So, I inherited some really bad code and am currently just trying to refactor it to the point of functionality before completely overhauling it. One of the problems is that the original programmer set posts and sessions like this:
$_SESSION[somename]
$_POST[somevar]
instead of:
$_SESSION['somename']
$_POST['somevar']
It seems to be causing problems throughout the site. Is there a fast way that I can recursively find and replace these types of variables? I'm using a unix box, so not sure if there's a way to do that from the command line or if I should write a php script? They're everywhere and obviously are named different, so I would need to find any variable that does not have the quotes and replace it with the same string that does?
I would use sed for the job. I would then search for $_POST[(something)] and replace with $_POST["(something)]. Remember to go as unambiguous as you can. Also, remember to take a backup before trying to mess with it. Afterwards I would try running all the php files with "php [file]" to check if they are at least syntactically correct.
Related
I have a php project which needs upgrading from php 5.3 to php 5.6(and eventually, to php7), and from what I see in the PHP docs, the /e modifier for preg_replace is deprecated, and is to be removed, and I have to search all of its occurences and remove them(and replace them with something else, such as preg_replace_callback).
The problem is that there are lots of calls to preg_replace(around 2100 calls), and it would take a lot of time to check each of them manually, and I would like to create a script(either a php script or a bash script) which searches for all the preg_replace calls which use the specified modifier. I have searched online, and I found that this should be done either with a regex expression or with tokenizer. I have tried, but I have not managed to create a script which does just that(mainly because I have not really used any of the two functionalities mentioned, and am not proficient in any of them).
I was wondering if there is any easier way to do this, or if anyone could help me in creating a script which searches the entire codebase and outputs the required calls.
Thank you in advance.
You could use your code editor's find and replace:
Do a backup of your code (if you don't use git or something)
Use the Find in Folder ( or similar ) option
Check the Regular Expression (or similar) option when searching
Use a simple regex like preg_replace*?\/e
Replace the occurences one by one
Move your code in PHP 5.6 environment and see if it works.
I feel unconfortable about the way I have to put $ before every occurence of each variable in PHP. I wonder if there's any solution that would allow to omit it.
I guess there could be some available solution for some IDE that automatically place sigils before all the variables. In addition I would like to hear advices about IDE that suits this idea just fine, that is have some embedded means like macros. Which one should I choose? I tend to decide in favor of UltraEdit.
Erm, no. That's part of the PHP syntax. Not really any way around it.
In response to the edit:
There would be no way for the IDE to know what is a variable and what isn't. I suppose you could use your own symbol in replace of a $ and then replace all instances of that with a $. You could even compile the PHP script with the same method using another language that you are comfortable with.
However, the best answer would be to either get comfortable with it, or use another server side language. You could try and circumnavigate the syntax but in the end you are only really using more time to do so.
There are plenty to choose from. I know a lot of PHP devs that have migrated to Ruby for the syntax alone.
That is part of the PHP syntax. You can always use another language if you find it annoying.
PHP is based on Perl and in Perl the $ sign signifies scalars (# signifies arrays and % signifies associative arrays). PHP uses $ for all types.
Such symbols are called sigils.
I need to input "face" and get "facial, faces, faced, facing, facer, faceable" etc.
I've come across some ineffective programs which do the opposite, such as SNOWBALL and a couple of Porter Stemming PHP scripts which don't seem to work.
I'm beginning to think I may have to write this script - But, I thought I'd check to see if somebody has already been there/done that.
It will be very hard to simply find an algorithm to find the different way a word can be written like that.
You can use a dictionary webservice instead that have all the words available already
This is a string (see below, after the dashed line) in a database.inf file for a free program I downloaded that lists some websites.
The file is plain text as you can see , but there is a string after it that looks base64 encoded (due to the end chars of ==). But b64_decoding it gives giberish.
I wanted to decode it so I could add to the list of sites it had (the program lists a bunch of sites and data about them which I can read in the GUI) and to do that I need to decode this, add to it, and re-encode it.
I think the program uses .net since I think the .net library was required on install, but I know nothing of the original source language.
