Re: File downloads

At 8:42 AM +0000 6/7/06, kartikay malhotra wrote: >Dear All, > >I have a HTTP server + MySQL database. Everytime a file is requested for >download, my PHP script loads the content from the database into a temporary >file (on the server). I then pass a URL to the client, with a link to this >file. The client can thus download the file at any time. > >However, I can foresee many problems with this approach. One is, when to >delete the temporary file? Also with more than one client, this approach >would have to be refined. Security is also an issue: One user may read >another's files. > >Can anyone kindly give me an alternative approach? > >I reiterate, I cannot supply static URLs as the downloadable file is >generated on-demand. > >Thanks & Regards >KM KM: Thinking off the top of my head (not always the best for me) -- why not give the user a static url AND a key? The static url would have a php program sitting there waiting for a user to come along and provide the correct key. After which, your program would then create the file (in a random named folder); provide the user with a link; and clean-up after he's done. That way you have the control over what's happening. The key approach handles security and when to clean-up. hth's tedd -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://sperling.com http://ancientstones.com http://earthstones.com