PHP and keeping track of downloads

[klubrant]

Hello,

I am new at this PHP/mySQL thing, but have come a long way with the helo of the SitePoint tutorial by Kevin. (Thanks Kevin!)

I am going to have a page where you can download song samples (in mp3 and real audio form)....

I would also like to increment a field in the table of the song that was chosen. (that way, I can see what is popular, or give a top 5 list...)

ex:
1) song 1 gets picked (real audio form)
2) go to the db and add 1 to the counter field
3) start the download of the file
4) hopefully stay on the same page

(I would like to be able to do everything while staying on the same song sample page)

I have the page set up, but I am not sure how to go about after somebody SELECTS a song sample...Could somebody point me in a direction!

My page is here:
http://keithlubrant.com/samples/

ALSO:
I cannot remove that little orange line (ONLY IN NETSCAPE) under my .gifs....I added the border=0 to the image syntax....Is there a way to remove this??


Thanks a bunch!
Keith

[James Smith]

Hi there.

What I would do is something like this :

<?php

mysql_connect("xxx","xxx","xxx");
mysql_select_db("xxx");
$result=mysql_query("SELECT * from table");

$numrows = mysql_num_rows($result);

if ($numrows==0) {



mysql_connect("xxx","xxx","xxx");
mysql_select_db("xxx");
mysql_query("INSERT INTO table SET count=1");

header("Location: http://www.website.com/files/file.mp3");

}


else {

mysql_connect("xxx","xxx","xxx");
mysql_select_db("xxx");

mysql_query("UPDATE xxx SET count=count+1");

header("Location: http://www.website.com/files/file.mp3");

}





?>

I'm sure someone else can improve what I've given you there, but that is the raw basis for a script which basically does what you want.

-J

[klubrant]

Thanks a bunch James!
Hmmm...so I looked up the header syntax and that can be used to take the browser to another page or to a file. So to experiment, I put it after the routine that adds the visitors information to my guestbook page....

So that it will enter the data and then go back to the guestbook page

The code is:

if ("SUBMIT" == $submitmessage) {
$sql = "INSERT INTO guestbook SET " .

"name='$name', " .
"city='$city', " .
"state='$state', " .
"country='$country', " .
"message='$message', " .
"date=curDATE()";
}
if (mysql_query($sql)) {
header("Location: http://www.keithlubrant.com/guestbook");
} else {
echo ("<P><B>Error adding entry to the Guestbook: " .
mysql_error() . "</B></P>");
}


?>


And here is the error information:

Cannot add more header information - the header was already sent (header information may be added only before any output is generated from the script - check for text or whitespace outside PHP tags, or calls to functions that output text) in verify.php3 on line 170

And line 170 is:
header("Location: http://www.keithlubrant.com/guestbook");
<Edited by klubrant on 12-16-2000 at 06:35 PM>

[Karl]

If you have any text being sent to the browser e.g. print, echo etc. or anything before the opening <?(php) tags then the header will not work. You need to make sure that no text including spaces and line feeds has been sent to the browser.

[klubrant]

ok, after digging in the archives, I found this thread
http://www.sitepointforums.com/showt...threadid=12357

but, could somebody show me the correct way to use the header function....

I have tried many and still get the same error.
(I have cut out all the mumbo jumbo and just tried doing an insert data and go to page ...)

code (and this is all that is in the .php3 file)
<?php
$dbcnx = @mysql_connect("xxxx", "xxxx", "xxxx");
if (!$dbcnx) {
echo( "<P>Unable to connect to the server at this time.</P>" );
exit();
}
if (! @mysql_select_db("xxxx") ) {
echo ("<P>Unable to locate the guestbook database.</P>");
exit();
}


if ("SUBMIT" == $submitmessage) {
$sql = "INSERT INTO guestbook SET " .

"name='$name', " .
"city='$city', " .
"state='$state', " .
"country='$country', " .
"message='$message', " .
"date=curDATE()";
}


if (mysql_query($sql)) {
header("Location: http://www.keithlubrant.com/guestbook");
}
?>


Anybody see anything?

[James Smith]

This should work if it is the only thing in your script. If you have any "output" (and by that I mean characters etc printed on the screen, or white space) before the header code, then it will not work. It works like cookies in this way.

