Get the contents of a remote file

PHP_Novice2

Is it possible to store the contents of a remote (i.e. on the user's local computer, and not the web) file as a variable, without actually saving a copy of the file on your server first? If so, how?

Oni

I know of only cookies that stores info on users computer which you can later on access.

MarkR

No, if it were, it would represent a significant security problem in the web browser.

The only way of getting files from the user's computer is having them upload it using an input type=file. This is fully documented in the PHP docs.

It's not necessary to store its data in a permanent file on the server, but PHP automatically places it into a temporary file for you, as is fully documented.

Mark

PHP_Novice2

MarkR wrote:
No, if it were, it would represent a significant security problem in the web browser.

The only way of getting files from the user's computer is having them upload it using an input type=file. This is fully documented in the PHP docs.

It's not necessary to store its data in a permanent file on the server, but PHP automatically places it into a temporary file for you, as is fully documented.

Mark

Can this temporary file be used across multiple pages?

MarkR

PHP automatically deletes the temporary file at the end of the request, but you can use move_uploaded_file to move it into another temporary place, which you could then keep between pages (provided you have your own code clean this temp directory up occasionally)

Mark