In this article you will learn how to install and configure the PHP/Java Bridge and how to use Java classes in PHP scripts in a demo application. To use the PHP/Java bridge, you should have knowledge of Java SE and the PHP5 core, as well as how they interact.
PHP 4 supported an extension for combining PHP with Java, but to combine PHP with Java in PHP 5 you should install the PHP/Java Bridge, which the website describes as:”… an implementation of a streaming, XML-based network protocol, which can be used to connect a native script engine, for example PHP, Scheme or Python, with a Java virtual machine.”
Read complete article at PHP section of developer.com written by Octavia Andreea Anghel.