3 questions about set_time_limit() function in PHP - php

I have 3 Questions about set_time_limit() function in PHP :
when a user doesn't have permission to access PHP.ini can he change the value of the set_time_limit() function ?
what can I do to stop restarting set_time_limit() function ?
other way: I don't want to run set_time_limit(). What can I do?

To 1:
Yes a user may call the function even if they don't have access to the php.ini. You may use safe_mode(DEPRECATED and REMOVED in 5.4) or the disabled_functions ini directive to avoid this. However, set_time_limit is potentional misleading (read below). If you don't want to change the php.ini it might in a web context be possible to set the max response-time at the server level or the used cgi config.
To 2 also answers 3:
Disallow the function and/or set max_execution_time.
Note: set_time_limit counts the execution time of the current running php script, not the time the script spends waiting on external ressources (Exception ofcourse on windows).

Your three questions is easily answered by the PHP Manual - set_time_limit function of set_time_limit function.
1 - A user only don't have permissions to change the php.ini when it doesn't have the permissions to do so through the file system
2 and 3 - You can change the max_execution_time on php.ini if you have the right permissions. Put on it a huge value (it is not recommended though)

Related

PHP Fatal error: Max execution time exceeded - EVEN after set_time_limit(0)

I keep running into the following PHP error when running my script
Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 30 seconds exceeded in C:\wamp\apps\sqlbuddy1.3.3\functions.php on line 22
I already put this in my PHP file, and I STILL get this error message.
#set_time_limit(0);
Am I missing something?
Edit: This error only shows up after SEVERAL minutes, not after 30 seconds. Could something also be delaying its appearance?
set_time_limit() has no effect when running in safe_mode:
This function has no effect when PHP is running in safe mode. There is no workaround other than turning off safe mode or changing the time limit in the php.ini.
You can check the value of safe_mode and max_execution_time with phpinfo().
Given the facts that you are using Windows and experiencing the timeout later than 30s you might have somewhere else in your code a reset of the timeout (set_time_limit(30)):
The set_time_limit() function [..] only affect the execution time of the script itself. Any time spent on activity that happens outside the execution of the script such as system calls using system(), stream operations, database queries, etc. is not included when determining the maximum time that the script has been running. This is not true on Windows where the measured time is real.
Search your code for:
ini_set('max_execution_time', 30)
set_time_limit(30)
Rather than relying on the PHP file to change the php.ini settings, you should do it yourself. Find where the php.ini is kept for WAMP, and change/add this line:
max_execution_time = 500;
There is a PHP config that unallows the script to change the time_limit.
You can change your PHP behavior on php.ini file

PHP: what happens if required script stops because of timeout

Scenario: a php script with som pre-code, a require xxxx.php; and some postcode. Wanting and believing that because of using require and not include, the script will stop at the "require" statement if xxxx.php times out - is that correct?
Or asked in another way: is a timeout the same as the script throwing an error?
From the documentation:
max_execution_time integer
This sets the maximum time in seconds a script is allowed to run before it is terminated by the parser. This helps prevent poorly written scripts from tying up the server. The default setting is 30. When running PHP from the command line the default setting is 0.
The maximum execution time is not affected by system calls, stream operations etc. Please see the set_time_limit() function for more details.
You can not change this setting with ini_set() when running in safe mode. The only workaround is to turn off safe mode or by changing the time limit in the php.ini.
Your web server can have other timeout configurations that may also interrupt PHP execution. Apache has a Timeout directive and IIS has a CGI timeout function. Both default to 300 seconds. See your web server documentation for specific details.
Official Documentation for set_time_limit()

