Get all content from a file, including PHP code - php

Question

I'm making a small CMS for practice. I am using CKEDITOR and is trying to make it avaliable to write something like %contactform% in the text, and then my PHP function will replace it with a contactform.
I've accomplished to replace the text with a form. But now I need the PHP code for the form to send a mail. I'm using file_get_contents(); but it's stripping the php-code.
I've used include(); to get the php-code from another file then and that works for now. I would like to do it with one file tho.
So - can I get all content from a file INCLUDING the php-code?
*UPDATE *
I'll try to explain in another way.
I can create a page in my CMS where I can write a header and some content. In the content I am able to write %contactform%.
When I get the content from the database I am replacing %contactform% with the content from /inserts/contactform.php, using file_get_contents(); where I have the form in HTML and my php code:
if(isset($_POST['submit'])) {
echo 'Now my form is submitted!';
}
<form method="post">
<input type="text" name="email">
<input type="submit" name="submit">
</form>
Now I was expecting to retrieve the form AND the php code active. But If I press my submit button in the form it's not firing the php code.
I do not wan't to show the php code I want to be able to use it.

Answer 1

I still have to guess, but from your update, I think you ultimatly end up with a variable, which contains the content from the database with %contactform% replaced by file_get_contents('/inserts/contactform.php').
Something like:
$contentToOutput = str_replace(
'%contactform%',
file_get_contents('/inserts/contactform.php'),
$contentFromDatabase
);
If you echo out that variable, it will just send it's content as is. No php will get executed.
Though it's risky in many cases, if you know what you're doing you can use eval to parse the php code. With mixed code like this, you maybe want to do it like the following.
ob_start();
eval('; ?>' . $contentToOutput);
$parsedContent = ob_get_clean();
$parsedContent should now contain the results after executing the code. You can now send it to the user or handle it whatever way you want to.
Of course you'll have to make sure that whatever is in $contentToOutput is valid php code (or a valid mixture of php with php-tags and text).
Here is a link to the symfony Templating/PhpEngine class. Have a look at the evaluate method to see the above example in real code.

Answer 2

yes...
$content = file_get_contents( 'path to your file' );
for printing try
echo htmlspecialchars( $content );

Answer 3

From reading the revised question, I think the answer is "You can't get there from here." Let me try to explain what I think you will encounter.
First, consider the nature of HTTP and the client/server model. Clients make requests and servers make responses. Each request is atomic, complete and stateless, and each response is complete and usually instantaneous. And that is the end of it. The server disconnects and goes back to "sleep" until the client makes a new request.
Let's say I make a request for a web page. A PHP script runs and it prepares a response document (HTML, probably) and the server sends the document to my browser. If the document contains an HTML form, I can submit the form to the URL of the action= script. But when I submit the form, I am making a new request that goes back to the server.
As I understand your design, the plan is to put both the HTML form and the PHP action script into the textarea of the CKeditor at the location of the %contactform% string. This would be presented to the client who would submit the form back to your server, where it would run the PHP script. I just don't think that will work, and if you find a way to make it work, you're basically saying, "I will accept external input and run it in PHP." That would represent an unacceptable security exposure for me.
If you can step back from the technical details and just tell us in plain language what you're trying to achieve, we may be able to offer a suggestion about the design pattern.