PHP Routing - "Clean" include - php

I have a PHP routing script, like this:
include_once('routing-functions.php');
// pathMatches was imported from routing-functions.php
if(pathMatches('/blog/*')){
include_once('actual-script.php');
}
The problem I have is the following: the functions and global variables from routing-functions.php could potentially conflict with the included file. Additionally, I don't want actual-script.php to have access to any of the variables of the router.
I am looking for a way to completely wipe the PHP context, so that the file is included as if it were directly requested, so doing the following is not an option because it changes the context/scope in which actual-script.php is executed:
if(pathMatches('/blog/*')){
function $sandbox(){
include_once('actual-script.php');
};
$sandbox();
}
Additionally, sending a local request to the file (e.g. with cURL) is also not an option, because it has a negative impact on performance and I want it to run as if it were under the /blog/ URL.
The problem is easy to solve with .htaccess, however, I need a dynamic solution that uses a PHP router.
If anyone has had a similar problem before or knows of a good solution it would be greatly appreciated.

Related

file_get_contents not working when parameters included in a relative url

I am trying to create a simple web service that will give a result depending on parameters passed.
I would like to use file_get_contents but am having difficulties getting it to work. I have researched many of the other questions relating to the file_get_contents issues but none have been exactly the situation I seem to having.
I have a webpage:
example.com/xdirectory/index.php
I am attempting to get the value of the output of that page using:
file_get_contents(urlencode('https://www.example.com/xdirectory/index.php'));*
That does not work due to some issue with the https. Since the requesting page and the target are both on the same server I try again with a relative path:
file_get_contents(urlencode('../xdirectory/index.php'));
That does work and retrieves the html output of the page as expected.
Now if I try:
file_get_contents(urlencode('../xdirectory/index.php?id=100'));
The html output is (should be): Hello World.
The result retrieved by the command is blank. I check the error log and have an error:
[Fri Dec 04 12:22:54 2015] [error] [client 10.50.0.12] PHP Warning: file_get_contents(../xdirectory/index.php?id=100): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /var/www/html/inventory/index.php on line 40, referer: https://www.example.com/inventory/index.php
The php.ini has these set:
allow_url_fopen, On local and On master
allow_url_include, On local and On master
Since I can get the content properly using only the url and NOT when using it with parameters I'm guessing that there is an issue with parameters and file_get_contents. I cannot find any notice against using parameters in the documentation so am at a loss and asking for your help.
Additional Notes:
I have tried this using urlencode and not using urlencode. Also, I am not trying to retrieve a file but dynamically created html output depending on parameters passed (just as much of the html output at index.php is dynamically created).
** There are several folks giving me all kind of good suggestions and it has been suggested that I must use the full blown absolute path. I just completed an experiment using file_get_contents to get http://www.duckduckgo.com, that worked, and then with a urlencoded parameter (http://www.duckduckgo.com/?q=php+is+cool)... that worked too.
It was when I tried the secure side of things, https://www.duckduckgo.com that it failed, and, with the same error message in the log as I have been receiving with my other queries.
So, now I have a refined question and I may need to update the question title to reflect it.
Does anyone know how to get a parameterized relative url to work with file_get_contents? (i.e. 'file_get_contents(urlencode('../xdirectory/index.php?id=' . urlencode('100'))); )
Unless you provide a full-blown absolute protocol://host/path-type url to file_get_contents, it WILL assume you're dealing with a local filesystem path.
That means your urlencode() version is wrongly doing
file_get_contents('..%2Fxdirectory%2Findex.php');
and you are HIGHLY unlikely to have a hidden file named ..%2Fetc....
call url with domain, try this
file_get_contents('https://www.example.com/inventory/index.php?id=100');
From reading your comments and additional notes, I think you don't want file_get_contents but you want include.
see How to execute and get content of a .php file in a variable?
Several of these answers give you useful pointers on what it looks like you're trying to achieve.
file_get_contents will return the contents of a file rather than the output of a file, unless it's a URL, but as you seem to have other issues with passing the URI absolutely....
So; you can construct something like:
$_GET['id'] = 100;
//this will pass the variable into the index.php file to use as if it was
// a GET value passed in the URI.
$output = include $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']."/file/address/index.php";
unset($_GET['id']);
//$output holds the HTML code as a string,
The above feels hacky trying to incorporate $_GET values into the index.php page, but if you can edit the index.php page you can use plain PHP passed values and also get the output returned with a specific return $output; statement at the end of the included file.
It has been two years since I used PHP so I am just speculating about what I might try in your situation.
Instead of trying fetching the parsed file contents with arguments as a query string, I might try to set the variables directly within the php script and then include it (that is if the framework you use allows this).
To achive this I would use pattern:
ob_start -> set the variable, include the file that uses the variable -> ob_get_contents -> ob_end_clean
It is like opening your terminal and running the php file with arguments.
Anyway, I would not be surprised if there are better ways to achieve the same results. Happy hacking :o)
EDIT:
I like to emphasize that I am just speculating. I don't know if there are any security issues with this approach. You could of course ask and see if anyone knows here on stackoverflow.
EDIT2:
Hmm, scrap what I said last. I would check if you can use argv instead.
'argv' Array of arguments passed to the script. When the script is run on the command line, this gives C-style access to the command line parameters. When called via the GET method, this will contain the query string. http://php.net/manual/en/reserved.variables.server.php
Then you just call your php script locally but without the query mark indicator "?". This way you can use the php interpreter without the server.
This is likely to be the most general solution because you can also use argv for get requests if I am understanding the manual correctly.

