How Can PHP Convert HTML Documents to PDF?

Converting HTML to PDF with PHP: Exploring Options

Is it feasible to transform HTML documents into PDFs using PHP? If so, how is it accomplished?

Specific requirements dictate that HTML pages used for dynamically generated invoices be loaded via URLs like "http://example.com/invoices/3333." Once loaded, the HTML should be converted to PDF. Finding reliable libraries for this task is essential.

Addressing the Challenge

Creating PDFs from scratch using PHP is easily achievable with libraries like pdflib. However, converting HTML pages to PDFs presents certain hurdles.

Recommended Libraries

Despite extensive exploration, finding a perfect solution for HTML-to-PDF conversion in PHP remains challenging. Here are some viable options:

• DOMPDF: This PHP class manipulates HTML elements to generate PDFs. It supports some CSS styles and allows for customization. However, it can be sluggish when dealing with large or intricate HTML files.
• HTML2PS: Similar to DOMPDF, this library converts HTML to PostScript (.ps) format first, which can then be further transformed into desired formats like PDF, JPG, or PNG. It offers improved CSS compatibility but may encounter the same performance issues as DOMPDF.

Other Alternative Methods

If server-based software installation is an option, consider the following tools:

• wkhtmltopdf: This tool employs WebKit (the core of Safari) to perform fast and high-quality HTML-to-PDF conversions. It excels in handling CSS2 and is capable of processing a three-page XHTML document with CSS in just two seconds.
• htmldoc: Despite its apparent lack of recent updates, htmldoc remains a robust option, especially for situations where CSS compatibility is not crucial.

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