files created with php (permissions)

bsgrules

This pertains to a typical lamp server setup on a shared server.

You know when you create a file using php, it creates the file under a different owner, and you can only delete that file using php or if you have root access. Is there anyway I can get around this? I don't have shell/root access, only ftp so please keep that in mind. As stated above, i'm assuming this is quite common for people that are on a shared box and I would like to know if anyone had any tips.

Drakla

If your server is running SuExec you can run php as CGI from the cgi-bin and you get files with your usual identity, just like you'd ftp'd / doen things via the shell.

You have to upload your script to the cgi bin and then change permissions to make it executable - and the first line of the script must be a 'shebang' most probably
#!/usr/bin/php

If the output from the script isn't coming out as the HTML you expect put in a .htaccess file with

AddType text/html .cgi

bsgrules

I see, well I can't run it as cgi. I don't have access to the apache's conf file, remember I'm on a shared server and they have php running as a module. Any other ideas.

Drakla

http.conf, running as a module, shared server - Neither of those things matter, you'd just put a .htaccess file in your cgi-bin if you've got one, and a php script renamed .cgi with the shebang as the first line. Put this there as whoami.cgi

#!/usr/bin/php
<?php
system("/usr/bin/whoami");
?>

Use whatever you've use, ftp or shell to make it executable then go to http://yoursite/cgi-bin/whoami.cgi and see if it works.

EDIT: without the space that the forum puts before the first line.

bsgrules

thanks for all the advise drakla, but I found an easier solution. Make and Chmod the directory that will contain the files with different ownership to 777 via the php script. I'm then able to delete the entire directory or the files via ftp.

It doesn't really make sense to me, but it works. I didn't know chmod actually affected who gets to delete what.

Drakla

No probs. I thought that you actually needed the security of you being the owner of the files. If you ever do need that then give the cgi method a whirl - shell commands run from php, like unzip and all that still write files with your ownership. It's best to limit its usage, though, as running as CGI is a performance hit over the module.