How to Access a Webcam in PHP

The PHP language runs on a Web server to host dynamic pages for your readers. You can use PHP to dynamically create JavaScript code that accesses a connected webcam or video. Use this type of scripting to host a chat service or online meeting application where users can connect to a video while using the voice or chat interface.

Instructions

1. Right-click the PHP page you want to use to connect to the webcam. Click "Open With" and select your preferred PHP editor.

2. Scroll down the PHP page to the section that displays the HTML tags. Add the following tags in the "head" tags:

   <script type="text/javascript"> </script>

   Place the PHP code within these tags to dynamically set up the script.

3. Create a variable for the JavaScript code to print to your readers' browsers. Add the following code to create the variable:

   $code = "$("#camera").webcam({
   width: 320,
   height: 240,
   mode: "callback",
   swffile: \"camfile.swf\"";
   });

   Replace "camfile.swf" with your own cam file used to connect to the webcam.

4. Write the code to the script section. Use the following PHP code to load the code in the browser, so the page connects to the webcam after the page loads in the user's browser:

   echo $code;

References

• Xarg: jQuery Webcam Plug-in