Internal Server Error (500) and PHP max_execution_time on Linux server

I have a php script that need to be processed for one to 5 hours (sending newsletters to our customers). I tried both set_time_limit(2000); and ini_set('max_execution_time', 360000); but neither works. They work perfectly on the XAMPP local server, but they do not work on our dedicated server (Unix & Apache). I also changed the Apache timeout to 300 (which was 50), yet after 30 seconds of script running, it returns this:
Internal Server Error Page (Error 500)
I have no idea if there is any other place for timeout and/or why the server does not honor the ini_set() or set_time_limit() functions. We are using Unix CentOS 6 and Plesk 11.9 as server. I also changed the default php.ini max_execution_time, and it works...
I read many articles and forums, yet I don't know why this happens. I appreciate your help.
// add, in your php file header or config
ini_set('max_execution_time','256'); //max_execution_time','0' <- unlimited time
ini_set('memory_limit','512M');
Good work!
a better way would be using ini_set() or set_time_limit() at the top of the script which sends newsletters to the customers...you should not try to main config files...and also, as someone suggested above, cron jobs are good fit for such situations..
I appreciate your answers and comments. I setup the cron job, and it works perfect. I also have tried the chunk-chunk (150 emails per chunk) approach, and that one works too.
If you using Vps:
Edit your php.ini file:
max_execution_time = 256
memory_limit = 512M
Then, run command line to restart apache
service httpd restart
Or header file
ini_set('max_execution_time','256');
ini_set('memory_limit','512M');
Good luck!

PHP- cannot change max_execution_time in xampp

I've tried everything to change the max_execution_time of a php crawler script so that it can run an infinite amount of time.
I have changed the php.ini file setting max_execution_time to 0 or 100000000 but with no change
I've also tried setting it from the php script itself by using ini_set('max_execution_time', 0);
All php scripts throw the same error Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 3000 seconds exceeded, what could I be missing and how can I make sure there is no max execution time limit?
php script
<?php
ini_set('MAX_EXECUTION_TIME', -1);
error_reporting(E_ALL); // turn on all errors, warnings and notices for easier debugging
//ini_set('max_execution_time', 123456);
ini_set('max_input_time', -1);
ini_set('memory_limit', '512M');
set_time_limit(0);
date_default_timezone_set('Europe/London');
/*code which scrapes websites*/
?>
phpinfo()
max_execution_time 0 0
max_input_time -1 -1
Try turning off safe mode in php and then try the below code
if( !ini_get('safe_mode') ){
set_time_limit(0); //this won't work if safe_mode is enabled.
}
This should allow you to run the script for infinite time.
In Apache you can change maximum execution time by .htaccess with this line
php_value max_execution_time 200
set_time_limit() php manual ref.
You shouldn't let your crawler run under apache, it's better to run it stand-alone via cli as part of a Gearman setup.
That way it won't hog your web server and it can run as long as you want. You can find many bindings for Gearman that you can use, including PHP of course.
use
set_time_limit(0);
at the top of the script
In WAMP there is three PHP.ini files so you might find 3 in xampp also, so just search for it with find and replace max_execution_time to what you are setting. But you must keep something small not too large as for speedy the app you running.
You could also try setting ignore_user_abort(TRUE); in your script as it might be the browser timing out rather than the script.
From the php.net manual
<?php
// Ignore user aborts and allow the script
// to run forever
ignore_user_abort(true);
set_time_limit(0);
See here for more info
http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.ignore-user-abort.php
If you are on windows, and this is a CLI run script maybe read this.
check phpinfo() from a temp script and search for max_execution_time. make sure that it has same value what you are setting. default should be 30 seconds. try to change it to a couple of different values and restart apache then check the value in phpinfo() to confirm.
if when you change the value it is reflected properly in the phpinfo() it means that there is some code in your script which is changing this value. search for two things in your code:
search your code for ini_set() and check if it is change max_execution_time
search for set_time_limit()
these functions can change maximum time limit of execution from script. otherwise you should check .htaccess from where this value may be set. but this will effect phpinfo() also.
I found the following in the xampp documentation. Maybe you are trying to edit the wrong php.ini file?
Why have changes in my php.ini no effect?
Since XAMPP 1.7.1 the "php.ini" is only in the directory "\xampp\php". Till XAMPP 1.7.0 is was in the directory "\xampp\apache\bin".
If a change in the "php.ini" have no effect, it's possible PHP is still using an other one. You can verify this with phpinfo(). Go to the URI localhost/xampp/phpinfo.php and search for "Loaded Configuration File". This value shows you the "php.ini" PHP is really using.
Info:
After changing the "php.ini" you have to restart Apache, thus Apache/PHP can read the new settings.
what you are doing is just setting the max_execution_time to whatever inside your page.
you can't change this using ini_set. you can change the memory_limit only.
see more details here...
from the php official site.
if you want them to be changed, change in php.ini.
You have to change both of these in you php.ini ( and check if that's the right php.ini by finding the location in phpinfo(); output! )
max_execution_time = 0
max_input_time = 0
And after that check if some php file is not overwriting those variables locally.
open php.ini notepad file and search or find upload_max_filesize = 1000M and you should change on Post_max_filesize = 1000M then restart your xampp and refresh the local phpmyadmin..

