Need help troubleshooting and safely continuing from warnings in foreach

schwim

Hi there everyone,

I've got an issue with a function I'm using. A foreach in use has begun throwing warnings for some of the entries in the array and I would like to at first figure out what the problem is then once I've figured that out, I can decide how to handle it in the script.

My foreach:

//Get the member's reputation with the guild.
$character = $armory->getCharacter($mname);
$reputations = $character->getReputation(TRUE,'name','asc');
foreach($reputations as $reputation) {
	$rep_name = $reputation['name'];
	if($rep_name=="Guild"){
		$current_standing = $reputation['standing'];
		$current_standing_text = standing_text($current_standing);
		$current_value = $reputation['value'];
		$current_max = $reputation['max'];
		$current_remaining = $max-$value;
		$percentage = percent($current_value, $current_max);
	}			
}

The warning(s):

[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 491: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 397: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 517: array_keys() [function.array-keys]: The first argument should be an array
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 517: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 520: natsort() [function.natsort]: The argument should be an array
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 524: array_keys() [function.array-keys]: The first argument should be an array
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 524: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/overlord/guild_info/index.php on line 364: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 491: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 397: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 517: array_keys() [function.array-keys]: The first argument should be an array
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 517: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 520: natsort() [function.natsort]: The argument should be an array
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 524: array_keys() [function.array-keys]: The first argument should be an array
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 524: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/overlord/guild_info/index.php on line 364: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 491: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 397: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 517: array_keys() [function.array-keys]: The first argument should be an array
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 517: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 520: natsort() [function.natsort]: The argument should be an array
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 524: array_keys() [function.array-keys]: The first argument should be an array
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 524: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/overlord/guild_info/index.php on line 364: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
The roster has been updated. 0 new members have been added, 21 members have been removed and 88 current members have been updated.

I understand the need for safeties and checks in php scripts, now I need to figure out how to write them 😉

Thanks for your time!

bradgrafelman

schwim;11006979 wrote:
A foreach in use has begun throwing warnings for some of the entries in the array

Not really. The problem is that there isn't an array in the first place. The argument being supplied to the foreach() loop - namely $reputations - isn't valid (i.e. it's not an array).

You should probably look at the documentation (or resort to just reading the code) for that getReputation() method to see all of the possible values it could return (or perhaps any exceptions it might throw). It's pretty much like calling [man]mysql_query/man - you should check to see if you get a boolean FALSE back instead of a resource and then handle the error accordingly. In your case, this might translate to using something like [man]is_array/man to make sure that method gave you back an array (as you seem to be expecting) rather than something else (as it seems to be doing now).

schwim

Hi there brad, and thanks very much for the reply. I understand what you're saying about it not being an array and I'm sorry for the mistype. I'd like to be able to find out which user these problems are occuring on. How would I go about doing this. Use the suggested is_array and if its false take action (echo or db insert) with the current member name? Is there more information I could gain from the problem not-really-an-array? Like maybe echo or print_r it?

bradgrafelman

You can store/output/log whatever information you think might be relevant... but it still comes back to the documentation for that getReputation() method. Knowing that it's returning FALSE, 0, -1, or the string "I like watermelons" versus the array you expected probably isn't going to tell you much... unless the corresponding documentation for that method indicates that a certain error condition will result in the value you're getting.

But sure, you could use something like [man]print_r/man or [man]var_dump/man to at least get an idea of what it is returning.

Weedpacket

schwim wrote:
Use the suggested is_array and if its false take action (echo or db insert) with the current member name?

That's one suggestion, yes. If $reputations is not an array when it should be, then there is something wrong with the Character that $armory is getting for $mname which the getReputations() method doesn't like (for reasons which should be documented).

Unless getReputations itself is buggy, of course; but it's better to be clear on what the method is supposed to do in various circumstances before claiming that it's not doing what it's supposed to do.

schwim wrote:
Is there more information I could gain from the problem not-really-an-array?

Yes:

schwim wrote:
Like maybe echo or print_r it?

I think you just answered your own question.

schwim

Hi there guys and thanks for your continued assistance.

