redirecting a POST with header()

sdbland

I am trying to redirect a POST using header. the browser itself does get redirected to the correct URL, but along the way the POST data is lost.

did a number of web searches, some of which imply this is possible ( but not how ), others say it only works by redirecting to a GET. which would break this as the receiving page is expecting POST data.

any ideas? is there a way to reconstruct the POST request using header()?

steve

fredouille

it is impossible to transmit a post via a simple header

you have to use the scokets functions or curl

bye

rebelo

I have no idea if this is possible, but I wonder if you could dynamically create am html form on the gateway page based on the post data and then have it autosubmit as soon as the page loads? Something like:

<form action="target.php" method="post">
<?php

// Populate hidden form fields with the post data from the last page.
foreach ($_POST as $key => $val) {
  echo "<input type='hidden' name='$key' value='$val'>";
}

// Now you just need to make it submit automatically.
?>
</form>

edo29

You may use a Javascript for changing the action of the form to redirect the POST before it comes to the PHP script.

Or, you may use SESSIONS for storing the data, redirect using header() and then retrieve the data from the SESSION.

best regards,
edo

sdbland

1) sessions will not work as the data is being posted to another site. behaviour of sessions themselves seems to vary by site in any case

2) the creation of a form and having javascript autosubmit is a possibility, but of course, people turn java script off - so it does not work for all

the only real solution seems to be using a more flexible and mature language such as java and JSP where you are not prevented from doing things like this.

drew010

yeah the ideas above are good since it isnt possible to post using header()
all the header does is send headers to the user's browser. the headers are standardized and they tell the browser how to handle the data it will receive. Location just tells the browser it needs to be at a different page and it should go to the url specified. but when it goes, it only uses GET.
curl or sockets are the way to go, but the user will not be forwarded. for more on the http/1.1 protocol, including valid headers which can be sent, (such as Location), see http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc2616.html

rebelo

Originally posted by sdbland
2) the creation of a form and having javascript autosubmit is a possibility, but of course, people turn java script off - so it does not work for all

This is true, however, I think fewer and fewer people will be disabling javascript completely these days because so many sites rely on it to some level. I personally only turn off the annoying shit like unrequested new windows and window resizing/moving.

You would just have to tell the users something like "javascript must be enabled on your browser to use this page" or something lame.

Like you said, there's really nothing else you can do, it would seem. Other than a different language.