CURL-less HTTP request (returning array)

Question

I am new in PHP and I am trying to access file of another website of mine. So on my web #1 I am trying to send a POST request like this:

<?php

$url = 'http://localhost/modul_cms/admin/api.php'; //Web #2

$data = array(
    "Action" => "getNewestRecipe",
    "Secret" => "61cbe6797d18a2772176b0ce73c580d95f79500d77e45ef810035bc738aef99c3e13568993f735eeb0d3c9e73b22986c57da60a0b2d6413c5dc32b764cc5897a",
    "User" => "joomla localhost",
);

// use key 'http' even if you send the request to https://...
$options = array(
    'http' => array(
        'header'  => "Content-type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded\r\n",
        'method'  => 'POST',
        'content' => http_build_query($data)
    )
);

$context = stream_context_create($options);
$result = file_get_contents($url, false, $context);
echo $result;
if($result === FALSE){
    echo "Not working connection :(";
}else{
    echo "HOORAY!";
    var_dump($result);
}

And on my web #2 I have some kind of receiver I made. Now I need to return after selecting stuff from my database array of data. So I have code like this on my web #2:

<?php
 $action = isset( $_POST["action"] ) ? $_POST["action"] : "";
 $secret = isset( $_POST["secret"] ) ? $_POST["secret"] : "";
 $user = isset( $_POST["user"] ) ? $_POST["user"] : "";

 if(!empty($secret)){
  if(!empty($user)){

   switch($action){
     case 'getNewestRecipe':
      getNewestRecipe();
      break;

    case '':
      error();
      break;

    default:
      error();
      break;
   }
  }
}

/* *************** FUNCTIONS ************* */
function getNewestRecipe(){
  return array("msg" => "Here is your message!");
}

The problem is everything I get on my web #1 from the response is actually the echo I have there for knowing that the HTTP request reached something (so I've got the message "HOORAY!") but the

var_dump($response)

has empty value (not NULL or something it's literally this):

C:\Program Files (x86)\Ampps\www\joomla30\templates\protostar\index.php:214:string '' (length=0)

Thank you for any help!

Looks like an error occurs on web#2 and it generates a blank page because error reporting is disabled. — Tobias K.
– Tobias K., Commented Aug 12, 2018 at 14:00
Or the POST data is not sent correctly and you don't even get into your switch. Looks like there is no output in that case. Maybe because you send "Secret" (uppercase) and check "secret"? — Tobias K.
– Tobias K., Commented Aug 12, 2018 at 14:02
I am not sure even how to test this variant out but when I made mistake in array on my web#2 it returns me error to web#1 (error like: "expecting ',' not ';'). — Jan Kočvara
– Jan Kočvara, Commented Aug 12, 2018 at 14:03
I am actually thinking if it's possible with file_get_contents to get only array because the whole web#2 is just php without echo or something it's only this switch with return. — Jan Kočvara
– Jan Kočvara, Commented Aug 12, 2018 at 14:05
I don't know if it's quite safe to just include it. It should be some kind of custom API in final version. The Web #1 will be the web of someone else in the end so I don't know if it's good to include it. — Jan Kočvara
– Jan Kočvara, Commented Aug 12, 2018 at 14:15

Tobias K. · Accepted Answer · 2018-08-12 16:35:39Z

1

On web#1 you are sending "Secret","User","Action" in upper-case, but on web#2 you are accessing $_POST['secret'] (lower-case). Because of this your code never gets to the call of getNewestRecipe() nor to your error() call, thus there is no content / a blank page, but also no error.

Also, you need to output the array your function returns in some way. An array cannot simply be echod, so you need to serialize it. I suggest using json_encode: echo json_encode(getNewestRecipe());

edited Aug 12, 2018 at 16:35

answered Aug 12, 2018 at 14:48

Tobias K.

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