I thought I knew where to place my checks, but it's obvious I don't. I wrote a test script to try to print the names of the problem members(I was going to add to it once I managed that):

include("./includes/armory_init.php");
// $armory->useCache(FALSE);
$members = $guild->getMembers('name', 'asc');
foreach($members as $member) {

//Get character information
$mname = $member['character']['name'];
$mgender = $member['character']['gender'];
$mlevel = $member['character']['level'];
$mrace = $member['character']['race'];
$mclass = $member['character']['class'];
$mrank = $member['rank'];

//Get the member's reputation with the guild.
$character = $armory->getCharacter($mname);
$reputations = $character->getReputation(TRUE,'name','asc');
// print_r($reputations);
if(!is_array($reputations)){
	echo "$reputations is not an array!<br /><br />";
}else{
	foreach($reputations as $reputation) {
		if(!is_array($reputations)){
			echo "The array for ".$mname." is corrupt.";
		}else{
			$rep_name = $reputation['name'];
			if($rep_name=="Guild"){
				$current_standing = $reputation['standing'];
				$current_value = $reputation['value'];
				$current_max = $reputation['max'];
				$current_remaining = $max-$value;
				echo $mname."'s standing with ".$rep_name." is ".$current_standing.".<br /><br />";
			}
		}
	}
}
}

And ran it, expecting to get the normal print statements for the valid members and a notification of which member is failing, but had assumed that since I wasn't trying to do anything with the data of the particular member that I wouldn't get the errors, but here's what it printed for the problem entry:

AÃ¡hz's standing with Guild is 3.

Baaboonbrune's standing with Guild is 3.

Badodis's standing with Guild is 3.

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 491

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 397

Warning: array_keys() [function.array-keys]: The first argument should be an array in /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 517

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 517

Warning: natsort() [function.natsort]: The argument should be an array in /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 520

Warning: array_keys() [function.array-keys]: The first argument should be an array in /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 524

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 524
This is not an array!

So it told me that it wasn't an array, but only after all the warnings printed to screen.

I'm guessing that I've placed the checks in the wrong spot. How would I set the is_array checks to stop the warnings and begin writing my stuff to print the problem data?

Weedpacket

schwim wrote:
I'm guessing that I've placed the checks in the wrong spot.

Have a look at this message:

Warning: natsort() [function.natsort]: The argument should be an array in /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 520

None of the code you've posted so far even mentions [man]natsort[/man] let alone calls it - all the error messages being shown come from within the Character class (I don't know which method - that can be inferred from the line number). What it's receiving is invalid. Find out where that is coming from and generally work backwards until you get back to your code.

Another observation:

[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 491: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
....five messages snipped...
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /home/clash/public_html/overlord/guild_info/index.php on line 364: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()

Again, I don't know which method of the Character class contains line 491, but that's where things first noticeably go awry; if the foreach() loop you're focusing on is the one described as being on line 364 of index.php then you are looking in the wrong place: things went wonky much earlier.

One wonders if these classes themselves need better error checking so that they can respond to errors in a way that is actually useful for users (including reporting that there is a problem as soon as possible, instead of trying to barge ahead regardless).

Incidentally, much richer diagnostics are available if you install the xdebug extension, including stack traces showing what values were passed to each call in the stack and dumps of currently-defined local variables.

schwim

Hi there weed and thanks very much for your help.

I created this thread only after waiting two weeks for the script author to respond by both posting on the sourceforge page and sending a message to his social account listed in the documentation. The project is like most free personal offerings out there: very helpful but completely lacking in any assistance or even acknowledgement. If I'm to use this particular system, I'm on my own when it comes to help from the developer.

The script I'm using is the PHP Battle.net WoW Armory API. I've found no other php classes to use for this purpose, so it seems that he's the way to go other than writing it myself and that's well above my paygrade.

