str_between or something?

[Pobega]

I'm wondering, is there some type of command in php to get a string from between two strings.

Something like 'Find <!--, then find the stuff between it, then find !> (Which would be used for changing HTML comments).

Is there a command like that or am I missing something here?

[scrupul0us]

if you want just the insides you can use xml components or regex the comment brackets out

$str = "<!-- then find the stuff between it, then find !>";
$str = ereg_replace('<!-- ','',$str);
$str = ereg_replace(' !>','',$str);

untested, but that ereg should leave you with the innerds (assuming the comma was a typo and the string inside is padded with a space at the start and end)

[Pobega]

No, i want to look through a huge file that uses HTML comments as labels (i.e. <!-- Shout Num 32 !>). I am using these labels to form a 'Delete' type of command, so I want it to find <!--ShoutNum$_GET['shout']--!>, then I want to take from the !> to || (I use || to explode files in my text database) and erase all of it.

[Houdini]

<!--ShoutNum$_GET['shout']--!>

Is not a proper comment in SGML or HTML everything after the --!> would be a comment even if it is real code. It should be

<!--ShoutNum$_GET['shout']-->

so your regex would have to be altered to make that work.

[Pobega]

Right right, I knew that I just wasn't thinking when I made that post. Is there a command in php to do what I need though?

[Weedpacket]

preg_match_all('/<!--(.*?)-->/s', $loadoftext, $matches);

Consult the manual page for that function for more detail.

[Pobega]

Okay, so here is what I want to do...I want to delete a string based upon a unique number. Each shout in my shoutbox (Text based) has a comment BEFORE and AFTER it, so the database reads like this:

<!--ShoutNum2-->Pobega: This is my second shout
||<!--ShoutNum2-->
<!--ShoutNum1-->Pobega: This is my first shout
||<!--ShoutNum1-->

Now, I want to make a delete function using $_GET data as my source for the ShoutNum. I want to take the string of text between both <!--ShoutNum2-->'s and delete it (Along with the ShoutNum2 if possible). What would I have to do for that?

[Installer]

Do the line breaks in your example represent line breaks in your text file?

[Pobega]

Yes, why, is preg_* sensitive to line breaks?

[Installer]

Seems to me this should do it:

$lines = file($huge_file);
$find_txt = '<!--ShoutNum' . $_GET['shout'] . '-->';
$new_file = '';
foreach ($lines as $line) {
    if (strpos($line, $find_txt) === false) {
        $new_file .= $line;
    }    

}

[Pobega]

$lines = file($huge_file);
$find_txt = '<!--ShoutNum' . $_GET['shout'] . '-->';
$find_break = '||<!--ShoutNum' . $_GET['shout'] . '-->'; 
$new_file = '';
foreach ($lines as $line) {
    if (strpos($line, $find_txt) === false) {
        $new_file .= $line;
    }    

    elseif (strpos($line, $find_break) === false) {
        $new_file .= $line;
    }    

} 

So this tiny edit of it would also delete the line containing '||', right?

[Installer]

The code as I posted it should delete them, if the example you posted is precise.

[Installer]

When I run the code on a file that looks like this (with '2' as $_GET['shout']):

<!--ShoutNum3-->Pobega: This is my third shout
||<!--ShoutNum3-->
<!--ShoutNum2-->Pobega: This is my second shout
||<!--ShoutNum2-->
<!--ShoutNum1-->Pobega: This is my first shout
||<!--ShoutNum1-->

and write back to file, the result looks like this:

<!--ShoutNum3-->Pobega: This is my third shout
||<!--ShoutNum3-->
<!--ShoutNum1-->Pobega: This is my first shout
||<!--ShoutNum1-->

which is my understanding of what you're after.

[Pobega]

Yeah, that is what I'm after. But in your code when does it remove the line containing the ||?

