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PHP 101


msf004

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Hello,

 

I am a developer of 20+ years with C, Shell Scripts, CGI, Java, JSP, ASP, etc. just not PHP. 

 

I recently had a need to start using PHP and I quickly ran into a problem to which I have not found an answer through searches.  It seems like a strange problem, or maybe just my misunderstanding of the language.  Either way, I am interested in finding an answer.  Here is the problem.

 

I have three files as shown below:

 

FileA.php

-----------

<html>

<head></head>

<body>

<?php

  echo "hello world";

?>

</body>

</html>

 

 

FileB.php

-----------

<html>

<head></head>

<body>

<?= "hello world" ?>

 

 

FileC.php

-----------

<?php

  echo "hello world";

?>

 

 

I put these files into the same directory under Apache (htttpd).  Then from an Internet browser I browse to the files, File C shows the expected output of "Hello World" whereas File A & B show a blank page.  Further, if I view the source of File A or B from the Internet browser, the source shows the PHP code; exactly as shown above.  I.e.: the SOURCE for File A when viewed from a web browser is:

 

<html>

<head></head>

<body>

<?php

  echo "hello world";

?>

</body>

</html>

 

Basically, using the formats above, Files A & B, seemingly are not being processed by the PHP Interpreter at all; however, the text is also not going to the browser - it just shows up in the source of the HTML.

 

So, my question is, Why?

 

I am running PHP 4.3.2-40 on Red Hat ES3 with Apache HTTPD 2.0.46.  I have browser tested with Mac OS X Safari, MAC OS X Camino, Windows FireFox, Windows IE.

 

Any thoughts, suggestions, or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

-Marc

 

 

 

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<?="hello world"?> ... will fail unless short tags are enable in php. Avoid this construction.

 

As to why you get the results you see, php is a server-interpreted scripting language, i.e. it only works when parsed on a server then rendered by a browser (if that's what you're trying to do). Navigating locally to a file - as it appears you are trying - will fail.  You need to navigate to http://localhost ..... your file to ensure it is delivered by the server.

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<?="hello world"?> ... will fail unless short tags are enable in php. Avoid this construction.

 

As to why you get the results you see, php is a server-interpreted scripting language, i.e. it only works when parsed on a server then rendered by a browser (if that's what you're trying to do). Navigating locally to a file - as it appears you are trying - will fail.  You need to navigate to http://localhost ..... your file to ensure it is delivered by the server.

 

I did not literally browse to the files on my local file system.  I placed the files into a configured Apache httpd directory and utilized a web browser via: http://<servername>/<directory>/<filename> to have the PHP interpreter parse the files and send a response.

 

Thanks,

-Marc

 

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If C works as expected and A shows nothing (except the script source when you view source), I'd expect that A is not absolutely the same as you posted here. Perhaps it's < ?php and not <?php ??

 

 

No, I have literally copied and pasted the files.  That is why I am so confused.  I even went back just now to *ensure* there is no spacing, I.e.: <?php and not < ?php or <? php

 

The file is exactly as shown - this is why I am not understanding the issue.  I assume php works just like ASP and JSP - and I have used both of those languages for 10+ years.  I was thinking maybe it is a configuration thing somewhere.

 

Ultimately, I have tried about 10 tests and consistently, for all of my tests, if <?php is not the FIRST line of the file then the PHP Interpreter is not parsing the file.

 

Thanks for your responses.

-Marc

 

 

 

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