CURL doesn't get URL w required cookie

[ppowell]

I am having trouble retrieving URLs using curl for PHP whereby the URL requires a cookie to produce proper data. I wrote a wrapper class called Timer that will time the execution/download of a remote URL and it uses curl as its means of obtaining the URL:

class Timer extends View {

/**
 * @access private
 * @var float $startTime
 */
var $startTime;

/**
 * @access private
 * @var mixed $url
 */
var $url;

/**
 * Constructor.  Set optional URL property
 *
 * @access public
 * @param mixed $url (optional)
 */
function Timer($url = '') {				// CONSTRUCTOR
	$this->url = $url;
}

//-------------------------------------------- --* GETTER/SETTER METHODS *-- ------------------------------------------

/**
 * Retrieve $url property
 *
 * @access private
 * @return mixed $url
 */
function &getURL() {					// STRING METHOD
 	return $this->url;
}

/**
 * Set the cookie in $_COOKIE to the curl reference
 *
 * @access private
 * @param resource $ch (reference) curl reference
 */
function &setCookieCurlSetOpt(&$ch) {		// STATIC VOID METHOD
	foreach ($_COOKIE as $key => $val) $qs .= "&$key=" . urlencode(serialize($val));
	//foreach ($_SESSION as $key => $val) $qs .= "&$key=" . urlencode(serialize($val));
	curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIE, substr($qs, 1, strlen($qs)));
}

/**
 * Set the $_POST curl set_opt options per instance of $_POST
 * 
 * @access private
 * @param resource $ch (reference) curl reference
 */
function &setPOSTCurlSetOpt(&$ch) {			// STATIC VOID METHOD
	if (@sizeof(array_values($_POST)) > 0) {
	 curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
	 foreach ($_POST as $key => $val) $qs .= "&$key=" . urlencode(serialize($val));
	 curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, substr($qs, 1, strlen($qs)));
	}
}


/**
 * Set the time
 *
 * @access private
 * @param float $timeKeeper (reference)
 * @return float $timeKeeper
 */
function &setTime(&$timeKeeper) {			// STATIC FLOAT METHOD
	$start = microtime();
	$start = explode(' ', $start);
	$start = (float)$start[1] + (float)$start[0];
	$timeKeeper = $start;
	return $timeKeeper;
}

/**
 * Set $url property
 *
 * @access private
 * @param mixed $url
 */
function &setURL($url) {				// VOID METHOD
	if (is_object($this) && !$this->url) $this->url = $url;
}

//--------------------------------------------- --* END OF GETTER/SETTER METHODS *-- -------------------------------
/**
 * Configure URL
 *
 * @access private
 * @param mixed $url (reference)
 * @return mixed $url
 */
function &configureURL(&$url) {			// STATIC STRING METHOD
	if (preg_match('/\/[a-zA-Z0-9\-_]+$/i', $url)) $url .= '/';
	return $url;
}

/**
 * Display HTML based on given URL property value
 *
 * @access public
 * @param mixed $url (optional)
 * @return mixed HTML
 */
function &displayHTML($url = '') {			// STATIC HTML STRING METHOD
	global $projectFolderName, $PHPSESSID;
	if (is_object($this) && !$this->getURL() && $url) $this->setURL($url);
	if (is_object($this)) $url = $this->getURL();
	if ($url && ini_get('allow_url_fopen')) {
	 $url = $this->configureURL($url);
	 // grab URL and pass it to the browser
	 $ch = curl_init();
	 $this->setCookieCurlSetOpt($ch);
	 //$this->setPOSTCurlSetOpt($ch);
	 curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, 0);
	 curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
	 $this->setTime($this->startTime);	// SET START TIME
	 ob_start();
	  curl_exec($ch);
	  $html = ob_get_contents();
	 ob_end_clean();
	 $timer = $this->setTime($timer);
	 // close curl resource, and free up system resources
	 curl_close($ch);
	 $html = preg_replace('/(.*<body[^>]*>)/i', '$1<p><b>' . ($timer - $this->startTime) . " seconds to run URL: \"$url\"</b>", $html);
	}
	return $html;
}

}

However, whenever the URL requires a cookie, I am not obtaining the URL. How do you use CURL to obtain a URL with a required cookie?

Thanx
Phil

[ppowell]

I got the $COOKIE problem fixed, now I have a $SESSION problem:

timer.php will instantiate a class method that does a data scrape of another URL, let's say it will go to: http://www.myphpwebsite.com/index.php

Ok so it scrapes there and gets content stuff

Now here's the problem: index.php relies on $_SESSION variable for its content to be correct.

if I do this:

print_r($_SESSION);

From timer.php

I see the session array

Array(....)

With stuff in it

---

but if I do this

print_r($_SESSION);

From index.php

And allow timer.php to "scrape" index.php using CURL

I see the session array

Session from index.php: Array()

---

So to make it as simple as possible:

timer.php produces the correct $SESSION, but when timer.php scrapes index.php and shows the content of index.php, there is nothing in $SESSION reflected within index.php, only in timer.php

I hope that makes sense as I cannot describe it in any more detail than that.

Thanx
Phil