PHP backup script timing out

I have a backup script which backups up all files for a website to a zip file (using a script similar to the answer to this question). However, for large sites the script times out before it can complete.
Is there any way I can extend the length of time available for the script to run? The websites run on shared Windows servers, so I don't have access to the php.ini file.
If you are in a shared server environment, and you don’t have access to the php.ini file, or you want to set php parameters on a per-site basis, you can use the .htaccess file (when running on an Apache webserver).
For instance, in order to change the max_execution_time value, all you need to do is edit .htaccess (located in the root of your website, usually accesible by FTP), and add this line:
php_value max_execution_time 300
where 300 is the number of seconds you wish to set the maximum execution time for a php script.
There is also another way by using ini_set function in the php file
eg. TO set execution time as 5 second, you can use
ini_set('max_execution_time', 300); //300 seconds = 5 minutes
Please let me know if you need any more clarification.
set time limit comes to mind, but may still be limited by php.ini settings
set_time_limit(0);
http://php.net/manual/en/function.set-time-limit.php
Simply put; don't make a HTTP request to start the PHP script. The boundaries you're experiencing are set because you're using a HTTP request, which means you can have a time-out. A better solution would be to implement this using a "cronjob", or what Microsoft calls "Scheduled tasks". Most hosting providers will allow you to run such a task at set times. By calling the script from command line, you don't have to worry about the time-outs any more, but you're still at risk of running into memory issues.
If you have a decent hosting provider though, why doesn't it provide daily backups to start with? :)
You can use the following in the start of your script:
<?php
if(!ini_get('safe_mode')){
set_time_limit(0); //0 in seconds. So you set unlimited time
}
?>
And at the end of the script use flush() function to tell PHP to send out what it has generated.
Hope this solves your problem.
Is the script giving the "Maximum execution time of xx seconds exceeded" error message, or is it displaying a blank page? If so, ignore_user_abort might be what you're looking for. It tells php not to stop the script execution if the communication with the browser is lost, which may protect you from other timeout mechanisms involved in the communication.
Basically, I would do this at the beginning of your script:
set_time_limit(0);
ignore_user_abort(true);
This said, as advised by Berry Langerak, you shouldn't be using an HTTP call to run your backup. A cronjob is what you should be using. Along with a set_time_limit(0), it can run forever.
In shared hosting environments where a change to the max_execution_time directive might be disallowed, and where you probably don't have access to any kind of command line, I'm afraid there is no simple (and clean) solution to your problem, and the simplest solution is very often to use the backup solution provided by the hoster, if any.
Try the function:
set_time_limit(300);
On windows, there is a slight possibility that your webhost allows you to over ride settings by uploading a php.ini file in the root directory of your webserver. If so, upload a php.ini file containing:
max_execution_time = 300
To check if the settings work, do a phpinfo() and check the Local Value for max_execution_time.
Option 1: Ask the hosting company to place the backups somewhere accesible by php, so the php file can redirect the backup.
Option 2: Split the backup script in multiple parts, perhaps use some ajax to call the script a few times in a row, give the user a nice progress bar and combine the result of the script calls in a zip with php and offer that as a download.

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