display HTML of generated page in a TEXT box??

mrsocks

i would like to create a function that will display the HTML for a page that is generated by a php script.

ex.
if i have a page (phppage.php) when i call that page it pulls info from a database and the functions i have written and builds the page to be displayd in my browser. this is fine...
i want to be able to have the code that the final html would have sent to the browser, display in a text box. this is to allow my users to be able to use the html they have created on other webpages without having to retype and format it all again.

currently i think i am going to have to use the same functions as if i was going to render the page but just have the functions and php results be displayed int eh text bax area....does this sound right?

thanks

cyronuts

mrsocks,

I am relatively new at PHP, but I've created a script that allows users to create html code in a text box, and then add it to the database using two columns, one is the name, the other is the actual html code. I've figured out how to call it back to the text box no problem, but what I can't figure out is how to call it back if it is a link.

I can show you what I've got thus far if you are interested.

Weedpacket

Hm. Run a script, capture the HTML, escape it so it will display as raw HTML code instead of being rendered.

Set any variables the script being examined needs to have set.
Start output buffering with ob_start();
include() the script to process.
Capture the contents of the output buffer (then clear it and stop buffering).
Run the captured contents through htmlspecialchars() to deal with things like < > and &.
echo the whole lot between <textarea></textarea> tags.

That looks simple enough to code - could probably be done in that many lines, too.

mrsocks

i created a function to display the desired content normally, so i just ended up using the same function between the textbox tags.

it works fine, but what was the process that you, Weedpacket, discussed?

thanks

Weedpacket

ob_start();
include('file.html');
$contents=ob_get_contents();
ob_end_clean();
$contents=htmlspecialchars($contents);
echo "<textarea>$contents</textarea>";

mrsocks

thanks for the code, but what i meant was, is your process better and why?

thanks

Weedpacket

Originally posted by mrsocks
thanks for the code, but what i meant was, is your process better and why?

Oh, I don't know about better ... it's just what I thought of at the time. It does have the advantage of not needing an extra function to be written, however.

lainmurf

Weedpacket PHP --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ob_start();
include('file.html');
$contents=ob_get_contents();
ob_end_clean();
$contents=htmlspecialchars($contents);
echo "<textarea>$contents</textarea>";

This is an excellent code Weedpacket, but another fairly new newbie here has a question... With this code, how can one modify it to carry php variables over to the outputted HTML?

In short here is what I am doing..😃

I have an HTML page built with variables in php within the html page. Pretty basic stuff.. here is an example:

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Example</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
Here is a wonderful web page<P>

See Spot Run. Spot runs <? echo "$spotrun"; ?> through the bushes.<P>

This concludes my wonderful web page<P>
</BODY>
</HTML>

Thats just a VERY simplified version of what I am doing with the HTML file.

Ok, now with the php file that works with my HTML example above would look like this

<? ?>

How fast does Spot run? Fill in the box below<br>
<FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="spot2.php">
<input type="text" name="spotrun" size="10">
<P>
<INPUT type="submit" VALUE="Submit My Response">
</FORM>
<FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="code.php">
<INPUT type="submit" VALUE="View The Code!">
</FORM>
<? ?>

Ok, with your script you have here, how would one pass along the variable without loosing what the user has typed in the form box to the output page your script generates?

With the script as it is now, it does not pass along the inputted fields, but does pass along the rest of the html.

I just don't know what to put in this cool little script you wrote to get it to pass along the inputted variable from the user.

So for an example, if someone typed in Spot runs "Fast" and you click the "Submit My Response" then right click to view source on the web page that was generated, you will see the variable passed along as if it were passed along in the html file with no php.

But when you click on "View the Code". you get the html without the variables passed.

I do appreciate any help you could give on this..

Any one else have any suggestions? I appreciate them too!!!

😃

lainmurf

Originally posted by Weedpacket

Oh, I don't know about better ... it's just what I thought of at the time. It does have the advantage of not needing an extra function to be written, however.

