[RESOLVED] mysql commands not working in shell

Joseph_Sliker

Hi;

I do not do much work in the ksh shell to which I have access (and barely know any commands) but I am trying to create a very simple script that will work in a cron job (if I can ever figure THAT out).

Anyways....I have a simple script that works okay when I call it from a regular browser-type page, but fails when I try to run it directly in the ksh shell. It always chokes on the mysql or mysqli commands.

ie.

$ php lagtest.php
TEST ECHO 
Fatal error: Call to undefined function mysqli_connect() in /usr/local/www/htdocs/psi/lagtest.php on line 4

Here is the complete script: am I missing something required in order to have it run in the shell (I am assuming this will be necessary in order to make it work in a cron job)

<?
// CREATE/REPLACE LAAGCOMP TABLE
$link = mysqli_connect('localhost', 'blahblah', 'woofwoof', 'probsolve') or die('Could not connect : ' . mysql_error());
echo 'TEST ECHO<br>';
$part1='RENAME TABLE LAAGCOMP TO LAAGCOMPoriginal';
//$part2="create table LAAGCOMP...blah blah blah";
$part3="DROP TABLE LAAGCOMPoriginal";
mysqli_query($link,$part1); echo 'part1<br>';
//mysqli_query($link,$part2); echo 'part2<br>';
mysqli_query($link,$part3); echo 'part3<br>';
echo 'DONE!';
?>

anything obvious here?

bradgrafelman

Sounds like the CLI interface isn't being pointed to the same (or any) php.ini file that the PHP interpreter is using when invoked via the web request. If this is a managed/shared hosting solution, this might be something you could ask your host about. Otherwise, you'll have to tell the CLI PHP executable where the php.ini file is.

Joseph_Sliker

Thanks so much for your response, but sadly, it's beyond my comprehension at this point.

It was suggested by a higher-up that I "create an executeable" that includes as the first line

!# path/php binaries

and then "calls to my php script"

...but I don't think I'm doing this correctly as it still is not working

So I'm thinking I need a concrete example about how to create an "executeable" that would do these things.

bradgrafelman

Well you've got the pound sign and the exclamation mark (called a "shebang") reversed, but I don't see that doing this is going to help; executing a file that invokes the PHP interpeter via a shebang line is virtually the same as just calling PHP directly from the command line, so I can't imagine the results would be any different between the two methods.

What happens if you execute "php --ini" from the command line? Also, do a phpinfo() - where does it say it loaded the configuration (.ini) file from?

Joseph_Sliker

php --ini just hangs...nothing happens for a looooong time, no returned "$" prompt or anyting. I had to kill it (something else I learned how to do this morning).

I think I figured out where the php.ini file is, because the following (2-step manual) method works. But I want the whole thing to work as a single command or batch or something so I can use it for a cron job.

$ cd /usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/lib [step 1 entered manually]

$ php /usr/local/www/htdocs/psi/__laagjob.php [step 2 also entered manually]

part1: rename the original table.

part2: create the new version of the table

part3: delete the original table.

DONE!

bradgrafelman

Joseh Sliker wrote:
php --ini just hangs...nothing happens for a looooong time, no returned "$" prompt or anyting. I had to kill it (something else I learned how to do this morning).

Woops! Apparently the "--ini" CLI option is only on the Windows version.

As far as the solution, you can specify the location of the INI file manually when you invoke the PHP parser using the "-c <path>" option. Note you can do this either on the CLI or in the "executable" version of your .php script (e.g. with the shebang line at the top).

Joseph_Sliker

I am very grateful for your help, but you're still talkin' purty fancy. (i.e. wtf is CLI and/or a "-c <path>" option and where can I buy one?)

...all I know is the following STILL complains that mysqli_connect is an undefined function

filename: jobbie.php

#!/usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/lib
<?
// REPLACE LAAGCOMP TABLE
$link = mysqli_connect("localhost",  "user", "pass", "probsolve")  or die("Could not connect : " . mysql_error());
$part1="RENAME TABLE LAAGCOMP TO LAAGCOMPoriginal";
$part2="create table LAAGCOMP (blah blah blah)";
$part3="DROP TABLE LAAGCOMPoriginal";
mysqli_query($link,$part1); echo "part1: rename the original table.<br>\n";
mysqli_query($link,$part2); echo "part2: create the new version of the table<br>\n";
mysqli_query($link,$part3); echo "part3: delete the original table.<br>\n";
echo "DONE!\n\n";?>

Am I even getting CLOSE here?

