[Resolved] Issues with fwrite...

[Dixen]

So, after pouring through the 260 phpbuilder posts that my search came up with I'll post here and hope someone can provide some insite.

I'm writing a script that is supposed to hit a URL text file, grab a portion of the file and then write that portion into a new file on my server. When running this code I get the following error:

Warning: fwrite(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/sbgaming/public_html/installer/getnews.php on line 40

I get the same error for each instance of fwrite in the script. I cannot fo the life of me figure out what it wrong with my fwrite()s. I have chmod the calling file, and the folder to 777 and still I have no luck. I would also like to point out that the file "created" by this snipet of code is created each time the script is run, it just doesn't write to it:

   $filedate = date("U");
   $newsfile = "/home/sbgaming/www/installer/$filedate.txt";
   fopen($newsfile, 'a');
   echo $newsfile;

Line 40 is this line:

    fwrite($handle, "$filename  $lastrow\n");

Also included at the end of this post is a second "test script" that I did that works perfectly fine... so I'm completely baffled.

I'm using the following code:

<?php
error_reporting(E_ALL); 

fopen ('/home/sbgaming/www/installer/newsreader.txt', 'r+');
$handle = file("/home/sbgaming/www/installer/newsreader.txt");
$count = sizeof($handle);
$filename = trim(substr($handle[$count-1], 0, 6));
$lastrow = trim(substr($handle[$count-1], 7,3));

$openfile = "http://URL/";
$openfile .= $filename;
$openfile .= ".txt";

if ($newsfeed = file($openfile)) {
 $num = sizeof($newsfeed);
  if ($lastrow == $num) {
   $i = 0;
   while ($i < 10) {
    $filename++;
    $openfile = "http://URL/";
    $openfile .= $filename;
    $openfile .= ".txt";
    if ($newsfeed = file($openfile)) {
     fwrite($handle, "$filename  $lastrow\n");
     break;
    }
    $i++;
   }
  } else {
   $filedate = date("U");
   $newsfile = "/home/sbgaming/www/installer/$filedate.txt";
   fopen($newsfile, 'a');
   echo $newsfile;
   while ($lastrow < $num) {
    $row = $newsfeed[$lastrow];
    fwrite($newsfile, $row);
    $lastrow++;
   }
    fwrite($handle, "$filename  $lastrow\n");
  }
} else {
 $i = 0;
 while ($i < 10) {
  $filename++;
  $openfile = "http://URL/";
	$openfile .= $filename;
  $openfile .= ".txt";
  if ($newsfeed = file($openfile)) {
   fwrite($handle, "$filename  $lastrow\n");
	 break;
  }
  $i++;
 }
}

?>

And this is the test code that works.

<?


$handle = fopen("/home/sbgaming/www/installer/newnewsfile.txt", "a+");

$filename = 123456;
$lastrow = 12345;

if (fwrite($handle, "$filename  $lastrow\n") === FALSE) {
 echo "<br>Cannot write to file ($filename)";
 exit;
}

echo "<br>Success, wrote ($filename $lastrow) to file.";

?>

[bubblenut]

this line

   fopen($newsfile, 'a');

should be

   $handle=fopen($newsfile, 'a');

to make things work. And to be a little better

if(!($handle=fopen($newsfile, 'a'))) {
  echo('Failed to open a handle for '.$newsfile);
  exit();
}

HTH
Bubble

[Dixen]

I guess I'm not understanding the usage of $handle... I am opening two different files with fopen(), and one with file()... if I use "$handle" in all 3 places won't things get screwed up? Or is "$handle" just a generic var and I can use anything?

Thank you for the quick response.

[bubblenut]

Basically, when you use fopen you are opening a connection to a file. The output from fopen is a reffence to this connection. Then, when you use fwrite or fread or the like you have to mention this refference so that they know the context within which they are working (ie where they are reading/writing from).
With this method you can be writing, and reading from, many different files at the same time without having to be continuosly opening and closing connections.

//open dile.dat in reading mode and place the handle in $fp
$fp=fopen('./file.dat', 'r');

//read from file.dat (1K)
$out=fread($fp, 1024);

//now fp has a handle to file1.dat and nolonger to file.dat
$fp=fopen('./file1.dat', 'r');

//this will now read from file1.dat
$out=fread($fp, 1024);

//here we open two files, file.dat (for reading) and file1.dat (for writing) and write all the contents of file.dat into file1.dat (pretty pointless really)
$fp1=fopen('./file.dat','r');
$fp2=fopen('./file1.dat','w+');

while($out=fread($fp1, 1024)) {
  fwrite($fp2, $out);
}

HTH
Bubble

[Dixen]

Thanks for the clarification! Works great... you guys rule.