Context-aware AJAX call in a modular site

Edit: I thought about a possible solution, but I made another question as it is very specific: see AJAX proxy with PHP, is it possible?
A couple of times I've encountered this problem...
I create sites that have a certain degree of modularity. So, it is possible that there are "components" (think of a rough CMS) which carry their own PHP code, CSS, and JavaScript, all dynamically included. Think about a structure like:
{siteroot}/component/datagrid/datagrid.php
{siteroot}/component/datagrid/js/datagrid.js
{siteroot}/component/datagrid/css/datagrid.css
{siteroot}/component/datagrid/ajax/getsomedata.php
Now, the question is: for JavaScript files, and expecially AJAX calls, how do I make them context-aware with the URLs?
For example, if in datagrid.js I want to call siteroot/component/datagrid/ajax/getsomedata.php with AJAX I should write (with JQuery):
$("#ajax").load("siteroot/component/datagrid/ajax/getsomedata.php");
First problem: siteroot changes on different installations. I've managed that by including a general
var codeBase = <? echo json_encode(Config::$siteRoot); ?>
with PHP on every page, from a Config file that can be easily edited for every installation, so I can do with whatever JavaScript something like:
$("#ajax").load(codeBase + "/component/Datagrid/ajax/getsomedata.php");
What do you think of this approach?
Second problem: but I have PHP functions that return to me also the components folder, or the folder of other components. It would be nice to make the whole URL dynamic. This would account also for changes in the structure of the component if I want.
The only solution I've found is to use a .js.php dynamic Javascript. This is very unelegant, and I have to include all the framework in the JavaScript file, like:
<?php
include "../../libs/framework.php"; // get my functions...
$myUrl = Config::$siteRoot . Framework::getComponentAjaxDir("datagrid") . "/getsomedata.php";
?>
$("#ajax").load(<?=json_encode($myUrl)?>);
Another side effect is that I have to know exactly the include the path for framework.php... I don't want this so hard-codedin my ".js.php" file.
Any smart solutions about that?
As nobody answered in a suitable way, I answer to myself to provide a solution I've found out that can be useful.
The key to my solution is simple:
I create an AJAX proxy at a fixed location in my site structure, so I can use codeBase to reference the proxy from JavaScript
I call this proxy with two parameters: plugin and action, which identify a) the plugin folder in which the "real" ajax is and b) the ajax file to use, along with the other params:
$("#...").load( codeBase + "/main/ajax.php?plugin=Datagrid&action=gettable&otherparams"...)
In ajax.php I sanitize the parameters, and use plugin and action to obtain the "real" ajax file:
{serverRoot}/components/{plugin}/ajax/{action}.php
Then i simply include that file in ajax.php
To be honest your problems are realistic options and aren't that bad practice in general quite frankly.
But let's explore this a little further.
What would be the best approach is for you to have 1 main config.php file which you can then specify modules, i.e. your datagrid etc.
You could store all modules in an array variable like so:
$_SITE_PATH = "/var/www/html/";
$_HTTP_PATH = "http://example.com/";
$_MODULES_PATH = $_SITE_PATH."modules/"
$_MODULES = array(
"datagrid"=>$_MODULES_PATH."datagrid/init.php",
"something_else"=>$_MODULES_PATH."something_else/init.php"
);
Each module would have it's own directory with instantiation init.php so that it would load all it required to get going.
This way you could code as you liked and when you needed something (preferably in the header state) do something like this.
global $_MODULES;
require_once($_MODULES["datagrid"]);
Everything will be easily available as and when required without any variable path issues later down the line.

