PHP Generate Random String In Echo - php

I'm looking for a bit of assistance in generating a random string of numbers that is 4 digits long. To better explain my situation, here is a snippet of PHP code where I need the random numbers inserted (for those wondering about the $ssh->exec I'm using phpseclib).
echo $ssh->exec("touch $username-$port.txt");
The above $port variable is where I'd like PHP to generate a random 4 digit number (preferably between 5000-5999).
After looking at the documentation on W3Schools, it looks like they recommend using the following to generate a random number between defined limits, like so:
echo(rand(10,100));
This works standalone, but the problem with that is it requires an echo and I'm already performing an echo $ssh->exect with my above PHP code. So I'm not quite sure how I would implement an "echo inside an echo" if that makes sense.
If anyone would be willing to help me out with this, it would be greatly appreciated.

You can use a pre-defined variable such as:
$port = rand(5000,5999);
that will then populate through your exec provided you keep it encapsulated inside double quotes. Otherwise, you will need to concatenate.

Related

PHP - evaluating param

I have following code:
<?php
$param = $_GET['param'];
echo $param;
?>
when I use it like:
mysite.com/test.php?param=2+2
or
mysite.com/test.php?param="2+2"
it prints
2 2
not
4
I tried also eval - neither worked
+ is encoded as a space in query strings. To have an actual addition sign in your string, you should use %2B.
However, it should be noted this will not perform the actual addition. I do not believe it is possible to perform actual addition inside the query string.
Now. I would like to stress to avoid using eval as if it's your answer, you're asking the wrong question. It's a very dangerous piece of work. It can create more problems than it's worth, as per the manual specifications on this function:
The eval() language construct is very dangerous because it allows
execution of arbitrary PHP code. Its use thus is discouraged. If you
have carefully verified that there is no other option than to use this
construct, pay special attention not to pass any user provided data
into it without properly validating it beforehand.
So, everything that you wish to pass into eval should be screened against a very.. Very strict criteria, stripping out other function calls and other possible malicious calls & ensure that 100% that what you are passing into eval is exactly as you need it. No more, no less.
A very basic scenario for your problem would be:
if (!isset($_GET['Param'])){
$Append = urlencode("2+2");
header("Location: index.php?Param=".$Append);
}
$Code_To_Eval = '$Result = '.$_GET['Param'].';';
eval($Code_To_Eval);
echo $Result;
The first lines 1 through to 4 are only showing how to correctly pass a character such a plus symbol, the other lines of code are working with the data string. & as #andreiP stated:
Unless I'm not mistaking the "+" is used for URL encoding, so it would
be translated to a %, which further translates to a white space.
That's why you're getting 2 2
This is correct. It explains why you are getting your current output & please note using:
echo urldecode($_GET['Param']);
after encoding it will bring you back to your original output to which you want to avoid.
I would highly suggest looking into an alternative before using what i've posted

Get an int at the beginning of a string with PHP

Supposing I have:
$yeah='71263andsomemore632';
How may I get two variables like this:
$intAtBeginning=71263;
$theRest='andsomemore632';
I really don't know how to do this, since both integers might have a different length. I promise I will research on whatever you help me with, to understand it and sleep happy today ;)
Thanks.
An easy way would be to use sscanf
list($intAtBeginning, $theRest) = sscanf($yeah, '%d%s');
echo $intAtBeginning.'<br>'.$theRest;

Can you explain Perl's hash system to a PHP guy?

