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Firstly I know that there is a lot of documentation on the paypal website but it's all very confusing and not necessarily related specifically to cakephp.

I've never built an app using paypal before and I'm a bit green with cakephp too! So I'm really confused and in need of a kindly soul to provide a little direction.

I'm trying to build a site where users can sign up and create a profile with me. They will then be able to receive payments from 3rd parties straight into their paypal accounts (with a little commission going to me)

I understand I need to use the Adaptive Payments API and that what I want to do is possible somehow - haven't quite figured it out just yet. However, the first thing I need to do is when the user signs up to my site I want to connect up their email address with their paypal account to make sure that they do actually have a paypal account. IE when someone clicks sign up, my app connects with paypal and links their profile on my site with their paypal account.

Can someone suggest how I might go about doing this?

Eternally grateful Sarah :)

ps I've seen this cakephp plugin mentioned a fair bit - would it be of any use to me? http://bakery.cakephp.org/articles/aniljmk/2010/08/19/paypal-gateway-integration-complete-solution

Crazy Sarah
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2 Answers2

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Good luck with your adventures into Cake!

But, the very first thing I'd do before you go any further...get used to your framework of choice. If Cake really is the framework you're going to use then get to know it, use it, love it, hate it, figure out how it's doing what it's doing.

Read the book, all of it. Too often a question on SO about Cake is plainly answered in Cake's documentation.

Don't fight the framework! Another thing I see all too often are people breaking Cake's "automagic" for seemingly no reason. I know that certain applications are going to be built using an existing database but if you're building a new application don't try to mold Cake into your own flavor. Instead make sure you're using the conventions Cake has set out, your life will be significantly less stressed out.

After you're familiar with things like, skinny controllers and fat models, creating and using controller components, view helpers, view elements and model behaviors then you should move on to working with PayPal payment authorization. Being a self-taught programmer I can tell you right now that until you get the framework under your belt you are biting off more then you can chew.

All of that being said...

I have limited use with the PayPal API so I'm not sure this is going to be of assistance and might not be what you're looking for but apparently PayPal has an API operation called AddressVerify that might help you do what you're wanting to do.

I hope this proves useful, if you have any other questions or need to clarify how AddressVerify doesn't solve your problem let me know and I'll take another stab at it.

Community
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Charles Sprayberry
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  • TLDR. (Remove all but last 2 pararaphs, and you might have an answer worth up-voting) :) – Dave Jul 18 '11 at 01:49
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    I care nothing about up-voting. The OP is trying to get into a framework AND process financial transactions without fully understanding either one. Unless they're in an academic environment this is not a recipe for success. You must understand the technology you use. – Charles Sprayberry Jul 18 '11 at 01:55
  • I meant no offense. Just pointing out that you wrote in the first 4/5 of your "answer" is not an answer, but a lecture, and is likely unhelpful, since it's not what they asked. – Dave Jul 18 '11 at 04:57
  • I didn't take offense. I'm just not here to get up-votes. I'm here to help people. From the OP, "I've never built an app using paypal before and I'm a bit green with cakephp too! So I'm really confused and in need of a kindly soul to provide a little direction." The direction they need in this case is, "Learn the framework", even if it isn't what they *want* to hear. – Charles Sprayberry Jul 18 '11 at 14:13
  • Hi guys, sorry for the delay in checking but I've been traveling. Thanks for the answer, all answers and suggestions are always helpful :) Like I said I am green with cakephp but I have read the manual a couple of times and spent the last 6 months playing around with cake so hopefully I'm ready for the challenge. What I meant was to just point out that I haven't done a lot with cake so perhaps there was something simple I was missing out. Thanks for the heads up about address verify - I'll go off and read around it - hopefully that's what I'm looking for! :) – Crazy Sarah Jul 19 '11 at 10:57
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I have used Paypal in my Cake app before, but just to receive payments, nothing fancy. This is the first time I hear about the Adaptive Payment API. From what I just read, it seems pretty complicated. And if you are not completely comfortable with Cake yet, this is gonna be a very difficult task.

If you just want to learn, I'd suggest horn your CakePHP skill first, then come back to this later. But if you need this for business purpose, getting someone who has done this would be the best way to do.

Anh Pham
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  • Yeah it does seem pretty complicated but I'm doing this for my own personal satisfaction and to learn new things so I don't wana pay someone. That said, if it comes to it I guess I could pay someone who has done it before to teach me :) – Crazy Sarah Jul 19 '11 at 10:59