Uploading the output of a servlet to an FTP site

erikjjm

Hi All!

I have this interesting problem and I'm hoping that one of you gurus can help me out. 😃

Consider the following URL:

http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SharpChartv05.ServletDriver?chart=$spx,uu[l,a]daclyyay[pb40!b200!d20,2][vc60][ilc20!la12,26,9!lb14]&r=1707

The output of this servlet is a chart. I'd like to create a little PHP tool that will automatically upload the resulting image file to my FTP site. Is there a way for me to effectively automate the "save picture as" process? Notice that when the chart is displayed you can't view the source code (and thus see the full path to the PNG file).

Any help would be greatly appreciated--thanks!

Weedpacket

Well, you can have the script request the URL, and then use the ftp functions to log in to your server and upload the file. Having a look at the site's Terms of Use agreement might also be a good idea.

devinemke

if your web server and FTP server use the same physical file sytem then do:

$contents = file_get_contents('http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SharpChartv05.ServletDriver?%20chart=$spx,uu[l,a]daclyyay[pb40!b200!d20,2][vc60][<br%20/>ilc20!la12,26,9!lb14]&r=1707');
$handle = fopen('/path/to/chart.png', 'wb');
fwrite($handle, $contents);
fclose($handle);

replace /path/to/chart.png with wherever on the file system you want to store the file. if the web and FTP servers are different machines then do the same as above and then use PHP's FTP functions to log in and copy the file.

erikjjm

Thanks! I've been trying something similar but I've been having trouble getting it to work. I'll give this route a shot.

As for permissions, I am following the guidelines that they provide here.

erikjjm

The call to fwrite() is creating a 0-length file, because file_get_contents() is returning nothing... :bemused:

I'll keep trying!

BTW, the vB Code is wreaking havoc with that link. Here is the correct code snippet:

$contents = file_get_contents('http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SharpChartv05.ServletDriver?chart=$spx,uu[l,a]daclyyay[pb40!b200!d20,2][vc60][ilc20!la12,26,9!lb14]&r=1707'); 
$handle = fopen('/path/to/chart.png', 'wb'); 
fwrite($handle, $contents); 
fclose($handle);

It's actually still a little off above. There's no space between '?' and 'chart.' Not that it matters much for the purposes of this discussion (it simply creates an incorrect chart).

Weedpacket

Well, I was thinking more about the bit that says

RESTRICTIONS ON USE. All materials published by StockCharts.com, Inc., including, but not limited to charts, images, illustrations, price information, reviews and email newsletters ("Information") are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by StockCharts.com, Inc. or it's third-party providers. You must access the information manually by request and not programmatically by macro or other automated means. You may not use the contents for any unlawful purpose.

erikjjm

Yeah, I saw that too. I contacted the folks at StockCharts.com and they said they were fine with me using a script as long as I was only going to download a few charts a day.

Anyway, still no luck getting this to work. Anyone else have any ideas? Thanks!