One of the nicer formats of the web is the PDF file (developed by Adobe) which results in clean looking documents that work well with printers and presentations. Unfortunately, they're not the easiest to make. Even if you have the software from Adobe (Acrobat) to make these files, once it's in there, how can you update it? Well, in steps PHP - once again, the answer to all web woes. PHP's PDFLib extension can help you make a PDF on the fly with all the current information from any source you choose.

And, to help you out in this quest, DevShed.com has a new article that shows you how to get started. "PDF Generation With PHP" steps you through everything from the installation of the PDFLib libraries and getting it compiled, to starting on your very first PDF document using the sample script they give you. They even show you how to insert pictures into your creation, using the built-in functions to place it on the page. There's all sorts of features that they just touch on here, like making graphs or charts with the "drawing functions" in the PDFLib, or adding the external information to a PDF file that you see in the Document Summary.

So, if you're looking for a cheap way to make an up-to-date PDF file for your site or client and need an easy way - choose PHP and PDFLib (oh, and DevShed!).