Simple way to open an OPEN dialog box?

I want a dialog box to open so I can open a file direct... In Javascript I'd type:

var pfile = fileGetDialog("Select a file.", "TEXT");

if (pfile == null){
alert("No file selected. ");
}else{



var readData = pfile.open("r","TEXT", "????");
if(readData){
var encoded_data = pfile.read();
}else{
alert("Problems reading file");
}

Break... (sorry, don't know how to enter code boxes yet)

There's an easy way to do this in PHP, yes?

Thanks...

CaptM

The easy way to do this in PHP is do to do it in JavaScript, since PHP is a server side language and would be more inclined to pop up dialogs on the host box than over the web. Either echo a <script> block or an include to a standalone javascript file.

Ralph --

Thanks. Honestly, I'm over my head here. Let me know if what I'm asking is impossible at this point...

I've coded a PHP script to run on my own computer using Apache/PHP5 to parse data out of an XML into a JSON data file so that it can be read and used by a Javascript in another program. This isn't really a web based app for public consumption over the net.

Right now, I have to hardcode the XML data file name into the PHP script (which right now I have to keep both XML and PHP script in my MAMP/bin/mamp folder)... which includes going into BBEdit and changing it each time I want to parse a different document... since I couldn't figure out how to parse the xml straight into the javascript -- which might be my downfall in this anyway.

I do have another problem if you're willing to help with that too...

I don't have the code infront of me, but I echo it at the end and the data comes back up on my browser which I then copy and paste back into BBEdit and save as a .php doc for import by the Javascript I've got... any way to echo that to a .php doc just by coding it?

Thanks,

CaptM