Execute PHP Locally and Pass $_POST Data with Ease

Описание: Learn how to run a PHP script locally and pass `$_POST` data without using CURL. This guide provides clear steps to achieve this using PHP CLI.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/73814286/ asked by the user 'jamacoe' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/4335480/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/73814456/ provided by the user 'Timo' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2118802/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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How to Execute PHP Locally and Pass $_POST Data

When developing or testing PHP scripts, you might find yourself needing to run those scripts locally rather than accessing them through a web server with a form submission. If you're trying to call a PHP script from your local environment and pass data to it as if it were submitted from a web form, you may run into a bit of a challenge. In this post, we’ll dive into how you can successfully execute a PHP script locally while passing $_POST data without using tools like CURL.

Understanding the Challenge

When you submit a form on a webpage using the POST method, PHP automatically populates the $_POST array with the submitted data. However, when calling a PHP script directly from the command line (CLI), this does not happen automatically. Instead, the script must be able to handle the data passed to it manually.

This can create confusion when trying to maintain the same logic and structure of your PHP script that relies on the $_POST array for data retrieval. Fortunately, there is a straightforward solution to bridge this gap.

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Modify Your PHP Script

To allow your script to recognize POST data when run from the command line, you will need to make a small adjustment to the top of your PHP script. Here’s how:

Open your PHP script (in this example, form.php).

Add the following code at the beginning of the script:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation of the Code

php_sapi_name(): This function checks the type of interface that PHP is running in. If it returns 'cli', it indicates that the script is being executed from the command line.

$argv: This is an array of command-line arguments passed to the script. $argv[1] holds the first argument, which will be the string containing your form data.

parse_str(): This function parses the provided string into variables. In this case, it takes your formatted string of POST data and converts it into the $_POST array.

This modification allows you to maintain the same code structure in your script, meaning you can refer to $_POST['form_email'], $_POST['form_name'], etc., just like you would when handling a traditional form submission.

2. Prepare Your Data for Submission

When running your script from the command line, ensure that your data is formatted correctly. For example, to pass data like form submission, you can use this structure:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

3. Execute Your Script

Once your PHP file is modified and your data is prepared, run the script directly from the command line using the following command:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

4. Test Your Script

After executing the command, your PHP script should function as if it were called via a web form submission. You can now access the values in the $_POST array seamlessly.

Benefits of This Approach

No Major Code Changes: You don't need to rewrite significant portions of your script to handle local execution.

Easy Testing: Run PHP scripts with various data inputs easily from the command line.

Maintain Compatibility: Keep the same code structure for both web and CLI environments.

Conclusion

Calling a PHP script directly from the command line while passing $_POST data doesn’t have to be complex. By making a simple adjustment at the beginning of your script and formatting your data properly, you can achieve the same results as a web form submission. This method keeps your code clean and avoids the overhead of external tools like CURL.

Experiment with this approach during your development process and enhance your PHP testing capabilities!