform OCR as it is unrealistic to do so. PHP contains only the very most basic support for such things, not to mention there are barely any (OS) libraries for PHP to do this, it's simply not realistic to try and make one if you're on your own. Other languages (ie. C) have libraries, written by people specifically for this purpose, so it seems clear to me: PHP is (currently) not the most realistic language to try and do OCR with, instead it'd be a lot easier (at this point) to borrow from another. Be this a low-level library in C, or a full-blown package, it doesn't matter. -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
Re: [PHP] simple OCR in php
On 6/29/07, M. Sokolewicz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Robert Cummings wrote: On Fri, 2007-06-29 at 11:32 -0500, Jay Blanchard wrote: [snip] I am looking for a way to incorporate some simple OCR into a php script. The user will bulk scan a pile of invoices. I want the php script to look at each invoice and read a number off the invoice. The image will then be renamed, and be organized into a directory and the file name will be added to a database. (all of these steps are straight forward once the number is read.) I have no problem with a system that requires a special OCR font and/or some sort of registration mark to help locate the Invoice number. Can anybody tell me of any tools out there that can do this? [/snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. You could insert an OCR application into the process and have the OCR app pass PHP the information. Why can PHP not perform OCR functions? Cheers, Rob. It's not so much impossible to perform OCR as it is unrealistic to do so. PHP contains only the very most basic support for such things, not to mention there are barely any (OS) libraries for PHP to do this, it's simply not realistic to try and make one if you're on your own. Other languages (ie. C) have libraries, written by people specifically for this purpose, so it seems clear to me: PHP is (currently) not the most realistic language to try and do OCR with, instead it'd be a lot easier (at this point) to borrow from another. Be this a low-level library in C, or a full-blown package, it doesn't matter. Take the library of a C OCR program, write some PHP C code around it and a new extension is born :) Tijnema -- Vote for PHP Color Coding in Gmail! - http://gpcc.tijnema.info -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
Re: [PHP] simple OCR in php
On Fri, 2007-06-29 at 22:57 +0200, M. Sokolewicz wrote: Robert Cummings wrote: On Fri, 2007-06-29 at 11:32 -0500, Jay Blanchard wrote: [snip] I am looking for a way to incorporate some simple OCR into a php script. The user will bulk scan a pile of invoices. I want the php script to look at each invoice and read a number off the invoice. The image will then be renamed, and be organized into a directory and the file name will be added to a database. (all of these steps are straight forward once the number is read.) I have no problem with a system that requires a special OCR font and/or some sort of registration mark to help locate the Invoice number. Can anybody tell me of any tools out there that can do this? [/snip] In short PHP cannot perform OCR functions. You could insert an OCR application into the process and have the OCR app pass PHP the information. Why can PHP not perform OCR functions? Cheers, Rob. It's not so much impossible to perform OCR as it is unrealistic to do so. PHP contains only the very most basic support for such things, not to mention there are barely any (OS) libraries for PHP to do this, it's simply not realistic to try and make one if you're on your own. Other languages (ie. C) have libraries, written by people specifically for this purpose, so it seems clear to me: PHP is (currently) not the most realistic language to try and do OCR with, instead it'd be a lot easier (at this point) to borrow from another. Be this a low-level library in C, or a full-blown package, it doesn't matter. Well I agree with that, but as you indicate, it is possible to do it in PHP, just not particularly practical :) Cheers, Rob. -- .. | InterJinn Application Framework - http://www.interjinn.com | :: | An application and templating framework for PHP. Boasting | | a powerful, scalable system for accessing system services | | such as forms, properties, sessions, and caches. InterJinn | | also provides an extremely flexible architecture for | | creating re-usable components quickly and easily. | `' -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