J

[klubrant]

Ok, I have to be doing something wrong!
All I put in a temp page was this:

<?php
header("Location: http://www.keithlubrant.com/guestbook");
?>


I also tried:

<?php

$dbcnx = @mysql_connect("xxxx", "xxxx", "xxxx");
if (!$dbcnx) {
echo( "<P>Unable to connect to the server at this time.</P>" );
exit();
}

if (! @mysql_select_db("xxxx") ) {
echo ("<P>Unable to locate the guestbook database.</P>");
exit();
}

header("Location: http://www.keithlubrant.com/guestbook");
?>


Nothing works.....Can anybody show me the light?!

Thanks,
Keith

[James Smith]

what was the error

[klubrant]

This was the error:

Warning: Cannot add more header information - the header was already sent (header information may be added only before any output is
generated from the script - check for text or whitespace outside PHP tags, or calls to functions that output text) in
/home/keithlub/keithlubrant-www/working.php3 on line 2

when I had:

<?php
header("Location: http://www.keithlubrant.com/guestbook");
?>

[James Smith]

You have either

a)white space

or

b)HTML / other characters

before that code you have shown me. Remove that, and then try it.

J

[freddydoesphp]

Yes the following will produce the error

Start of file


<html>
<?
header("Location http://yoursite.com");

Start of file

<?
header("Location http://yoursite.com");



But this will not
Start of file
<?
header("Location http://yoursite.com");


Notice the difference between the first two and the third the first two either had blank lines or whitespace before the header call outside of the php tags or html

[klubrant]

OK, I see what you guys are saying. My temp page is as follows:


<?php
header("Location http://www.yahoo.com");
?>

The <?php starts at the VERY top of the page. I do get a different error..stating document contains no data...

Let me try and understand this from a different angle...

I have a database which contains the filename and a counter for each of the songs

On my page, I have the table with songs displayed(by PHP)(see http://www.keithlubrant.com/samples)


1) say i just hit the ALL I WANT TO BE mp3 icon

2) I am now passing a variable called file that has the filename ALL_I_WANT_TO_BE.mp3

3) I want to go to my table and increase the count for ALL I WANT TO BE by 1

4) start downloading the song sample

Maybe I am taking the wrong route. I was going to use Jame's idea, but I cannot get the header function to work (even just by itself!!!)

Would I have to go to another page if somebody selected a sample? or can I do everything in the same page?

Freddy,James and Karl....Thanks for trying to help me out on this one. For some reason, it's just not "getting upstairs!"

How would you guys go about what I need to do?

Thanks,
Keith

[Kevin Yank]

Now you're missing the colon:

header("Location: url");
                ^

[James Smith]

What I would do is this :

Change your the link to the song in the list you have generated by PHP to download.php3?ID=$row[ID] or whatever you have stored the ID var in.

This way you can create a generic script to download a selected file.

Next, when the user clicks on the link have this :

<?php

mysql_connect("xxx","xxx","xxx");
mysql_select_db("xxx");
mysql_query("UPDATE xxx SET count=count+1 WHERE ID = '$ID'");



$result = mysql_query("SELECT filename FROM table WHERE ID = '$ID'");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result) ) {

$filename = $row[filename]

}

header("Location: http://www.website.com/files/$filename");

}








?>

[jamie_webstart]

James, Klubrant: One thing, if there's only one file you don't need a while statement when you get your row and it's easier to check for an error with only one call, ie:

if (!$row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
echo "Error, please contact us etc";
}
else
{
header("Location: ".$result['filename']);
}

Hope That Helps

[klubrant]

There are going to be 2 files (mp3 and real audio)...
I got it to work, finally!!!!

thanks to everyone for their help. I learned so much from this little fiasco (ya know to send TWO variables to a page, you use the AMPERSAND....that had me puzzled for a good 3 hours!!!)

Anyway...thanks!
Keith

[jamie_webstart]

Klubrant, glad to hear it works! Can I ask how you managed to get it to download two files at the same time, or did you do them seperately?

[klubrant]

It was 2 separate files. The visitor had the option of hearing the song in MP3 format or Real Audio.

Anybody have any suggestions for the orange line that is beneath the icons when viewing in Netscape? (4.73)

I added the border=0 but to no avail
(I am keeping this in the PHP forum because technically, it is done in the PHP code!)

Thanks,
Keith

[jamie_webstart]

Keith,

The line is because there is no '</A>' tag after the image to show where the link stops. Netscape sees the space after the <IMG> tag as part of the link and so underlines it, hence the line. When you put in the '</A>' make sure there's no gap between it and the image tag.

Hope That Helps

[klubrant]

you the man....

Thanks! That makes sense....You saved me from another 3 hour session

-Keith

[jamie_webstart]

No worries, I've been there myself