PHP: strange problem with file($url)

Help, this has been driving me nuts! I have a script that uses the following line:

$file = file($url);

If I define $url as any one of the existing pages on my POWWEB hosted site the script fails. But if I define $url as a page on another site it works fine. And if I host the exact same script on another non-POWWEB site and define $url as one of the pages on my POWWEB site it also works! To add to my frustration this same script worked fine a couple weeks ago.

I need this script to work on my POWWEB site. Anyone have any idea what could have happened? It seems like it would have to have something to do with how my site is configured on POWWEB but I'm stumped. As far as I know nothing has changed. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[islandtime]

From the help I have got on the forum you should try one of the following full paths for your url. It has solved similar problems for me. See this sticky thread:http://forum.powweb.com/showthread.php?t=42202

/www/y/yoursite/htdocs/file.html

or

http://localhost.yoursite.com/file.html

Originally Posted by det1smc

Oops...
I tried it out, it needs the full path from your server root.

$cache_file = "/tmp/buoydata.".$stationNumber.".cache";
should be
$cache_file = "/www/d/dauphinislandsurf/tmp/buoydata.".$stationNumber.".cache";

assuming that "/www/d/dauphinislandsurf" is your directory. You can check it on the general tab in ops.powweb.com.

Yeah, I'm using the full paths (as in "http://localhost.yoursite.com/file.html") ...the same script wouldn't work from another host pointed at my POWWEB site if I was only using a relative path. Thanks anyway.

[B&T]

It does not work if you use a relative path? Post your code and the url.

[B&T]

php seems to have gone bonkers on the PowWeb servers. I suspect that may be the problem.

At least others are having problems, I was afraid my forum DB took a dump (pun intended)

[B&T]

Been doing testing, and yes the file() functions is definately intermittent. Works then does not when I keep executing the same pages. Mostly does not on my pages.

[B&T]

This is a bummer. I use file() a lot in my php coding as I have all my parms in flat files. Nothing works anymore . . .

[rnorth6920]

I dont know if this is related to a problem that I'm having but when i try to access my forum, i just get a blank page. The forum has been running fine forever and i havent changed anything. If i keep refreshing, it eventually comes up, but if i try to go to a different page after that...i get a blank page again.

www.urbanohio.com/forum2

[B&T]

Originally Posted by rnorth6920

I dont know if this is related to a problem that I'm having but when i try to access my forum, i just get a blank page. The forum has been running fine forever and i havent changed anything. If i keep refreshing, it eventually comes up, but if i try to go to a different page after that...i get a blank page again.

www.urbanohio.com/forum2

No way to know for sure until the php problems get fixed. We all just have to be patient and wait.

[B&T]

http://forum.powweb.com/showthread.php?t=44294

Thanks. The update doesn't seem to have helped. My script is pretty complex but here's an isolated bit demonstrating the file() problem.

<?php

$url = "http://www.cyberwalker.com/index.html";
$file = file($url);
if($file) {
print $url.": ok<br>";
} else {
print $url.": failed<br>";
}

$url2 = "http://www.craigslist.org";
$file2 = file($url2);
if($file2) {
print $url2.": ok<br>";
} else {
print $url2.": failed<br>";
}

?>

Try the script from POWWEB site and get failed/ok:

http://software.cyberwalker.com/script_test.php

Try the exact same script from another host and get ok/ok:

http://www.zun.com/script_test.php

read

http://forum.powweb.com/showthread.php?t=44220

What ever they did to mysql7 affected them all. my viewtopic.php file was wiped blank after the test. Check your files close. They may be partly blank or wiped clean.

[revisualize]

I have the SAME issue..

[HalfaBee]

You can't use file() with a url pointing to a site on the same load balancer

Use sever paths, for accessing files on your own site.
Or if you really need to do http calls, use http://localhost.yoursite.com ...

[IanS]

Originally Posted by HalfaBee

You can't use file() with a url pointing to a site on the same load balancer

Use server paths, for accessing files on your own site.
Or if you really need to do http calls, use http://localhost.yoursite.com ...

I'm rather confused here - The problem as I understood it wouldn't be helped by using server paths as the calling server is a remote non-Powweb host.

As I understand the problems discussed here, it is when 2 packages (even if one is a non-Powweb one or not) try to interact with the file() call then a problem occurs.

Originally Posted by HalfaBee

You can't use file() with a url pointing to a site on the same load balancer

Use sever paths, for accessing files on your own site.
Or if you really need to do http calls, use http://localhost.yoursite.com ...

Ahhh, that helps...does anyone know how you would access a subdomain in this manner?

So,

http://www.mysite.com = http://localhost.mysite.com

http://mysub.mysite.com = ???