Yes, I am a Billy Connolley fan.

bradgrafelman

CLI stands for "Command Line Interface" - it's what you're using when you login to the server remotely and execute commands.

The "-c <path>" argument is something you add after the program name (e.g. "/path/to/php -OPTION1 -OPTION2 -OPTION3" etc.). The <path> text is a placeholder for the path to the directory where the php.ini file is, such as /usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/lib (according to your post above).

Like I said, you can also add this argument (I think, anyway) onto the "shebang" line in the .php file itself, e.g. this:

#!/usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/lib

could instead be:

#!/usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/php -c /usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/lib

Also note that the path directly following the "#!" sequence should be the path to the file you want the shell to execute to parse the file. In this case, you should be supplying a path to the PHP executable file (I took a wild guess in my second code snippet above - you might have to fix the path), not a lib directory.

EDIT: In addition, note that the use of the "<?" short tags has been deprecated. These tags are disabled by default and even removed altogether from future versions of PHP, so you should make sure all of your scripts use the full "<?php" tag instead of the "<?" (or "<?=(expression)?>") syntax.

Oh, and by the way... I didn't know if you obfuscated them or not, so I removed the MySQL credentials you posted in the code snippet above. :p

Joseph_Sliker

I have tried to create a php script (filename shebang.php) to run from the command line:

#!/usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/lib
<?php
require_once 'jobbie2.php';

//note: the /lib directory DOES work when I manually CD to it and then run the jobbie2.file  no other directories work for this purpose.
?>

and when I run it, here's how it goes

$ php shebang.php
Fatal error: Call to undefined function mysqli_connect() in /usr/local/www/htdocs/psi/jobbie2.php on line 2

I have been studying a website that discusses the CLI and now I undertand a bit about the arguments and options that can be set but still this stuff does not seem to work.

$ php jobbie2.php -c /usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/lib
Fatal error: Call to undefined function mysqli_connect() in /usr/local/www/htdocs/psi/jobbie2.php on line 2

$ php jobbie2.php -c /usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/bin
Fatal error: Call to undefined function mysqli_connect() in /usr/local/www/htdocs/psi/jobbie2.php on line 2

$ php jobbie2.php -c /usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/php
Fatal error: Call to undefined function mysqli_connect() in /usr/local/www/htdocs/psi/jobbie2.php on line 2

BUT WHEN I MANUALLY ENTER THE FOLLOWING COMMANDS THAT INCLUDE THE SAME PATH INFORMATION IT WORKS

$ cd /usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/lib
$ php /usr/local/www/htdocs/psi/jobbie2.php
part1: rename the original table. 
part3: delete the original table. 
IT WORKED!

I am wondering if there is something screwed up about the php installation on this server.

bradgrafelman

For one, if you're using the shebang line ("#!/path/to/executable"), then you don't run the script by using the "php" excutable. You simply execute the PHP script itself (e.g. "./myscript.php") and the shell takes care of invoking the program you specify.

For another, read the manual for the CLI usage (manual page: [man]features.commandline.usage[/man]). The file you're trying to execute should be the last argument - the "-c <path>" argument must come before it.

Either way, you should pick one method or the other - not both.

Joseph_Sliker

Thank you, thank you!

I thought I had tried these combinations of command several times before, but the following worked!

$ php -c /usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/lib -f __laagjob.php

...and off she goes!

part1: rename the original table. 
part2: create the new version of the table 
part3: delete the original table. 
DONE!

However, I am still totally mystified about this whole "shebang" thing. It is not used in the script that runs (laagjob.php) and it does not appear anywhere in the line that actually works in the shell. ($ php -c /usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/lib -f laagjob.php)

How/where does it this whole "#!/path" thing apply?

bradgrafelman

Joesph Sliker wrote:
How/where does it this whole "#!/path" thing apply?

In the code you posted above:

#!/usr/local/opt/coolstack/php5/lib 
<?php 
require_once 'jobbie2.php'; 

//note: the /lib directory DOES work when I manually CD to it and then run the jobbie2.file  no other directories work for this purpose. 
?>

you would execute that script by simply typing "./myscript.php" on the shell. You wouldn't execute the PHP binary and pass it the file name. The shell would then find that #! line and invoke whatever program you listed in order to "execute" the PHP script.

As you're doing it now, you are executing the PHP binary, thus you would not place a "#!" line in your PHP script.