As for where the script first goes wrong:

   	private function setTitles(){
   		$titles = $this->characterData['titles'];
Line 491>>>	foreach ($titles as $key => $title){
   			$this->characterData['titles'][$key]['name_with_name'] = preg_replace('/\%s/',$this->name,$title['name']);
   			if (isset($title['selected']) and $title['selected']){
   				$this->currentTitle['name_with_name'] = $this->characterData['titles'][$key]['name_with_name'];
   				$this->currentTitle['name'] = $this->characterData['titles'][$key]['name'];
   			}
   		}
   	}

I imagine you need much more to have any idea of what's going awry but maybe you might see something problematic in his code?

schwim

Hi there guys,

I've made leaps and bounds in figuring out what's going awry. If the guild character is under level 10, it doesn't return a valid object. I found this in some online docs:

See the bold:

// Get the character object. Will return FALSE if the
// character could not be found or character is frozen.
$character = $armory->getCharacter('Growar');

So it says it will return false if it's not a valid character. I am however having problems figuring out how to check if it's false. I've tried

if($armory->getCharacter(Bigwhitepaws) != FALSE){
	$character = $armory->getCharacter(Bigwhitepaws);
}else{
	echo("This character is not a valid object.");
}

But that returns the following:

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 491

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/clash/public_html/includes/wowarmoryapi/Character.class.php on line 491

So in trying to check to see if it's a valid object, I've actually managed to trigger the warning twice.

How would I go about checking an object to see if it returns false?

Weedpacket

Well, that seems inconsistent with the documentation. Even then, it's looking increasingly clear that the author of the class simply supressed and/or ignored all of the error messages his code was generating.

So I took a glance. I'm assuming [font=monospace]$armory[/font] is an instance of BattlenetArmory, of course. Looking up a character involves creating a new Character instance, which - assuming that the cache is disabled or hasn't yet been populated - makes a JSON query to the server for data about the character which all gets copied into a single [font=monospace]$characterData[/font] property as an array. Then [font=monospace]setTitles[/font] is called, which assumes - apparently without adequate justification - that [font=monospace]$this->characterData['titles'][/font] exists and is an array. In your case, however, it is not.

So you can at least see what the loop is trying to iterate over by dumping [font=monospace]$character->characterData['titles'][/font]. Fixing the problem would require fixing the class, perhaps by ensuring that all of its properties have reasonable default values (e.g., initialise [font=monospace]$this->characterData = array('stats'=>array(), 'titles'=>array(), ....) + $json_array;[/font], or actually give the Character a "titles" property and initialise/use that).

bradgrafelman

What does more of the code look like, e.g. the part where you're doing the foreach() loop? Did you make sure that it's in a conditional statement that won't be executed if you do get FALSE back?

Second, note that there's no need to call the method twice...

if(($character = $armory->getCharacter('Bigwhitepaws')) != FALSE){
	echo("This character is not a valid object.");
}

(Also note you were missing quotes around the literal string value 'Bigwhitepaws'... at least, I'm assuming that was to be a string and not a constant.)

schwim

Hi there weed and thanks very much for taking the time to look at the script for me. I very much appreciate it.

I'm not sure how to handle altering each class as it seems beyond my capabilities but I was wondering:

During testing, I captured the object of one of the invalid characters. I won't post all of it, due to length, but here's the beginning:

(
[name:private] =>
[region:private] => us
[realm:private] => Thrall
[characterData:private] => Array
(
[status] => nok
[reason] => Character not found.
[talents] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[selected] => 0
)
                [selectedSpec] => 0
                [notSelectedSpec] => 1
                [1] => Array
                    (
                        [selected] => 0
                    )

            )

    )

Which made me wonder if I could make one change in a class that did something with:

[status] => nok
[reason] => Character not found.

allowing it to check for this before throwing the warning?

Your thoughts on the feasibility of this(and where in-line it might belong) would be greatly appreciated.

johanafm

How about in the constructor after $this->characterData = jsonConnect. It does a check for != FALSE, but perhaps you could add a check for (is_array && [reason] == 'Character not found') and provide some useful feedback.

schwim

Hi there johanafm, could you tell me what file and line you're looking at? I did a search through all files and can't find that line anywhere.

Weedpacket

In the Character class constructor (i.e., [font=monospace]class Character { ... function __constructor ...}[/font]). The class's author is assuming certain things are present JSON data being returned when apparently they sometimes aren't.