can i use fopen?

[a2bardeals]

I am trying to create a PHP page with a variable's value being looked up from google's geocoding service.

Basically I have a MySQL database table with customer names and addresses. On the page I am working on I want to do a quick lookup to:

 

http://maps.google.com/maps/geo?q=Address+Info&key=abcdefg&output=csv

 

when you type this in a browser in returns a small line of text that has the lat/long seperated by commas.

 

How can I get that data from the HTTP request into a variable without leaving my site?

 

I know you can use cURL but I cannot install it on my system (no compiler) so I am looking for an alternative...

 

i was thinking i could use fopen() or fsockopen() but I have no idea how to set this up.

 

Any ideas?

[per1os]

$string = file_get_contents($url);

 

--FrosT

 

[karthikeyan_coder]

try cUrl();

[a2bardeals]

ok I love the help...

 

however I have tried both...I cannot install cURL on the system and I'm only running PHP 4.1.2 which does not include the file_get_contents() function....are these the only ways of doing this?

[per1os]

function file_get_contents2($filename) {
     $fd = fopen("$filename", "rb");
     $content = fread($fd, filesize($filename));
     fclose($fd);
     return $content;
} 

 

try that

 

--FrosT

[a2bardeals]

returns nothing...am i calling the function right?

 

<?

function file_get_contents2($filename) {
     $fd = fopen("$filename", "rb");
     $content = fread($fd, filesize($filename));
     fclose($fd);
     return $content;
} 

$string = file_get_contents2('http://maps.google.com/maps/geo?key=ABQIAAAAR0Cth1uWGX8aUnZOUNxxDRSTa-vPv41zs_3mMYBEENmT6-JqMxQvgmczA_f8sbJvBlQCW7hrjqwVQA&output=cvs&q=3060+Packard+Rd,+Ann+Arbor,+MI');

echo $string;
?>

[per1os]

Looks right to me, maybe a half-assed solution is trying to include the file? I am not sure if it will work but give it a try

 

 

ob_start();
include("http://maps.google.com/maps/geo?key=ABQIAAAAR0Cth1uWGX8aUnZOUNxxDRSTa-vPv41zs_3mMYBEENmT6-JqMxQvgmczA_f8sbJvBlQCW7hrjqwVQA&output=cvs&q=3060+Packard+Rd,+Ann+Arbor,+MI");
$string = ob_get_contents();
ob_end_clean();

echo $string;

 

--FrosT

[a2bardeals]

still nothing...im starting to think there is no workaround which is why cURL and file_get_contents were introduced maybe?

[per1os]

as posted on: http://us2.php.net/manual/en/function.include.php

 

Warning

Windows versions of PHP prior to PHP 4.3.0 do not support accessing remote files via this function, even if allow_url_fopen is enabled.

 

allow_url_fopen that is probably disabled via your host, if that is there is really no luck for you unless you can google a allow_url_fopen workaround and find that.

 

--FrosT

[a2bardeals]

ok well i do not have a windows version...I have a Mac OS X version (UNIX version) of PHP 4.1.2 should that matter?

[a2bardeals]

well i have just purchased the new OS X with Xcode for my server which should give me a compiler and allow me to use cURL and I will try that route and updating my PHP version should help as well

[per1os]

That would explain why the include didn't work and why file_get_contents didn't work

 

http://us2.php.net/manual/en/function.file-get-contents.php  (note version information)

 

The file_get_contents2(); would have worked if the fopen works. If the fopen is not allowed to connect to a remote site than I think you are SOL.

 

http://us2.php.net/manual/en/function.fopen.php

 

Maybe look through that at the user comments.

 

Best of luck.

 

--FrosT