WebSite Portability kept with MySQL security

perrio

I'm making a website for somone and i'm building it on my shared hosting account.

After my client pays me, I want to move the site to another server/account.

Every place in my scripts where i connect to the database by using "mysql_connect("","","");" i would need to change the codes upon giving the site to the new owner. MY PROBLEM is that I can't use "include" because it won't seem to work correctly.

I was just going to have an include file along with the other files in the site that had the connection details. (this is also a security risk because it isn't above the www directory and could be served over the web, giving my login details away)

Any advice is appreciated
cp

Frederick

Why do you feel using the include() is a security risk and why is the include() for your database connection failing.

perrio

Having an include that contains account (connection) data in the WWW directory exposes that information to being served over the web, given the user can guess the file name. I had wanted to keep the data in WWW directory for ease of portability at a later date. Including the path, user, password in the argument for mysq_connect(include"file.inc") as an example isn't working for some unknown reason.

Any suggestions?

Frederick

Well, mysql_connect requires 3 values and you can not modify those. It serves one purpose and that is it. Sorry.

mysql_connect("server","username","password");

rehfeld

i dont think you understand what an include file is.

<?php
// config.php
$db_user = 'user';
$db_pass = 'pass';
$db_server = 'localhost';
?>

<?php
require 'config.php';

mysql_connect($db_server, $db_user, $db_pass);


?>

perrio

It still won't work. I tried doing that too.
I even tried putting the whole connect syntax in .php above the www directory , apparently that isn't working either.

rehfeld

also, just a tip:

dont say "doesnt work"

it tells people near nothing.

instead, say
"i get the following error..."

"i was expecting x to happen, but instead y happend"

we cant read your mind

perrio

IT WORKS, THanks for your input.
Its not clear what the difference is between "require"
and "include" but it made the difference in what i'm doing.

THanks.

jsvoyager

If I remember correctly, require() includes the file, even if the script never get's to that point in the code. Include() includes the file iff the execution reaches that point of the script.

For instance, this file will never get included:

if (0 == 1){
     include ("file.php");
}

but here it would

if (0 == 1){
     require ("file.php");
}

Maybe you had your include in some kind of conditional?