Hello Weedpacket. Just curios if you have seen my post on adding one more function to the code you wrote on displaying html in a text box. The code is excellent! Just need a little more help with it in the post I posted a few days back here is the link...

http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10208637&highlight=display+html

Thanks Weedpacket! Your code and instructions rock!

Weedpacket

Originally posted by lainmurf
Ok, with your script you have here, how would one pass along the variable without loosing what the user has typed in the form box to the output page your script generates?....😃

I'm sorry, I didn't follow any of that ... which bits of what do you want/not want shown where when?

[I can say that

<? ?>

is entirely unnecessary, however.]

lainmurf

Sorry about all that Garb I put up there Weedpacket, but here is maybe a better way to see what I'm talking about. Check out my example here...

http://www.lainsdomain.com/testing/spot.html

If you type in how fast spot runs, and clisk on the "Submit My Response" button, all is well and the word you typed in the box shows red in the output file "spot2.php".

Now, If you type in the box and hit the "View th code" button which runs the code you put together, it will not carry the word you typed in the text box on the first "spot.html" page.

So the question was, how do you get that variable to carry over when you click the "View The Code" button? Whew.. LOL Don't mind me, I'm still learning! 😃

And Thank you!!

Weedpacket

Okay; so I take it you want the PHP code to be displayed in the textarea?

Solution 1:
If the textarea isn't necessary, and just displaying it as static HTML would do, then replacing the include() with show_source() may be your best bet.

Solution 2:
If you do want to have it in a textarea, or you don't want syntax highlighting, then you want the contents of the file to be served up as just a big string, instead of being executed as PHP code first. So, instead of include(), you can use file() and echo instead.

In both cases it's possible to do everything without ob_start() etc. (except for show_source() in versions of PHP prior to 4.2):

$php_file=file('file.php');
$php_file=join('',$php_file); // Turn it into one string.
$php_file=htmlspecialchars($php_file); // Suitably escape certain chars.
echo "<textarea>".$php_file."</textarea>";

Remember, if you don't have it in a textarea, use either <pre> tags or go $php_file=nl2br(htmlspecialchars($php_file)); so that linebreaks are preserved. If you go the nl2br() route, remember also that you'll need to do something to protect indenting. $php_file = str_replace(' ',' ', $php_file); may work, but there are more elaborate and more tightly-focussed solutions - just rememeber to do that after htmlspecialchars but before nl2br.

lainmurf

Thanks Weedpacket, You already know I am playing with the code now and seeing what happens with it! I will post here again and let ya know how it goes..

All the help you have given is greatly appreciated! I am still learning php and would have not been this far if it had not been for some of your posts.. A sincere thanks!

Lain 😉

lainmurf

Those examples work pretty well Weedpacket. They do pass the php "$variable" through to the text box. But, what I was wondering, was... Is there a way to display the HTML code in the text box with your $variable in php as the actual word the person types in.

So if I was on the main "spot.html" page that I have noted above and typed in that spot ran "FAST" through the bushes. Then went to the "View The Code" button, Is there a way to get the word "FAST" to show up instead of the php "$variable".

Heh heh, I am getting a kick out of this because I have already learned 3 diffrent ways to display 3 diffrent forms of the output where I wouldn't have known how before.

I like your methods just because you don't have to garble up the URL with your code just to pass the variables!

I did try to pass the word "FAST" through the URL, with the POST and the GET functions, with no luck. It just passes the "$variable" through instead of the word FAST that someone types in the text box on the main page.

Thanks again Weedpacket, you are a valuable member to the forums!!

Lain 😃

Weedpacket

Okay, you do want the PHP executed...but you want to display the HTML tags without the browser rendering them...

What you'd be wanting to do is the ob_start()...include() method, but use $POST['variable'] or $GET['variable'] (depending on the form) instead of $variable in the PHP code you're wanting to display. $variable is probably empty, which would be why nothing shows up when you echo it.

If you want to stick with $variable, then starting out with extract($POST) or extract($GET) will go through the appropriate array and set $variable=$_{POST|GET}['variable'] for each variable.