Re: Re: whoami explanation

Shawn McKenzie wrote: > PJ wrote: > >> This really needs some explanation >> I found this on the web: >> <?php echo whoami; ?> >> with it there was the comment "the direction of those single-quotes matters" >> (WHY ?) >> and it works.... >> >> But this (_*FROM THE PHP MANUAL***_ * - exec()* executes the given >> /command/ ) does not, >> COPIED AND PASTED: >> |<?php >> // outputs the username that owns the running php/httpd process >> // (on a system with the "whoami" executable in the path) >> echo exec('whoami'); >> ?> | >> What is going on here? >> And I often find such discrepancies in examples - and some wonder why I >> seem to be so stupid... and don't know the fundamentals... :-\ >> > > Others have shown how exec() returns the output. If you use > shell_exec() it's the same as using the backticks: > > <?php echo whoami; ?> > > -or- > > <?php echo shell_exec("whoami"); ?> > > You can use single quotes here also, i used double so you can easily > tell they are not backticks > What is not clear to me is why would I need to use a shell? What kind of situations call for it's use? -- Phil Jourdan --- pj@ptahhotep.com http://www.ptahhotep.com http://www.chiccantine.com