Html In PHP

drbworld

Hi Everyone
I've seen a website that has the address...
[url]http://domain_name.com/domain/main.php?id=download.html[/url]
It worked perfectly.
When I removed "main.php?id=" and all that was left was
[url]http://domain_name.com/domain/download.html[/url]
I didn't work. I couldn't see the page, it had said something about not exsisting. I would like to do the same to my website. If anyone knows, please email me at drbworld@hotmail.com
Thanks, Cya Later

Weedpacket

What do you expect? The file is called main.php - the "id=download.html" is a query string that gets sent to main.php.

drbworld

Isn't "download.html " in the same directory as "main.php". If i were to go to just the download .html file, it should load, shouldn't it?.
Thanks, cya

herve

Hi,

No, the "download.html" can be anywhere.

In this context, it's not a regular HTML filename,
it's a string which is an argument to a PHP
script.

There's a lot of chance it designed an HTML
file which name is "download.html". That file
is open by the PHP script and its content is send
to you.

But the file position can be anywhere on the server HD. Even the filename can be different.

Hervé.

drbworld

I know that download.html can be located in any of the subdirectory of main.php. However, isn't download.html just a normal html file. All I want to do is make it so download.html can't be open seperately. So it can only be open like as a PHP content. I know that the php just loads the download.html file as it's content string.

Ex. Say download.html has a simple code like this...
<html>
<title>Untitled</title>
<body background=#000000>
<img src=untitled.jpg>
<a href=http://domain_name.com/>Untitled</a>
</body>
</html>
and the main.php file has...
<php etc...>(the id code)
If [url]http://domain_name.com/main.php?id=download.html[/url] is loaded, it will display the download.html file inside the main.php file. It can also be displayed in [url]http://domain_name.com/download.html.[/url] I want it to only be displayed in the php file. Is it possible, and what is the code or script for this. Thanks, cya

herve

I'm afraid to tell you that you're completely
wrong 🙂 sorry 🙂

main.php and download.html are two separated
things. Completely separated.

main.php can be in a directory and download.html
can be in an other one (not necesseraly in a
sub-directory of where main.php is) anywhere

download.html can even be an alias, not a real
filename, not the actual name of the file.

Imagine I have the following code for main.php:
located in "/home/web/public/" directory

<?PHP

if ($id == "download.html")
{
$myfile=file("/home/web/private/file1.html")
print $myfile
}
else
{
print a default page ...
}
?>

I simplify a bit things, but you get the idea,

when the id parameter is equal to "download.html"
(that's what mean "?id=download.html" after the
"main.php" part of the URL)
then I look for a file named "file1.html", located
in a private dir, and display its content.

Of course, the name can be the same (and I agree
there's a lot of chance for that) but it don't
have to be the same.

That way, you can display file which the user
can not display directly (because it does not
know the /private directory where files are really stored)

regards,
Hervé.

drbworld

Hi,
I guess I was wrong. I didn't know the download.html could be in totaly different directory. I thought the only way was a subdirect of main.php. ex. "http://domain_name.com/main.php?id=untitled/image/download/download.html" I though you have to type all this in, in the address bar to get the download.html file to be inserted into the php file. I must be using a cheap code. I don't have the code with me at the moment, since i'm using a different computer, but if it's possible, can you send me a good adv. php script. Like the one above. Thanks, cya

leonleun

also download.html may not even exist as its own file at all

for example

<?PHP 

if ($id == "download.html") 
{ 
print "welcome to my download page"
print("here are my download links...");
...
} 
else 
{ 
print a default page ... 
} 
?>

drbworld

Hi,
This is my php code i use...
<?php if(!is_file($id)){ $id="untitled.htm";} include($id); ?>
How can i change it so i can have the untitled.htm anywhere on the server space with out showing anyone the location of this file. Thanks, cya

PS. What would be the url for other files...
ex. http://domain_name.com/test.php?=untitled/download/download.htm

herve

Hi,

This is my php code i use...
How can i change it so i can have the >untitled.htm anywhere on the server space
with out showing anyone the location
of this file. Thanks, cya

Well, the answer depend of many factors so ...
something like that can work :

<?php if(!is_file($id)){ $id="untitled.htm";} include("/private/".$id); ?>

it means that the "real" file have to be
put in a "secret" directory (here "/private", but
choose a name less simple to guess)

PS.What would be the url for other files...
ex. >[url]http://domain_name.com/test.php?=untitled/download/download.htm[/url]

I'm not sure to understand your question here ?

