Getting the # value from a URL?

jc94062

I've been looking for a PHP function that will return a complete URL so that I can explode the # value out.

ie: /topics.php?id=7#3 - I need the 3

$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] holds ? and & values, but not the # value, does anyone know how this can be done?

Many thanks

dankstick

I could never figure out how to do this.

I know that no $_SERVER variables hold the anchor hash mark.

If there is a way you can use this handy function...

http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.parse-url.php

jc94062

I tried it, but as it takes a full URL I'm back at square 1 🙁

dankstick

Right Right, I was just saying if there is a way you could use that to parse it.

piersk

Originally posted by jc94062
I tried it, but as it takes a full URL I'm back at square 1 🙁

Huh?? But surely you want it to take the full URL cos then you can use the array. Take a look at the first comment. Put the different parts of the URL into an array and then get the "fragment" part.

laserlight

i.e.

$url_parts = parse_url($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']);
echo 'The part after the # is: "' . $url_parts['fragment'] . '"';

stevesweetland

the argument after any # is not passed to the server. it is used by your browser solely to locate a position on screen.

you may be able to read the url using javascript.

what are you aiming to accomplish here?

jc94062

The hash part, as you have said, shows a particular part of the page, in this case its starting showing a thread part way down, so if someone clicks on a post half way into a thread the top part of the screen has that post, while they can still scroll up.

Trying to get that value into the PHP script

piersk

Have you tried using the code that Laserlight pointed out?

Weedpacket

Originally posted by piersk
Have you tried using the code that Laserlight pointed out?

But as stevesweetland pointed out, the #fragment isn't included in the http request made to the server, even if it's part of the link. If you request http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=10459435#post10459435 the request that is sent to the server reads

GET http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=10459435 HTTP/1.1

laserlight

Actually, come to think of it, that is true, so my example is kind of silly.

An alternative would be to simply set the fragment as a name/value pair instead, since it appears to be intended for such use as well.

Weedpacket

Originally posted by laserlight
Actually, come to think of it, that is true, so my example is kind of silly.

To be honest, I didn't really realise that myself until it was pointed out. I guess it's obvious in hindsight - why would the fragment be sent? - but the thought never actually occurred to me.

I ended up checking RFCs 2396 and 2616, and neither actually ruled it out (except for the latter, and then only in Referer: headers.)

laserlight

Actually, the OP pointed it out first:

$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] holds ? and & values, but not the # value, does anyone know how this can be done?

bladx

so, there is no way to grab the # fragment from the whole URL using PHP?

i am trying to do that type of thing, so then i can use parse_url for something else. but if i can't get the whole URL for something (plus #xx) then i can't finish this part of the project

Weedpacket

But the fragment, strictly speaking (see RFC2396, §4), is not part of the URL. Reasonably enough: the fragment identifier is useless to the server....

Am I right in wondering if the original poster wanted $_GET['id'] to contain the value "7#3"?

ghettopixel

I know this is a bit late, but the hash is apart of the DOM, its considered a 'DOM identifier' so http://www.example.com/index.php#identifier IS accessible via JavaScript since Javascript itself actually uses the DOM. And yes literally and logically it won't and shouldn't be passed to a server side language that has nothing to do with the DOM or its objects and identifiers.

	<script type="text/javascript">
		localeHASH=this.location.hash;
		locale=this.location.href;
		document.write('You&nbsp;are&nbsp;at:&nbsp;<a href="'+locale+'">'+locale+'</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;hash&nbsp;is:&nbsp;'+localeHASH);
	</script>

What you are looking for is .hash. You can use RegEX in Javascript to strip the hash symbol or you can optionally send it over Ajax in very useful ways to help your application.

laserlight

I know this is a bit late

Almost two years late, actually.

ghettopixel

Whats that saying that people often forget? Hmmm....'Better late then never 😉' its better someone come up with an answer 2 years later so that if other people on the forum run into this problem and do a search they at least have an answer at the end instead of a purely dead thread which is useless in a sense since it has no definitive answer.