PHP include external file and make an Array

Question

I want to include an external file, and then get all the content, remove the only HTML on the page   and replace with , and fire it into an array.

datafeed.php

john_23<br />
john_5<br />
john_23<br />
john_5<br />

grabber.php

<?php
// grab the url
include("http://site.com/datafeed.php");

//$lines = file('http://site.com/datafeed.php);

// loop through array, show HTML source as HTML source.
foreach ($lines as $line_num => $line) {

    // replace the <br /> with a ,
    $removeBreak = str_replace("<br />",",", $removeBreak);
    $removeBreak = htmlspecialchars($line);
    // echo $removeBreak;
}

// fill our array into string called SaleList
$SaleList = ->array("");

I want to load a php file from the server directory, get the HTML contents of this file and place it into a useable array.

It would look like

$SaleList = -getAndCreateArray from the file above >array("");
$SaleList = ->array("john_23, john_5, john_23");

include() on remote urls is dangerous. You're giving an external server COMPLETE control of your script, and therefore complete control of your website. Beyond that... is there a question there? You don't mention having a problem, so if this code is working fine, then why post it? — Marc B
– Marc B, Commented Nov 24, 2011 at 14:53
include is the only file operator you know? what about file(), file_get_contents()? — Your Common Sense
– Your Common Sense, Commented Nov 24, 2011 at 14:54
@Marc B: A cursory look at the code he posted indicates that it's not working fine. His question can be summed up as "My code doesn't work. How can I changed it to make it work?" — Asaph
– Asaph, Commented Nov 24, 2011 at 14:56
@Asaph: yes, and perhaps the OP should actually say what the problem is. I can see that he's using $removeBreak without ever defining it, but without know what the OP actually wants this code to do, that could just be a bit of dead code. — Marc B
– Marc B, Commented Nov 24, 2011 at 14:57

Asaph · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-24 15:16:10Z

1

Here is a working version of grabber.php:

<?php
function getSaleList($file) {
    $saleList = array();
    $handle = fopen($file, 'r');
    if (!$handle) {
        throw new RuntimeException('Unable to open ' . $file);
    }
    while (($line = fgets($handle)) !== false) {
        $matches = array();
        if (preg_match('/^(.*?)(\s*\<br\s*\/?\>\s*)?$/i', $line, $matches)) {
            $line = $matches[1];
        }
        array_push($saleList, htmlspecialchars($line));
    }
    if (!feof($handle)) {
        throw new RuntimeException('unexpected fgets() fail on file ' . $file);
    }
    fclose($handle);
    return $saleList;
}

$saleList = getSaleList('datafeed.php');

print_r($saleList);
?>

By using a regular expression to find the  , the code is able to deal with many variations such as  ,  ,  ,  , etc.

The output is:

Array
(
    [0] => john_23
    [1] => john_5
    [2] => john_23
    [3] => john_5
)

edited Nov 24, 2011 at 15:16

answered Nov 24, 2011 at 15:08

Asaph

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10 Comments

TheBlackBenzKid Over a year ago

if($function=="query" && in_array($someID, $saleList)){ // }

TheBlackBenzKid Over a year ago

I hate that type of output. I just want it the output I showed above.

TheBlackBenzKid Over a year ago

I want to do my if statement above.

Asaph Over a year ago

If you don't like that output, simply remove the line print_r($saleList); which is only there to prove that the code does what it's supposed to do. The $saleList variable already contains the array you're looking for.

Asaph Over a year ago

The output is not important. The point is that your file has been parsed and your array has been created. Do you have what you need?

|

symcbean · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-24 15:50:35Z

You don't seem to have grasped what include does.

If you want to process the contents of some file using your PHP code, then include is the wrong construct - you should be using file() or file_get_contents().

i.e. using the line of code you've commented out in your question.

Where include is the right construct to use....you should never, ever include remote files directly - its much MUCH slower than a local filesystem read - and very insecure. There are times when it does make sense to fetch the file from a remote location and cache it locally though.

And you should NEVER have inline HTML nor PHP code (html in PHP variables/conditional expressions, and PHP defines/class/function/include/require are OK) in an include file.

luso · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-24 15:00:06Z

0

May you need something like this?

$file = file_get_contents('newfile.php');
echo str_replace("<br>", ",", $file);

But I didn't get what you try to insert into the array...

answered Nov 24, 2011 at 15:00

luso

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3 Comments

TheBlackBenzKid Over a year ago

This code works fine, however it prints ALL the PHP, it does not do the HTML.

Your Common Sense Over a year ago

@TheBlackBenzKid for the external file it will return HTML.

TheBlackBenzKid Over a year ago

But how do I grab it into an array.

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