Newbie Help with PHP and XML

berbbrown

Hi All

I wish to send an XML string to our PHP/MySQL web server using CURL. I think I understand how to do this, however, when it is received via CURL how do I use the data that has been sent.

I am uncertain how to access the XML data once CURL has worked it's magic.

Could anyone help please or point me in the right direction.

Many thanks

Berb

NogDog

It's not clear to me, at least, what the question is here. Are you asking how the script that receives the HTTP request from the cURL script accesses the data, or once accessed parses the XML into something it can use? Or is that receiving script sending an XML response back to the script making the cURL HTTP request, and you want to know how to receive that response, or parse the XML, or what?

berbbrown

Thanks for the reply.

I guess what I am asking is how the script that receives the HTTP request from the cURL script accesses the data.

There seems to be plenty of examples for make an HTTP request with cURL. I am uncertain about how to handle the data via the script that receives the data via the HTTP request.

Berb

NogDog

Normally you send the cURL data as a post method request. Therefore it's just like submitting a form, and the data is available via the $POST array. Also, just like with a form, you can upload a file if that makes more sense (see Example #2 on the [man]curl_setopt/man page), in which case you would access it via the $FILES array as per a "normal" file upload.

berbbrown

Thank you for your reply.

I have to POST an XML string which consists of Order data to our distribution company.

They have instructed me that they are planning on reading the xml from the stream and in the same way stream the xml back to you. THIS IS WHERE I AM STUCK.

The JAVA example they have provided is:

java.net.URL target = new URL(url);
HttpURLConnection uc = (HttpURLConnection) target.openConnection();
uc.setRequestMethod("POST");
uc.setRequestProperty("Content-Type", "text/xml");
OutputStream os = uc.getOutputStream();
PrintWriter writer = new PrintWriter(os);
writer.write(postString);
writer.close();

Is cURL the right method to send the data to them?

Can you help please?

Many thanks

Robert

Weedpacket

berbbrown wrote:
Is cURL the right method to send the data to them?

.
That's what cURL is for. Unless you want to learn and implement all the detailed HTTP protocol stuff yourself.