I am using php to figure out if there is a simple way to read this. I have tried using unpack, binhex, base_convert, etc as I suspect the file is binary at some level, but I am lost.
Nothing illegal, just wanting to know what it is and if I can add a few things to it to make it more useful for me.
here is the file - any ideas how to decode and recode this for playing with?
Site List
file size: 62139
db version: 13
generated: 2010-04-27 11:53:40
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
In all likelihood they created this string in such a way that you couldn't change it.
This isn't that they haven't thought about whether or not they want the data to be changed, they have specifically sought to obfuscate it to make it harder to change, which suggests they don't want you to do it.
Given that you are using some else's code, you should carefully check what license covers your use of the code and whether it permits you to make the modification. Once you've done that, you should approach the originator of the code to ask them how to make the change, if you feel you are entitled to.
My guess is that you have a script that contains this string. Check if you have eval() function calling this string to be base64_decode (ed). Change the eval to print. Then, execute it, redirecting the output to a file for later reading.
kevin#server:~# php suspicious_script.php > out.php
You should be able to see what's going on.
I am going to start working on a website that has already been built by someone else.
The main script was bought and then adjusted by the lead programmer. The lead has left and I am the only programmer.
Never met the lead and there are no papers, documentation or comments in the code to help me out, also there are many functions with single letter names. There are also parts of the code that are all compressed in one line (like where there should be 200 lines there is one).
There are a few hundred files.
My questions are:
Does anyone have any advice on how to understand this system?
Has anyone had any similar experiences?
Does anyone have a quick way of decompressing the lines?
Please help me out here. This is my first big break and I really want this to work out well.
Thanks
EDIT:
On regards to the question:
- Does anyone have a quick way of decompressing the lines?
I just used notepad++ (extended replace) and netbeans (the format option) to change a file from 1696 lines to 5584!!
This is going to be a loooonnngggg project
For reformatting the source, try this online pretty-printer: http://www.prettyprinter.de/
For understanding the HTML and CSS, use Firebug.
For understanding the PHP code, step through it in a debugger. (I can't personally recommend a PHP debugger, but I've heard good things about Komodo.)
Start by checking the whole thing into source control, if you haven't already, and then as you work out what the various functions and variables do, rename them to something sensible and check in your changes.
If you can cobble together some rough regression tests (eg. with Selenium) before you start then you can be reasonably sure you aren't breaking anything as you go.
Ouch! I feel your pain!
A few things to get started:
If you're not using source control, don't do anything else until you get that set up. As you hack away at the files, you need to be able to revert to previous, presumably-working versions. Which source-control system you use isn't as important as using one. Subversion is easy and widely used.
Get an editor with a good PHP syntax highlighter and code folder. Which one is largely down to platform and personal taste; I like JEdit and Notepad++. These will help you navigate the code within a page. JEdit's folder is the best around. Notepad++ has a cool feature that when you highlight a word it highlights the other occurrences in the same file, so you can easily see e.g. where a tag begins, or where a variable is used.
Unwind those long lines by search-and-replace ';' with ';\n' -- at least you'll get every statement on a line of its own. The pretty-printer mentioned above will do the same plus indent. But I find that going in and indenting the code manually is a nice way to start to get familiar with it.
Analyze the website's major use cases and trace each one. If you're a front-end guy, this might be easier if you start from the front-end and work your way back to the DB; if you're a back-end guy, start with the DB and see what talks to it, and then how that's used to render pages -- either way works. Use FireBug in Firefox to inspect e.g. forms to see what names the fields take and what page they post to. Look at the PHP page to see what happens next. Use some echo() statements to print out the values of variables at various places. Finally, crack open the DB and get familiar with its schema.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Good luck!
Could you get a copy of the original script version which was bought? It might be that that is documented. You could then use a comparison tool like Beyond Compare in order to extract any modifications that have been made.
If the functions names are only one letter it could be that the code is encoded with some kind of tool (I think Zend had a tool like that - Zend Encoder?) so that people cannot copy it. You should try to find an unencoded version, if there is one because that would save a lot of time.