Saving Form Data In Flat File

jwing

I've been writing PHP several months but I have not used flat files.

I cannot find a coding example in a book of saving form data to a flat file.

The process I want to create is:

Someone with a cookie opens a form. (The cookie is used to give a unique file name to a flat file that will hold form data.)
Code tests to see if cookie holder has been in form before.
If yes, opens file and assigns data to form's $a and $b.
If no, creates new file and formats file for $a and $b.
Cookie holder enters new data into $a and $b.
As cookie holder exits to new form, data in $a and $b is saved to flat file.
Ad infinitum.
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Here is some poorly written code I have written to do the job:

<?php
// next line places cookie random value in variable $taxfile

$taxfile = $HTTP_COOKIE_VARS["taxfile"];

// next line creates unique file name for saving form data

$newfile = "F" . $taxfile . "txt";

// next three lines test to see if file already exists; form has not been opened by unique cookie holder

if (!file_exists($newfile)){

//open new txt file and format for two form variables $a and $b

fopen($newfile, "w+");
fputs($filepointer, "","");

// or, if form has already been completed by cookie holder,

}else{

// open file that already exists

fopen($newfile, "w+");

//read contents of file

fread($filepointer,(int filesize(string $newfile));

// how do i put contents into $a and $b?
}
?>

<?php
// save $a and $b back to flat file $newfile and close file

fputs($filepointer, "$a","$b");
fclose($newfile);
?>

</BODY>

I don't know how to read the file contents into the form; whether to create and format a file like we would in DOS to receive the data; and how to save data back to the file. I would really appreciate some help.

Jerry Wing

[deleted]

If you only want to store data from one form, and you only want to store one copy of that data, then use serialize and unserialize. They can convert a set of variables in to a savable string, and back.
(Yes, that is just like session data)

jwing

Vincent,

Thank you for replying. A number of people will enter public_html on the website, and using each person's cookie value each file will have a different name. So there would be a file F1234.txt, F6542.txt, F9734.txt, etc.

What I'm trying to do is to collect information in a separate file for each person for each form. So if a file name exists matching the random number in the cookie then the file would open and display the data for text boxes $a and $b; when the person exits the form page the file would save whatever is in $a and $b.

I need to open an existing file, or create a new file, read whatever is in the file and display it in the proper box, and then save any changes someone makes to the box.

If you or someone else can help me write the code to open the file, read the file and insert the data into the boxes, and then save whatever is in the boxes back to the flat file and close it, I would appreciate some coding help. I understand MySql and a lot of other things, but I'm having trouble with this -

Thanks again, Vincent.

Jerry Wing