GD apparently not bundled with TideSDK php module - gd

Question

I read this thread:
Does TideSDK have any image manipulation capabilities?
I have tried using gd functions and failed within my TideSDK application, and then I ran get_extension_funcs("gd"); to find out what gd functions were available, and I'm getting a 'null' response. I also checked to find out what ini file is loaded (also null returned). It appears the php module runs pretty thin (understandably). Here are the things I've tried:
using python's PIL library (had similar library issues with python)
using Ruby's chunky_png gem (had the most success here, but kept running into problems figuring out if the gem is loaded, and having to load it each time the ruby 'embedded server' was spooled up
setting up a 'local' php.ini file to attempt to shove the gd library in (out of my depth here)
My experience has been extensively with writing php application code, not so much with environment configurations. Do you have any ideas? Were you able to successfully use the gd library with the TideSDK?
I'm exploring the possibility of reserving a seat with TideKit, but I'm doing an exploratory build to make sure it does all that I need first. Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

Identify a portable CLI (Command Line) image library, in my case, this was ImageMagick. I was able to get this to work via Ruby via Bash. A "portable" image library would be one that:
a. Can run without being installed on the server i.e. doesn't need the names paths to function properly - so as long as you know "where" it is, you can cd to that directory, and get it to work
b. One with an acceptable footprint. It can't be too big, otherwise it will result in a huge download for your application.
Sample code:
### Bash installer for portable build of ImageMagick
#!/bin/bash
# change to scripts directory in Snicket application Contents path
echo "Installing ImageMagick…"
_APPDIR=$1
# _SCRIPTDIR=${1:-.}
_SCRIPTDIR="${_APPDIR}/Resources/scripts"
_HOME=${2:-${HOME}}
echo "Home -> ${_HOME}"
# Figure out directory absolute path
_TODIR=$_HOME/SnicketTools
mkdir $_TODIR
# remove previous installation
_MAGICK_DIR=$_TODIR/ImageMagick-6.8.9
echo "Removing existing directory -> ${_MAGICK_DIR}"
rm -r $_MAGICK_DIR
cd $_TODIR
tar xzvf "${_APPDIR}/Resources/tools/ImageMagick-x86_64-apple-darwin13.2.0.tar.gz"
#if [[ "$3" ]]; then
# #statements
# cp -r ./ImageMagick-6.8.9 $3/
#fi
# delete temporary copy of magic directory
## echo "Deleting temporary files from ${PWD}/ImageMagick-6.8.9 -> "
# rm -r ./ImageMagick-6.8.9
# open $_TODIR
echo "Magic directory (before export): ${_MAGICK_DIR}"
export MAGICK_HOME=$_MAGICK_DIR
echo "Magic directory: ${_MAGICK_DIR}"
echo "Magic home: ${MAGICK_HOME}"
## Clean profile file
_PROFILE=`cat ~/.bash_profile`
echo "Profile information -> ${_PROFILE}"
## You need to add export statements to ~/.bash_profile or ~/.profile
## or /etc/profile file. This will export variables permanently:
echo "# Snicket Magick Config" >> ~/.bash_profile
echo "export MAGICK_HOME=${_MAGICK_DIR}" >> ~/.bash_profile
echo "export PATH=$PATH:${MAGICK_HOME}/bin" >> ~/.bash_profile
echo "export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=${MAGICK_HOME}/lib/" >> ~/.bash_profile
echo "# End Snicket Magick Config" >> ~/.bash_profile
# Reload bash parameters
source ~/.bash_profile
## >> appends to an existing file
# source ~/.bash_profile
# check bash profile # open ~/.bash_profile
Next, Bash script for running basic image conversion using the library:
#!/bin/bash
## You MUST change to the magick directory before running in portable mode
# Use from within Ruby
# cmd = "bash #{$BASHDIR}/make_thumbnail.sh \"#{$MAGICK_HOME}#{$DS}bin\" \"#{img}\" \"#{tfile}\""
# cmd = "#{MAGICK_HOME}#{DS}bin#{DS}compress \"#{img}\" -resize 240x240\\> \"#{tfile}\""
_MAGICK_DIR=$1
_SRC=$2
_THUMB=$3
echo "Changing directory to -> ${_MAGICK_DIR}"
cd $_MAGICK_DIR
echo "Converting from ${_SRC} to ${_THUMB}"
source ~/.bash_profile
./convert "${_SRC}" -resize 240x240\> "${_THUMB}"