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By Daniel Neri | 2006-11-23
Introduction:
Creating a new page in PHP is actually a lot easier than you think. Using a few simple functions and a form, you can create virtually any kind of file, assuming you have the correct permissions of course.
<html> <body> <form action="addfile.php" method="post"> <p>File name - <input type="text" name="file_name" /> <p> <p>File Extension: <select name="file_ext"> <option value=".php">PHP</option> <option value=".txt">Text</option> <option value=".html">HTML</option> <option value=".js">JavaScript</option> </select> </p> <p> <input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit!" /> </p> </body> </html>
Explanation - addfile.html:
The addfile.html page is just a simple form that allows us to name the new page and select the extension. Pretty much self explanatory .
[php]<?php
if(isset($_POST['submit'])) //has the form been submitted?
{
$file_directory = "/files/"; //the directory you want to store the new file in
$file_name = strip_tags($_POST['file_name']);//the file's name, stripped of any dangerous tags
$file_ext = strip_tags($_POST['file_ext']); //the file's extension, stripped of any dangerous tags
$file = $file_directory.$file_name.$file_ext; //this is the entire filename
$create_file = fopen($file, "w+"); //create the new file
if(!$create_file)
{
die("There was an error creating/opening the file! Make sure you have the correct permissions!\n");
}
$chmod = chmod($file, 0755); //set the appropriate permissions.
//attempt to set the permissions
if(!$chmod)
{
echo("There was an error changing the permissions of the new file!\n"); //error changing the file's permissions
}
//attempt to write basic content to the file
if (fwrite($create_file, "Content goes here!") === FALSE) {
echo "Error writing to file: ($file)\n";
}
fclose($create_file);
echo "File was created successfully!\n"; //tell the user that the file has been created successfully
exit; //exit the script
}else{ //the form hasn't been submitted!
header("Location: addfile.html"); //redirect the user back to the add file page
exit; //exit the script
}
?>[/php]
Explanation - addfile.php:
We start off with checking if the form has been submitted. Once the form has been submitted, we assign the folder where we want to store the file to the variable $file_directory.
Next we strip the name and extension for any dangerous tags. Then we slap the whole thing together into the $file var.
Now we attempt to create the file.
[php]$create_file = fopen($file, "w+"); //create the new file
if(!$create_file)
{
die("There was an error creating/opening the file! Make sure you have the correct permissions!\n");
} [/php]
If there was an error creating the file, we kill the script and output the error.
Next we set the permissions of the file to 0755. If you are using PHP on Windows, make sure you delete this line as you don't need it.
[php]$chmod = chmod($file, 0755); //set the appropriate permissions.
//attempt to set the permissions
if(!$chmod)
{
echo("There was an error changing the permissions of the new file!\n"); //error changing the file's permissions
} [/php]
Same story here, although if there is an error, instead of killing the script, we just output the error.
Now we write some basic stuff to the script, just for good measure. This step isn't necessary.
[php]//attempt to write basic content to the file
if (fwrite($create_file, "Content goes here!") === FALSE) {
echo "Error writing to file: ($file)\n";
}
[/php]
Then we close off the handle and inform the user that the file was created successfully!
The final step is if the form wasn't submitted, then the user is redirected back to the add file page, and the script is killed.
Thats it! I hope you enjoyed the tutorial! Visit the forums if you need any help!