Here is exactly my delete.php page code:

<?php include('../database/password.php'); ?>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../shoutbox.css" >

<?php
	if ($_GET['shout'])
		{
			if ($_POST['password'] === $password)
				{
					$lines = file('../database/shouts.txt');
					$find_txt = '<!--ShoutNum' . $_GET['shout'] . '-->';
					$find_break = '||<!--ShoutNum' . $_GET['shout'] . '-->'; 
					$new_file = '';
					foreach ($lines as $line) 
						{
  							if (strpos($line, $find_txt) === false) 
								{
    									if (strpos($line, $find_break) === false) 
										{
        										$new_file .= $line;
    										} 
    								}    

						}
					$open = fopen('../database/shouts.txt', 'w');
					fwrite($open, $new_file);
					fclose($open); 
					echo 'Shout Number ';
					echo $_GET['num'];
					echo ' was successfully removed from the database.<br /><br />';
					echo 'Click  <a href="javascript: self.close ()">here</a> to close this Window.';
				}
			else
				{
?>			

Entered password was incorrect...Click  <a href="javascript: self.close ()">here</a> to close this Window.

<?php
				}
	else
		{
		echo '';
		}
?>

[Installer]

It deletes any line containing the comment expression ('<!--ShoutNum' . $GET['shout'] . '-->'). So, since your lines with "||" contain the c.e., it deletes them too (when they match the $GET value, that is).

Here's my complete testing code:

$huge_file = 'test.txt';
$new_huge_file = 'new_test.txt';
$_GET['shout'] = '2';

$lines = file($huge_file);
$find_txt = '<!--ShoutNum' . $_GET['shout'] . '-->';
$new_file = '';
foreach ($lines as $line) {
    if (strpos($line, $find_txt) === false) {
        $new_file .= $line;
    }    

}

$fp = fopen($new_huge_file, 'w');
fwrite($fp, $new_file);
fclose($fp);

echo nl2br(htmlentities(file_get_contents($new_huge_file)));

Here's the input file ("test.txt"):

<!--ShoutNum3-->Pobega: This is my third shout
||<!--ShoutNum3-->
<!--ShoutNum2-->Pobega: This is my second shout
||<!--ShoutNum2-->
<!--ShoutNum1-->Pobega: This is my first shout
||<!--ShoutNum1-->

And here's the output file ("new_test.txt"):

<!--ShoutNum3-->Pobega: This is my third shout
||<!--ShoutNum3-->
<!--ShoutNum1-->Pobega: This is my first shout
||<!--ShoutNum1-->

Run it yourself and see.

Edit: Really, unless you use it for something else, the "||" is unneeded.

[Pobega]

You're right, I didn't think about that. I'd test it out but it seems my host's FTP is down, so I'll get back to you soon and see if it worked, thanks

[Installer]

Glad to help. 🙂

[Pobega]

Nope, didn't work, I need another idea. Whenever I do file_get_contents, open the shout file to write mode, post a new comment, and paste back, it erases all my other comments. Does anyone have any ideas for me on how else I could go about making a 'Delete Shout' function?

[Installer]

You didn't run the code as I posted it, did you? Or else the sample file you posted isn't consistent with you actual file.

[Pobega]

<?php include('../database/password.php'); ?>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../shoutbox.css" >

<?php
	if ($_GET['action'] === 'edit')
		{
			if ($_POST['password'] === $password)
				{
					$lines = file('../database/shouts.txt');
					$find_txt = '<!--ShoutNum' . $_GET['num'] . '-->';
					$new_file = '';
					foreach ($lines as $line) 
						{
  							if (strpos($line, $find_txt) === false) 
								{
        								$new_file .= $line;
    								}    

						}
					$open = fopen('../database/shouts.txt', 'w');
					fwrite($open, $new_file);
					fclose($open); 
					$open = fopen('iplogs.txt', 'w');
					fwrite($open, $new_file);
					fclose($open); 
					echo 'Shout Number ';
					echo $_GET['num'];
					echo ' was successfully removed from the database.<br /><br />';
					echo 'Click  <a href="javascript: self.close ()">here</a> to close this Window.';
				}
			else
				{
?>			

Entered password was incorrect...Click  <a href="javascript: self.close ()">here</a> to close this Window.

<?php
				}
		}
	else
		{
?>

<form action="delete.php?action=edit&num=<?php echo $_GET['num']; ?>&user=<?php echo $_GET['user']; ?>" method="post">
	<input type="password" name="password"><br />
	<input type="submit" value="Confirm Ban">
</form>

<?php
		}
?>

There is my exact code, look through it if you can and see if I did something wrong.