[Resolved] Detect Flash with PHP

jopie916

Is there a way to detect whether flash is installed and enabled using PHP? If, so can PHP detect the version installed?

Macromedia has a solution for detecting flash but it uses a flash movie to re-direct the page (if installed). This solution will not work for my application.

Please Help, Thanks...

-- Jonathan

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Hi,
PHP is a Server Side programing language - what you need is a Client Side script. You can detect this by using a JavaScript, take a look at this page:
http://www.dithered.com/javascript/flash_detect/example.html

jopie916

Thanks,

I already checked out the code. Looks simple and clean. I think I can make it work for my application. Good tip.

😕 Still confused though... If php can detect the browser version why not the flash plug-in?

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Still confused though... If php can detect the browser version why not the flash plug-in?

Hi,
PHP can NOT detect the browser version or flahs... Information like IP address, browser version and so on - is sendt to PHP from Apache.

Weedpacket

PHP can identify the client making the current http request by the User Agent string that appears in the request header. (Made available to PHP in $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']). It typically gives client name and version information, but not whether Javascript/Flash/Whathaveyou is installed. (Of course, like anything coming from the client, it can never be completely trusted to be accurate...)

jopie916

That makes sense, I understand now. Thanks everyone.

superwormy

Just to elaborate, PHP can only detect what gets sent to the server by the client, NOT by Apache like ????????? had said. He mean to say the browser.

Lots of vars like HTTP_HOST, HTTP_USER_AGENT, etc. etc. can be EASILY spoofed. Opera even has options built in to spoof the HTTP_USER_AGENT. With wGet you can set teh HTTP_USER_AGENT to whatever you like. With scripting langauges you can spoof HTTP_HOST by making a wierd HTTP request.

jopie916

Thanks superwormy,
I kinda figured that's what ???????? meant. I didn't know that HTTP_HOST could be so easily spoofed; and that's a cool feature in Opera, I might just have to download it to play with.