Incoming variables not being set

tricyclejp

Greetings.

I'm having a problem with a fresh install of PHP. The problem is that incoming variables aren't being recognized. For instance, if a PHP script is the action of a form, and the form sets a variable variable_x, the form-handling PHP script will not recognize that variable_x should be set.

I've checked that the variable is being passed properly, and I"ve checked capiitalization, etc., all the obvious stuff. I've also used IsSet() to check if the variables are set, and IsSet reports that they're not. However, if I explicitly set the variables later in the script via a simple assignment line, then check IsSet again for the same variable name, IsSet reports that the variable is indeed set. So the problem seems to be happening with variables that are part of incoming data.

I"m certain the variables are getting passed through the HTTP server, because when the form's method is set to GET, I see the variables included in the URL.

I"ve even tried a couple of pre-made forms from PHP developer books (downloads, not re-typed scripts) that are very simple and should work properly, but they experience the same problems.

I'm working on a Red Hat 7.3 box, with fresh installs of PHP 4.2.3 and Apache 2.0.40. Both Apache and PHP were compiled from source -- neither were binary installs (me being a purist/completist).

This, as you might imagine, puts quite a damper on my PHP coding. 🙂 Any help is greatly appreciated.

Best wishes,
Jon

toddg

Hi:
I am not sure how much help this is, but I remember seeing something about the newer versions of PHP and the way they handle forms...

I will try to dig up the link.

Anyhow, it said that the newer versions "post" method may be off.

not sure if that is the problem or not.

Todd

killerbishop

Are you using the super-globals? By default, in the latter versions of PHP, register_globals is off. So, accessing a global variable from a post like:

$variable

Won't work, you need to do:

$_POST['variable']

To access it. Of course, you can always change your php.ini file.

tricyclejp

Brilliant. Setting register_globals = on in php.ini seems to have fixed the problem on another machine. I'll check it later on the machine that matters, but this is very promising. Thanks a bunch for your help!

Update: Worked on the other machine, too. Thanks again!