[Tilecache] New Kid on this Block

[Arnie Shore]

Is there a PHP version of TileCache? Or, what would the minimum part of 
TileCache that you could get away with rewriting into PHP?

Background: I've written a free, Open Source Computer-Assisted Dispatch 
application targeted to the public safety community, notably ham radio 
groups who kick into gear during emergency/crisis conditions. The app'n 
relies on Google's mapping API, currently.

But under emergency conditions that comprise the reasons for this 
community's existence, internet connectivity to Google may not exist, so 
I'm considering a version of the app in which the tile sets and API are 
resident at a local server. Hence my strong interest in OpenLayers and 
OpenStreetMap, and my poking around looking for a tile delivery/cache 
capability.  TileCache looks like it's on the money, but read further.

I want to keep the requirements stack as short as possible. (Right now, 
the stack is  readily built via a WAMP/LAMP/MAMP install.)  With 
PHP/MySQL in place, I don't see the need for a map server per se`, but 
rather a set of functions that wd do little more than deliver tiles to 
the requesting browser, and under a quite moderate load.

Thanks for any insights/suggestions,

Arnie Shore
Annapolis, MD