scripting with php: new line

[sde]

i'm making a shell script with php. example:

#!/usr/local/bin/php
<?
echo "hello\n";
echo "world\n";
?>

it actually prints out the new line characters instead of going to a new line. is there a way to get it to go to the next line with php?

[sde]

nevermind, i was using single quotes in my code .. double quotes works fine.

[technobard]

Hey, sde.

I was just curious what prompted this. It never occurred to me to use PHP for shell scripting. With the easy database connectivity and other cool features, it could be a good replacement for a lot of Perl stuff.

[sde]

i've been using php more and more lately for shell scripting. as you mentioned, database connectivity is the #1 reason, not to mention it's my favorite language.

a while back i'd mainly use it for fun integration with our half-life game servers i help run, but now i use php scripting for clients too. one of them needs several datafeeds generated from their huge product list everyday and php is perfect for that.

[idx]

string interpolation.. Bites me from time to time as well..

I mainly stick to perl for shell script-related tasks, but it certainly makes things easier when you have a chunk of PHP already written that you can use via cron/etc..

[Kernel_Killer]

You can also use C for shell scripting.....

[sde]

really? i didn't know C could be used as a scripting language.

the only drawback of php scripting that i've come across is that it has no user input feature. ( i think ) .. now that would be cool.

[technobard]

sde, it occurred to me that you only have to intercept stdin to add user input functionality. I found this in a quick search:

<?php 

function read($len = 255) { 
    $fp=fopen('php://stdin', 'r'); 
    $input=fgets($fp, $len); 
    fclose($fp); 
    return str_replace(array("\r", "\n"), array('', ''), $input); 

} 

echo("Whats your name? "); 
$name = read(); 
echo("Hello $name!\n");

?>

The original link is: PHP User Input Example
It's supposed to be cross platform.

[sde]

oh damn, that is cool thanks !

[idx]

Originally Posted by Kernel_Killer

You can also use C for shell scripting.....

Depends on your definition I suppose.. (and willingness to learn C)


sde: PHP's readline support might handy as well.

-r