How do Perl hashes work?
Are they like arrays in PHP or some completely different beast?
From what I understand all it is is an associative array right? This is what I thought until I began
to talk to a Perl programmer who told me I was completely wrong, but couldn't explain it in a way
that didn't make my eyes cross.
Anyway, the way that I thought it worked was like this
PHP's:
$argv['dog_name'] = 'missy';
$argv[0] = 'tree';
same as Perl's:
my %argv{'dog_name'} = 'missy';
my $argv[0] = 'tree';
Right? But you cannot print(%argv{'dog_name'}), you have to (revert?) to print($argv{'dog_name'}) which is confusing?
Is it trying to print as a variable now, like you would in PHP, echo $argv['dog_name']; ? Does this mean (again) that a hash is
just a PHP associative array with a % to declare but a $ to access?
I don't know, I'm hoping some PHP/Perl Guru can explain how hashes work, and how similar they are
to PHP's arrays.
To write
$argv['dog_name'] = 'missy';
$argv[0] = 'tree';
in Perl, you would write it as follows:
$argv{dog_name} = 'missy';
$argv{0} = 'tree';
if you had strict on, which you should, then you will need to predeclare the variable:
my %argv;
$argv{dog_name} = 'missy';
$argv{0} = 'tree';
If the above is a bit repetitive for you, you could write it:
my %argv = (
dog_name => 'missy',
0 => 'tree',
);
You can find more detail on the perldata manpage.
In short, the reasons why the sigils change from % to $ is that %hash refers to a plural hash (a list of key value pairs), and $hash{foo} refers to a single element of a hash. This is the same with arrays, where # refers to the full array, and $ refers to a single element. (for both arrays and hashes a leading # sigil with a subscript means a slice of the data, where multiple keys are passed and a list of values are returned)
To elaborate slightly on Ambrose's answer, the reason for your confusion is the difference between the philosophy of using sigils in Perl and PHP.
In PHP, the sigil is attached to the identifyer. E.g. a hash identifyer will ALWAYS have a hash sigil around it.
In Perl, a sigil is attached to the way you are accessing the data structure (are you accessing 1 value, a list of values, or a whole hash of values) - for details see other excellent answers such as Eric's.
%argv{'dog_name'} is a syntax error. You need $argv{'dog_name'} instead.
But you are correct that a perl hash is just an associative array (why perl chose to use a different terminology, I don't know).
For a complete understanding of hashes, I recommend reading any of the vast number of perl tutorials or books that cover the topic. Programming Perl is an excellent choice, or here's a random online tutorial I found as well.
I would, as Flimzy, also recommend Programming Perl. As a recent PHP to Perl convert myself, it has taught me a great deal about the language.
The % symbol is used to create a full 'associative array', as we would think of it. For example, I could create an associative array by doing the following:
%hash = ('key1' => 'value1', 'key2' => 'value2');
I could then print it out like so:
print %hash;
The output would be something like:
'key2value2key1value1'
This is, I believe, known as 'list context', since the % indicates that we are talking about a range of values.
On the other hand, if I wanted to access a single value, we would have to use the $ sigil. This, as 'Programming Perl' tells us, can be thought of as an 'S' for 'Scalar'. We have to use the $ sign whenever we are talking about a singular value.
So, to access an individual item in the array, I would have to use the following syntax:
print $hash{'key1'};
The same is true of arrays. A full array can be created like so:
#array = ('abc', '123');
and then printed like so:
print #array;
But, to access a single element of the array I would type instead:
print $array[0];
There are lots of basic principles here. You should read about 'list context' and 'scalar context' in some detail. Before long you will also want to look at references, which are the things you use to create multimensional structures in Perl. I really would recommend 'Programming Perl'! It was a difficult read in chapters, but it certainly does cover everything you need to know (and more).
The sigil changing really isn't as complicated as you make it sound. You already do this in English without thinking about it.
If you have a set of cars, then you would talk about "these cars" (or "those cars"). That's like an array.
my #cars = ('Vauxhall', 'Ford', 'Rolls Royce');
If you're talking about just one car from that set, you switch to using "this car". That's like a single element from an array.
say $car[1]; # prints 'Ford';
Similar rules also apply to hashes.
I would say your confusion is partly caused by one simple fact. Perl has different sigils for different things. PHP has one sigil for everything.
So whether you're putting something into an array/hash, or getting something out, or declaring a simple scalar variable, in PHP you always use the dollar sign.
With perl you need to be more specific, that's all.
The "sigil", i.e. the character before the variable name, denotes the amount of data being accessed, as follows:
If you say $hash{key}, you are using scalar context, i.e. one value.
For plural or list context, the sigil changes to #, therefore #hash{('key1', 'key2')} returns a list of two values associated with the two keys respectivelly (might be written as #hash{qw(key1 key2)}, too).
%hash is used to acces the hash as a whole.
The same applies to arrays: $arr[0] = 1, but #arr[1 .. 10] = (10) x 10.
I hope that you are not expecting to get a full tutorial regarding perl hashes here. You don't need a Perl guru to explain you hashes, just a simple google search.
http://www.perl.com/pub/2006/11/02/all-about-hashes.html
PS: please increase your accept ratio - 62% is pretty low

Converting an input text value to a decimal number

I'm trying to work with decimal data in my PHP and MySql practice and I'm not sure about how can I do for an acceptable level af accuracy.
I've wrote a simple function which recives my input text value and converts it to a decimal number ready to be stored in the database.
<?php
function unit ($value, $decimal_point = 2) {
return number_format (str_replace (",", ".", strip_tags (trim ($value))), $decimal_point);
}
?>
I've resolved something like AbdlBsF5%?nl with some jQuery code for replace and some regex to keep only numbers, dots and commas.
In some country, people uses the comma , to send decimal numbers, so a number like 72.08 is wrote like 72,08. I'd like avoid to forcing people to change their usual chars and I've decided to use a jQuery to keep this too.
Now every web developer knows the last validation must be handled by the dynamic page for security reasons.
So my answer is should I use something like unit (); function to store data or should I also check if users inserts invalid chars like letters or something else? If I try this and send letters, the query works without save the invalid data, I think this isn't bad, but I could easily be wrong because I'm a rookie.
What kind of method should I use for my query if I want a number like 99999.99?
don't forget to consider formatting also DATABASE values with something like FLOAT(10,2)
IMHO this is also very important!
then, of course use server side language for make real validation is the best practice!
you can read this:
http://php.net/manual/en/function.number-format.php
javascript can be fancy and handy but not secure although!

Is there a way to reduce this further?

I have a php function that I wish to reduce even further.
<?='Testing'?>
Is there a way to reduce this any further?
write Testing without the php tags. php will only interpret code between php tags, everything else will be outputted without any further processing.
Use a shorter word? ;)
Or put it outside the PHP tags (effectively starting and stopping the PHP goodiness).
?>Testing<?
Incidentally - I'm not overly sure what you want to achieve by "shortening". Do you want to make it faster, use less characters? From that example there - I'm not sure you're going to gain a whole lot from any of these examples.
You can assign the value you'd like printed to a short variable name before the output of the script:
<?php
$a = 'Testing';
?>
Then echo out that variable in the output:
<?=$a?>
Can't get any shorter than that.

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