You have a choice :

all the "real" file can be put in a single directory

"real" files need to be in a directories tree
(for clarity or whatever reason)

In the second case, the code shown before will add a "secret" root directory for the protected files.

Example :

[url]http://domain_name.com/test.php?=/dir1/office/main.html[/url]

will in fact load the file :

/private/dir1/office/main.html

and there's no

/dir1/office/main.html

in the web server (you don't need the file itself but also you don't need to create a "office" or
"dir1" directory too). nothing.

In a same way :

[url]http://domain_name.com/test.php?=important.html[/url]

will in fact load the file :

/private/important.html

and there's no

/important.html

in the web server.

Regards,
Hervé.

Weedpacket

Of course, as leonleun points out, the file doesn't need to exist at all, but can instead be created afresh when asked for (just as the pages on this forum are, in exactly the same way).

jeremuck

It's important to realize what a URL is and what it is not.
When you type an URL into an address bar, it is parsed, and a request is sent from the browser to the server. In the case of Apache (I dont' know about others), it takes the address and moves along from left to right, matching up directories and files. It returns the first one it finds. After if finds a matching file, everything after that is basically garbage. It can be ignored, or in the case of PHP it can be used as variables.

At this point, a URL becomes more than just a location of a file. In fact, it's no longer a location of a file at all, but a command line.
With a URL, we can ask to execute some code and give it some variables.

With PHP, a question mark is used to signal "the following is all variables". This makes it convenient for PHP coders.
A & is used to tell PHP "this is the end of one variable and the begnning of the next one".
The variables are just text (when passed using the URL) and can mean something or nothing at all. It's up to the code that is executing to determine the relevance, not the web server.

So, if mypage.php?page=downloads.php is the URL, the web server searches along directorys, and matches the first one it finds. This is: mypage.php. However, in the case that mypage.php does not exist on the server, it will return: Error 404 File not found. This first part, where the server matches the filename, everything after the ? is ignored. It's not part of the filename, it's variables for the file to use.
Assuming the webserver finds mypage.php, the page mypage.php will have a variable (depending on settings) called $page. Because of the URL, $page will equal downloads.php.
It's just text, and it doesn't have any significant meaning.
The page can process this text in any way it wants and either:
1. Do nothing display a blank page.
2. The code (not the server) can look for a file called downloads.php and dispaly something
3. Can look for a file called myboogers.html and display it.
4. Almost anything else imaginable.

You see, the text in the variable is pretty meaningless. A real file called download.php may or may not exist, and it doesn't matter. If it does exist, it may or may not be in the same folder as mypage.php.
Because it's after the ?, the server doesn't even care that it exists.

drbworld

Hi,
so the code
<?php if(!is_file($id)){ $id="untitled.htm";} include("/private/".$id); ?> or include("/private/".$id); will have the secret file. The url will display
[url]http://domain_name.com/main.php?=download.html[/url]
but it is really in [url]http://domain_name.com/main.php?=private/download.html[/url] directory. Right?
Thanks.

jeremuck

The url:
http://domainname.com/main.php?file=download.html

Will return a file called main.php in the root directory set to serve the specified domain.

The php in main.php is processed. The code can do anything it wants. It may or may not make use of the GET parameter of "file".

if the code involves some kind of including of a file such as:

include($file); then it will look in whatever directory you specify to get the file.

I strongly recommend you get a book and read it.
I am fond of "Core PHP Programming" by Leon Atkinson. ISBN: 0-13-089398-6. You will find it interesting and you will learn a lot.
If you can't afford it (since it costs $45), go to the library and try to get a book on PHP. If you don't do that, then start reading through the manual at www.php.net . It is the official site for PHP.