Install pdftotext

[macrophi]

Hi, i'm quite new in linux and online website industry so i don't know if this would be possible..

Here's the scenario, i'm planning to install PDFTOTEXT from http://foolabs.com/xpdf/download.html..
i will be using it for my web application which is an online test, and i'm using PDFTOTEXT for my module which is an online uploader of test questions which is in PDF..

So my point here is can I install applications like this in x10hosting? and How?
I'm using only the free service...

Thank you in advance.

 

[essellar]

Not on the Free Hosting service, no. You want to install a binary executable, and that's something you're not going to be able to do on free hosting anywhere (and often not on ANY low-cost shared hosting plan). The host is going to want to make sure that your executable is sandboxed -- that is, nothing about your installation can affect other users on the server itself. Keep in mind that although your program is benign, allowing people to install binaries on a shared server isn't a good idea in general since they can be used to do all sorts of mean, nasty things.

You are probably going to have to use a VPS (virtual private server), which is a low-cost means of getting a server all to yourself. OR you can use a PHP script to convert PDFs to text, which would be allowed on a shared server (including on Free Hosting here). There are several PHP PDF-to-text converters out there (I haven't tested them and can't recommend one). There are also web APIs you can use, but there may be a cost involved that makes them no more practical for you than a VPS.

 

[macrophi]

ahh okay, i get it now..

i guess i just need to port my C executable into PHP..

Thanks for the response.