PHP outputs from command line but not from the browser

Question

I have a PHP file testphp.php with the following content:

<?php
echo system('mysql -u root -pMyPassword -e "SELECT VERSION();"');
?>

It outputs perfectly from the command line:

D:\>php testphp.php
VERSION()
5.5.24-log
5.5.24-log
D:\>

When I execute the same file via a web browser (http://localhost/testphp.php) , I see no output. Why?

Is the file being parsed by PHP in the browser? If you are using the url like file:///d:/testphp.php it won't go through PHP - it needs to be through a web-server set up to run PHP. — Jon
– Jon, Commented May 4, 2013 at 8:23
where is testphp.php? maybe it's not in the proper localhost/www/ to be intrepreted by php. or maybe the webserver is down. — Aris
– Aris, Commented May 4, 2013 at 8:24
Many possibilities: different versions of php (apache can load php module from somewhere else), different config files loaded (more restrictions for apache module), different users running php process (with different %PATH% enviroments, again apache runs on more restrictive account) — dev-null-dweller
– dev-null-dweller, Commented May 4, 2013 at 8:34
@all I am accessing the file from the localhost url only not using file:/// protocol — Raj
– Raj, Commented May 4, 2013 at 8:52
you have error displaying set to off in your php.ini, check your apache/webserver log for PHP error — mic-kul
– mic-kul, Commented May 4, 2013 at 9:05

Burhan Khalid · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-04 09:05:29Z

2

There are lots of reasons for this:

You are using the command mysql which may not be in the path of the user that the web server runs as. When you run it from the command line, you are running it with your own user account. The web server runs under a different (restricted) account. You should provide the full path to the mysql binary. Type which mysql as your normal user from the prompt to find out what is the full path to the executable.
The command mysql may be restricted by your system configuration so that not all users can execute it.
Your PHP configuration on the web server prohibits the use of system().
You can get the same information by running this (assuming you have mysql configured for your php installation):
```
$con = new mysqli("localhost", "root", "MyPassword");
printf("%s", $con->server_info);
```

answered May 4, 2013 at 9:05

Burhan Khalid

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