execute php on web page button click

Question

I have to execute a shell script when pressing a button on a web page. For this I'm using php so I have created a button in the file test.php

<form method="get" action="buildMaster.php">
    <input type="submit" value="Build Master" id="btnMaster">
</form>

when pressing the button, the php buildMaster.php is called:

<?php
    shell_exec('touch /Users/testUser/xxx');
?>

To test, I just touch a file to see if the script is called but nothing happens. The browser (Safari on Mac Lion) goes to buildMaster.php but nothing happens. What am I doing wrong ?

print the shell_exec() output and check what you are getting — PravinS
– PravinS, Commented Mar 5, 2014 at 12:08
Write any static html content in buildMaster.php and test it — Butani Vijay
– Butani Vijay, Commented Mar 5, 2014 at 12:09
I guess I have to add "$output = shell_exec(...)" to the php, but how do I see the output ? I've never worked with web/php before. Once the action has been called, where do I check the output ? — marco
– marco, Commented Mar 5, 2014 at 12:14

Community · Accepted Answer · 2023-11-17 20:13:27Z

1

Try this:

<?php
$output = shell_exec('ls -lart');
echo "<pre>$output</pre>";
?>

And you'll see the output of your command

Also look to documentation: https://www.php.net/shell_exec - this function might be disabled if PHP is running in save mode.

edited Nov 17, 2023 at 20:13

CommunityBot

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answered Mar 5, 2014 at 12:14

Johny

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2 Comments

marco Over a year ago

Ok, ls writes the list of files to the browser so the php actually works. But the touch does nothing and outputs nothing.

Johny Over a year ago

Touch command outputs nothing in the shell. Check if the file is created or its timestamp has changed on webserver.

marco · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-05 12:30:38Z

0

Ok, found out. I have to redirect stderr to stdout.

<?php
    $output = shell_exec('touch /Users/testUser/xxx 2>&1');
    echo "<pre>$output</pre>";
?>

The output: touch: .... Permission denied

answered Mar 5, 2014 at 12:30

marco

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