Explode and file functions with variables

Helios

Allow me to jump right in:

I have a script, and it uses variables defined in the URL to explode a file in a different directory into about seven different variables. So here is an example of the text file (the file does not have a extension recognized:

pepperoni
sausages
cheese
mushrooms
olives
pinapple
anchovies

I want to put these into a table, each as its own variable. The code I am using is this:

<?PHP

$pizza=file('http://www.redhelix.com/$dir/$file.$ext');

list($toppinga, $toppingb, $toppingc, $toppingd, $toppinge, $toppingf, toppingg) = explode ("\n", $pizza);

And from there I pretty much use the various $topping variables inserted into a table. This does not work, however. $dir and $file and $ext are defined in the URL of the page, and they effect the outcome of the page. $file.$ext, in this case, contains the toppings listed above as an example. But for some reason, in the file function the variables don't parse and are just coughed up as words with a dollar sign in front of them, or $toppinga just shows up as "Array" and the rest of the variables show up blank, as if they were undefined. I have tried doing the same thing various ways, such as using the file function and the file's URL by themselves in the explode function instead of inserting that into a variable and using that in the function. I have also tried using the alternate path, /home/sites/sites3/user/web/ etc. I have also tried alternate functions, such as file_get_contents and fgets but with those I get a "called to an undefined function" error. My script is not actually very much like this, it is more complicated and would take more time to explain everything, but my essential problem boils down to that. All help is appreciated greatly.

mogster

Hmmm... I'm not sure I understand your problem, but the file_get_contents is not (AFAIK) a built-in php function.
It needs to be defined:

## Function ##
function file_get_contents($filename, $use_include_path = 0) {
$fd = fopen ($filename, "rb", $use_include_path);
$contents = fread($fd, filesize($filename));
fclose($fd);
return $contents;
}
## Function call ##
$load = file_get_contents("../logs/prefs.txt");

But if you use another delimiter, such as ; , you may read the file into an array using fgetcsv() as shown in this userlist example:

if (file_exists("users.txt")) {
$fp=@fopen("users.txt","r");
while ($data = fgetcsv ($fp, 1000, ";")) {
$num = count ($data);			
for ($c=0; $c < $num; $c++) {
$line=explode(":",$data[$c]);			
$username = $line[0];
if($regname != "" && $username == $regname) {
$error = $error . "<li>Username is taken";
} else {
$error = $error;
}
}
}
fclose ($fp);
}

You wouldn't need the explode(), here each is delimited by :
Just do the for-loop and echo $data[$c]

knutm

AlexP

the variables don't parse and are just coughed up as words with a dollar sign.

this is because you Use ' insted of " .

$pizza=file('http://www.redhelix.com/$dir/$file.$ext');

Should become,

$pizza=file("http://www.redhelix.com/$dir/$file.$ext");

Just a bit of help on this.

Helios

Thanks a lot for your help. I greatly appreciate it. I have tried all of the methods listed above, and the one that seems to work best is using the one listed by AlexP. I still, however, get nothing from the topping variables. They simply seem not to be set, except for the first one mentioned in the script which in this case is $toppinga, which is defined as "Array" and that's that. I have no idea what is wrong with my script, but I will try any else that is suggested. I also suspect that the nature of my script is causing some problem, so if this cannot be resolved I will rebuild it around one of the methods listed above.