" on the server side location (pc running the application)"
If that's the Processing application, it is called the client side...
There are alternatives to PHP: they are called Java, C, Groovy, Scala, Python, Perl, Ruby, JavaScript, and so on... But not all (free) servers can run these languages, while PHP is almost on any server (and quite simple to use).
Now, if you mean "alternatives to have server-side programs" (and I really mean server side, ie. where the Web page is served), the answer is no. Well, maybe WebDAV can be used for that, but I have no experience there.

If you want to save a file on the PC of the user, indeed, you need to sign the applet.

Thanks phil.ho.

If I sign the application can the save() function work once i have the directory coded in the sketch ?

The distinction that phi.lho makes is important: it is the user's computer (the client) running the application, and saving to the user's computer is apparently easy enough if you sign the applet; but saving data to the web server is problematic:  if you could write data direct to the server it would be trivial for an attacker to load it with viruses and cause all kinds of trouble...  So you need to use a server side language to control what can and can't be written to the server (and even then you can potentially expose security flaws).

The solution to your problem depends on your needs.  If a user's data only needs to be accessed from their own machine then a client side solution will suffice (this is more or less the equivalent of a web page creating a cookie); though of course giving you access to the client's machine means you have the potential to write nasties to it; hence the need to sign your applet.  But if you want users to share data with others (e.g. in a multi-player game) then that data has to go via the server; at which point you're going to need some server-side code.  Achieving this with PHP should be relatively trivial if you don't need real-time interaction; though of course that's assuming that you have PHP support on your server; which I know isn't always the case on free providers...

Initially it will be used on the internal network (intranet). It has to be accessible via the internet browser. PHP is an option , however I would like to save directly to a predetermined folder on the machine that the application is running the application via the index.html

Either would work, the pc running the app or the app that is being used to access the page. PHP is still an option but getting to know how to sign an app has multiple benefits than just storing and saving files. Signing the app gives the application access to the sound card and so forth.

" once i have the directory coded in the sketch"
It might work in your case, since you plan to use it in your limited environment, but it won't work in other cases (applet on a Web site) because each computer has different paths, and even different ways to specify them (basically, Windows style vs. Unix style). In this case, using selectFolder() is a solution.

In your case, it can be simpler just to export the sketch as an application, no?

The wiki has examples of using PHP and also saving text files direct to the machine.  I'll test the latter online later, but I'd hope that using sketchPath() will work from an applet running in a browser and avoid the issues phi.lho mentions regarding paths on different machines...

If you're having problems signing an app, and you're on Windows, I documented my experience of this recently: http://forum.processing.org/#Topic/25080000000412023

On Windows at least, it's not nearly as straightforward as the wiki instructions would seem to suggest...

OK - I can confirm that it's simple enough for a signed applet to write a text file to the user's computer using the wiki example.  I've tested this on Windows in Firefox, IE and Safari, and you can try it yourself by visiting: http://www.blindfish.co.uk/code/processing/save-text/

I made a minor change to the sketch to display the sketchPath so you can easily locate the saved files on your machine (they should be in a folder called 'save' at the location displayed).  One point of concern is the sketchPath location: for Firefox and Safari it was in the application's folder under Program Files.  In IE it was the desktop :/

Still I guess it might be possible to parse the path to get to the root of the machine and then create a save folder there...

Thanks blindfish. I will try it out and post my results.