PHP SOAP Transferring Files - php

Question

I am trying to learn how to transfer files (.zip files) between a client and server using PHP and SOAP. Currently I have a set up that looks something like this:
require('libraries/nusoap/nusoap.php');
$server = new nusoap_server;
$server->configureWSDL('server', 'urn:server');
$server->wsdl->schemaTargetNamespace = 'urn:server';
$server->register('sendFile',
array('value' => 'xsd:string'),
array('return' => 'xsd:string'),
'urn:server',
'urn:server#sendFile');
But I am unsure on what the return type should be if not a string? I am thinking of using a base64_encode.

Answer 1

To be more clear I have posted both the server.php code and client.php code. Please see below:
## server.php ##
require_once('lib/nusoap.php'); //include required class for build nnusoap web service server
// Create server object
$server = new soap_server();
// configure WSDL
$server->configureWSDL('Upload File', 'urn:uploadwsdl');
// Register the method to expose
$server->register('upload_file', // method
array('file' => 'xsd:string','location' => 'xsd:string'), // input parameters
array('return' => 'xsd:string'), // output parameters
'urn:uploadwsdl', // namespace
'urn:uploadwsdl#upload_file', // soapaction
'rpc', // style
'encoded', // use
'Uploads files to the server' // documentation
);
// Define the method as a PHP function
function upload_file($encoded,$name) {
$location = "uploads\\".$name; // Mention where to upload the file
$current = file_get_contents($location); // Get the file content. This will create an empty file if the file does not exist
$current = base64_decode($encoded); // Now decode the content which was sent by the client
file_put_contents($location, $current); // Write the decoded content in the file mentioned at particular location
if($name!="")
{
return "File Uploaded successfully..."; // Output success message
}
else
{
return "Please upload a file...";
}
}
// Use the request to (try to) invoke the service
$HTTP_RAW_POST_DATA = isset($HTTP_RAW_POST_DATA) ? $HTTP_RAW_POST_DATA : '';
$server->service($HTTP_RAW_POST_DATA);
=====================================================================
## client.php ##
require_once('lib/nusoap.php'); //include required class for build nnusoap web service server
$wsdl="http://localhost:81/subhan/webservice3/server.php?wsdl"; // SOAP Server
if($_POST['submit'])
{
$tmpfile = $_FILES["uploadfiles"]["tmp_name"]; // temp filename
$filename = $_FILES["uploadfiles"]["name"]; // Original filename
$handle = fopen($tmpfile, "r"); // Open the temp file
$contents = fread($handle, filesize($tmpfile)); // Read the temp file
fclose($handle); // Close the temp file
$decodeContent = base64_encode($contents); // Decode the file content, so that we code send a binary string to SOAP
}
$client=new soapclient($wsdl) or die("Error"); // Connect the SOAP server
$response = $client->__call('upload_file',array($decodeContent,$filename)) or die("Error"); //Send two inputs strings. {1} DECODED CONTENT {2} FILENAME
// Check if there is anny fault with Client connecting to Server
if($client->fault){
echo "Fault {$client->faultcode} <br/>";
echo "String {$client->faultstring} <br/>";
}
else{
print_r($response); // If success then print response coming from SOAP Server
}
<form name="name1" method="post" action="" enctype="multipart/form-data">
<input type="file" name="uploadfiles"><br />
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="uploadSubmit"><br />
</form>
=================================================
All you need to do is download the nusoap.php which will be seen in soap library http://sourceforge.net/projects/nusoap/
This is fully tested and it will 100% work without fail.

Answer 2

In client.php, change this:
if($_POST['submit'])
{
...
}
$client=new soapclient($wsdl) or die("Error"); // Connect the SOAP server
$response = $client->__call('upload_file',array($decodeContent,$filename)) or die("Error"); //Send two inputs strings. {1} DECODED CONTENT {2} FILENAME
to this:
if($_POST['submit'])
{
...
$client=new soapclient($wsdl) or die("Error"); // Connect the SOAP server
$response = $client->__call('upload_file',array($decodeContent,$filename)) or die("Error"); //Send two inputs strings. {1} DECODED CONTENT {2} FILENAME
}

Answer 3

Transferring files over SOAP is something that gets everybody the first time (myself included). You need to open and read the document and then transfer it as a string. Here's how I would do it.
$handle = fopen("mypackage.zip", "r");
$contents = fread($handle, filesize("mypackage.zip"));
fclose($handle);
//$contents now holds the byte-array of our selected file
Then send $contents as your string through SOAP and reassemble it on the other side.