[RESOLVED] xhtml, ampersands and arg_separator, oh my!

[gufmn]

So I'm trying to generate valid xhtml with php. Running in to a problem with & being a reserved character in xhtml (and they're all over the query strings).
So I'm trying to use ini_set('arg_separator.output', '&') in a prepend file but it's still showing up as an &.

Even tried using ini_set('arg_separator.output', ';') but it's just not working.

Anyone have any ideas how I can get this to validate?

[halojoy]

..

have you run phpinfo()
yes, it only shows default global settings

is there any setting in php.ini
that can block local use of ini_set() to change php.ini within your scripts
I'd like to know.

I hardly never do any local in_set() because I use my Apache and PHP
running from my own PC
and can change global server and php settings whenever and whatever

Strange,
but seems your ini_set() does not work

What does php reporting output?

errors, notices when perform ini_set()

with
error_reporting (E_ALL); // set all php notices enable

what does function return

$ret = ini_set();
echo $ret;

:bemused:

[gufmn]

ini_set() does appear to be working. The local value for arg_separator.output is & and the master value is &

http://www.jrewdesign.com/ini_set/phpinfo.php

no errors reported with error_reporting(E_ALL);

This is the entire prepend file:

error_reporting(E_ALL);
ini_set('arg_separator.output', '&');

[gufmn]

I just decided to edit the .ini itself.

[halojoy]

okay

I still wonder why local ini_set did not work for you

I cant see you did anything else
but what is told in this nice overview of what solutions
are at our hands to fix this.

-Per script basis
PHP configuration directives can be set on a per script basis with the ini_set function.
Put the code to set the directives at the top of your script.

<?php ini_set('arg_separator.output','&amp;'); ?>

This line, of course, have to be included
in each php page, where you want to use this setting.
At the top, beginning of script..

Can also be set in a separate config.php or special_settings.php

// any page dealing with XHTML
include ( "special_settings.php" );

// rest of script code

Information about this topic I found,
It is from
http://www.w3.org/
A great source of knowledge to anything regarding web coding.
And well known by most of us.

Ampersands, PHP Sessions and Valid HTML

Why using PHP sessions causes invalid HTML and XHTML to be generated, and how to fix it.

Solutions
Outputting a character reference

The character that PHP uses to separate arguments is configurable with the arg_separator.output directive. This can be set in a number of ways and is the solution suggested in the PHP manual.

• Editing php.ini
  The php.ini file contains the central configuration data for an install of PHP on a computer. You can specify a character reference to use there.

arg_separator.output = "&"

-Apache directives
The Apache web server can set PHP scripts in all the usual places.
This allows different directives to be set on
- a per site or
- per directory basis
( in, for example, a <location> block or .htaccess file ).

php_value arg_separator.output &amp;

-Per script basis
PHP configuration directives can be set on a per script basis with the ini_set function. Put the code to set the directives at the top of your script.

<?php ini_set('arg_separator.output','&amp;'); ?>

🙂 also mentions the use of semicolon like you did
with examples how to set this instead of 'amp'

🙂 also some other kinds of solutions, options
to deal with this
when using XHTML

LINK to this w3.org document page:

http://www.w3.org/QA/2005/04/php-session.html#solutions

re-search with google
by
halojoy