Database Password Again

[sherif]

Hi everybody,
In a previous message, I asked about protecting my database USERNAME and PASSWORD. I got replies stating that I should put the PHP3 file containing my password in a "safe" directory and include that file in the running PHP3 file. Could you please direct me to somewhere (e.g URL or site) to read more of how to make a "safe" directory to be used in my case? OR could you just give me some "buzz words" to search with over the net?
Thanks for all.

[[deleted]]

The idea is this:
The webserver has a document-root. This is a directory where all the html and php pages are stored. You can access all those pages through a URL like www.server.com/path/to/file.php

so if you stored the passwords in a file inside the documentroot, I could access that file like this:
http://www.server.com/path/to/file/passwords.txt

So you want to move the passwords.txt to place where it can longer be accessed through a URL. That means that the file must be stored somewhere outside the webserver's documentroot. That way, it is nolonger a file that the webserver can server to clients, but PHP can still read it.

The easiest solution is to put the file in the same dir as the document-root is in:
ls /path/to
/path/to/document_root dir
/path/to/password.txt textfile

[sherif]

Thank you very much for your reply, but I still have a question: How would I access that "folder" or "directory" that is outside the documentroot?
As you advised me, I created one folder (named "testfold") outside the documentroot (using WS_FTP) and moved the PHP3 class file which contains my db password into it, then in the other PHP file (which is at the documentroot) that uses the class file I included that class file as :
require("testfold/myutil.php3");
and this sure didn't work. So what is the syntax or how can I include or "require" that PHP class file if I will use it in other several PHP files? Thank you for your cooperation.

[[deleted]]

require("testfold/myutil.php3");

Allmost. Remember, the php script that you start through the URL is still in the documentroot, so you have to go 'up' one directory to get to your 'testfold' directory.

require("../testfold/myutil.php3");

[sherif]

Finally, IT IS DONE !!!! You are such a great person. I really don't know how to thank you... All I can say is that I really appreciate your great help and thank you very much. I am so happy to find such good people as yourself.
Thank you.
[e-mail]

[[deleted]]

You're welcome.