php include problem with urls with options ?view=task&others file not found

I really have read the other articles that cover this subject. But I seem to be in a slightly different position. I'm not using modrewrite (other articles).
I would like to 'include' a webpage its a 'Joomla php' generated page inside a php script. I'd hoped to make additions on the 'fly' without altering the original script. So I was going to 'precomplete' elements of the page by parasing the page once it was included I hadent wanted to hack the original script. To the point I can't include the file and its not because the path is wrong -
so
include ("/home/public_html/index.php"); this would work
include ("/home/public_html/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&task=add"); this would not!
I've tried a variety of alternates, in phrasing, I can't use the direct route "http:etc..." since its a current php version so must be a reference to the same server. I tried relative, these work without the ?option=com_k2&view=item&task=add
It may be the simple answer that 'options' or variables can be passed.
Or that the include can't be used to 'wait' for a page to be generated - i.e. it will only return the html.
I'm not the biggest of coders but I've done alot more than this and I thought this was so basic.
this would work include ("/home/public_html/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&task=add"); this would not!
And it never will: You are mixing a filesystem path with GET parameters, which can be passed only through the web server (utilizing a http:// call... But that, in turn, won't run the PHP code the way you want.)
You could set the variables beforehand:
$option = "com_k2";
$view = "item";
$task = "add";
include the file the normal way:
include ("/home/public_html/index.php");
this is assuming that you have access to the file, and can change the script to expect variables instead of GET parameters.

custom php function creation and install

I would like to know how to create a php function that can be installed in php
just like the already built in functions like :
rename
copy
The main point I would like to achieve is a simple php function that can be called from ANY php page on the whole host without needing to have a php function within the php page / needing an include.
so simply I would like to create a function that will work like this :
location();
That without a given input string will output the current location of the file via echo etc
Well, there are a couple of options here. One of them is to actually extend the language by writing an extension. You'd have to muck around with the PHP source code, write it in C, and deal with the Zend Engine internally. You probably wouldn't be able to use this on a shared host and it would be quite time consuming and probably not worth it.
What I would do is put all of your functions into a separate PHP file, say helper_functions.php. Now, go into your php.ini and add the directive: auto_prepend_file = helper_functions.php. This file should be in one of the directories specified in your include_path (that's a php.ini directive too).
What this does is basically automatically put include 'helper_functions.php'; on every script. Each and every request will have these functions included, and you can use them globally.
Read more about auto_append_file.
As others have said, there's probably an easier, better way to do most things. But if you want to write an extension, try these links:
http://docstore.mik.ua/orelly/webprog/php/ch14_01.htm
http://www.tuxradar.com/practicalphp/2/3/0
So you want to extend PHP's core language to create a function called location(), written in C, which could be done in PHP by:
echo __FILE__;
Right. Have fun doing that.

PHP variables maintaining an URL string

I'm not a PHP developer, but I'm currently hacking on an internal tool so my team can take advantage of its goodness. There's an index file that looks like so:
require( ($loader_path = "../../loaderapi/") . "loader.php" );
Used like this, $loader_path will retain its value within the loader.php file.
However, we want to access this API from our team's server like so:
require( ($loader_path = "http://remoteservername/loaderapi/") . "loader.php" );
In this case the $loader_path variable doesn't retain its value. I'm guessing it has something to do with it being a full blown URL, but I might be wrong. Any idea on how I can make this work, or why I can't do it this way?
If your accessing a PHP script over HTTP, only the output of that script is returned. So your script will try to interpret the output of that remote PHP script and not its source.
If there is a connection over the file system, you may want to try file://remoteservername/loaderapi/loader.php instead.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!
Remote file inclusion is a BAD idea, probably one of the biggest security flaws you can open up. Even for an internal tool this is not acceptable even if only purely for contributing bad habits.
PHP by default disables this behavior, and there is a broad push to have the ability to perform an include on a URL completely stripped from PHP (as there is no compelling reason to have this ability).
If you want to load shared resources, go through a shared file system drive (as in, don't use http, ftp, anything but file://) or better yet distribute copies of loader.php through a version control system. Loading from a single file resource opens you up to problems in the future of say a new dev overwriting loader.php and breaking everyone else's code.
There shouldn't be any real difference between the two; what you're doing is defining $loader_path, concatenating the loader.php, and passing that to require.
HOWEVER: you're defining the variable within the scope of a require, which will halt processing of the script of require fails.
Try replacing 'require' with 'include' and see if it retains the variable.
Also, note that if you are running your PHP server on a windows machine, and the php version is less than 4.3.0, neither 'require' nor 'include' can handle remote files : http://us.php.net/manual/en/function.include.php
Also, as noted before, if the .php lives on a remote server that parses php, you will not get code, but the result of the remote server processing the code. You'll either have to serve it up as a .txt file, or write php that, when processed, outputs valid php.
Have you tried splitting it into two lines:
$loader_path = "http://remoteservername/loaderapi/";
require( $loader_path . "loader.php" );
It's easier to read this way as well.
Simplify the code reading by simply putting everything on 3 lines:
$loader_path = "http://remoteservername/loaderapi/";
$page = "loader.php";
require($loader_path . $page );
Much clearer and it works.
why not just put it above the require statement? would make it easier to read too.
<?php
$loader_path = "../../folderName/"
require($loader_path . "filename")
?>

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