Determining document root when $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] is not an option

Hi,

We're using PHP 4.4.4 with Apache 2 on Linux. Aggravatingly, the
hosting company has done something to where $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']
no longer returns the path to the web root directory. I have now gone
through all my code and replaced $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] with a
constant, DOC_ROOT. Now, the challenge is to define the constant.

Suggestions?

One important thing. The file the constant will be defined in is not
necessarily going to be a file at the web root level.

Thanks for all your help, - Dave

On Jun 26, 3:55 pm, "laredotorn...@zipmail.com"
<laredotorn...@zipmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> We're using PHP 4.4.4 with Apache 2 on Linux. Aggravatingly, the
> hosting company has done something to where $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']
> no longer returns the path to the web root directory. I have now gone
> through all my code and replaced $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] with a
> constant, DOC_ROOT. Now, the challenge is to define the constant.
>
> Suggestions?
>
> One important thing. The file the constant will be defined in is not
> necessarily going to be a file at the web root level.
>
> Thanks for all your help, - Dave

Does you web root change? Are you planning on deploying the software
to another server? If the answer is no just hard code it in some
configuration file. You do have a configuration file of sorts for
database connection parameters and such, right?

On Jun 26, 3:26 pm, ZeldorBlat <zeldorb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jun 26, 3:55 pm, "laredotorn...@zipmail.com"
>
> <laredotorn...@zipmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi,
>
> > We're using PHP 4.4.4 with Apache 2 on Linux. Aggravatingly, the
> > hosting company has done something to where $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']
> > no longer returns the path to the web root directory. I have now gone
> > through all my code and replaced $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] with a
> > constant, DOC_ROOT. Now, the challenge is to define the constant.
>
> > Suggestions?
>
> > One important thing. The file the constant will be defined in is not
> > necessarily going to be a file at the web root level.
>
> > Thanks for all your help, - Dave
>
> Does you web root change? Are you planning on deploying the software
> to another server? If the answer is no just hard code it in some
> configuration file. You do have a configuration file of sorts for
> database connection parameters and such, right?

We do have a config file for the db connection stuff, but the problem
is on our dev server, the site is located one level down from the web
root and on the live site it is located at the same level. So it
would be great to find an expression to cover both situations.

Thanks, -

*** laredotornado@zipmail.com escribió/wrote (Tue, 26 Jun 2007 12:55:15
-0700):
> We're using PHP 4.4.4 with Apache 2 on Linux. Aggravatingly, the
> hosting company has done something to where $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']
> no longer returns the path to the web root directory. I have now gone
> through all my code and replaced $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] with a
> constant, DOC_ROOT. Now, the challenge is to define the constant.
>
> Suggestions?

If you have your own php.ini file (many ISPs offer this possibility), then
you can fill the DOCUMENT_ROOT variable to suit your needs:

::: php.ini :::

auto_prepend_file = /home/foo/phpconfig.php


::: phpconfig.php :::

<?php

$_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] = '/home/foo/whatever';

?>



--
-+ http://alvaro.es - Álvaro G. Vicario - Burgos, Spain
++ Mi sitio sobre programación web: http://bits.demogracia.com
+- Mi web de humor con rayos UVA: http://www.demogracia.com
--

laredotornado@zipmail.com wrote:
> On Jun 26, 3:26 pm, ZeldorBlat <zeldorb...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Jun 26, 3:55 pm, "laredotorn...@zipmail.com"
>>
>> <laredotorn...@zipmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>> We're using PHP 4.4.4 with Apache 2 on Linux. Aggravatingly, the
>>> hosting company has done something to where $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']
>>> no longer returns the path to the web root directory. I have now gone
>>> through all my code and replaced $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] with a
>>> constant, DOC_ROOT. Now, the challenge is to define the constant.
>>> Suggestions?
>>> One important thing. The file the constant will be defined in is not
>>> necessarily going to be a file at the web root level.
>>> Thanks for all your help, - Dave
>> Does you web root change? Are you planning on deploying the software
>> to another server? If the answer is no just hard code it in some
>> configuration file. You do have a configuration file of sorts for
>> database connection parameters and such, right?
>
> We do have a config file for the db connection stuff, but the problem
> is on our dev server, the site is located one level down from the web
> root and on the live site it is located at the same level. So it
> would be great to find an expression to cover both situations.
>
> Thanks, -
>

How about

if(DEV_SERVER)
define('DOC_ROOT', 'something');
else
define('DOC_ROOT', 'something else');


where DEV_SERVER could be, for example,

define('DEV_SERVER', $_SERVER['SERVER_ADDR'] == "127.0.0.1");

or something else specific to your environment.



--
gosha bine

extended php parser ~ http://code.google.com/p/pihipi
blok ~ http://www.tagarga.com/blok

On Jun 26, 10:33 pm, gosha bine <stereof...@gmail.com> wrote:
> laredotorn...@zipmail.com wrote:
> > On Jun 26, 3:26 pm, ZeldorBlat <zeldorb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On Jun 26, 3:55 pm, "laredotorn...@zipmail.com"
>
> >> <laredotorn...@zipmail.com> wrote:
> >>> Hi,
> >>> We're using PHP 4.4.4 with Apache 2 on Linux. Aggravatingly, the
> >>> hosting company has done something to where $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']
> >>> no longer returns the path to the web root directory. I have now gone
> >>> through all my code and replaced $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] with a
> >>> constant, DOC_ROOT. Now, the challenge is to define the constant.
> >>> Suggestions?
> >>> One important thing. The file the constant will be defined in is not
> >>> necessarily going to be a file at the web root level.
> >>> Thanks for all your help, - Dave
> >> Does you web root change? Are you planning on deploying the software
> >> to another server? If the answer is no just hard code it in some
> >> configuration file. You do have a configuration file of sorts for
> >> database connection parameters and such, right?
>
> > We do have a config file for the db connection stuff, but the problem
> > is on our dev server, the site is located one level down from the web
> > root and on the live site it is located at the same level. So it
> > would be great to find an expression to cover both situations.
>
> > Thanks, -
>
> How about
>
> if(DEV_SERVER)
> define('DOC_ROOT', 'something');
> else
> define('DOC_ROOT', 'something else');
>
> where DEV_SERVER could be, for example,
>
> define('DEV_SERVER', $_SERVER['SERVER_ADDR'] == "127.0.0.1");
>
> or something else specific to your environment.
>
> --
> gosha bine
>
> extended php parser ~http://code.google.com/p/pihipi
> blok ~http://www.tagarga.com/blok

I would define the absolute path to the application root using:

define('ABSPATH', dirname(__FILE__).'/');

But I have come across this problem when using Dynamically Configured
Mass Virtual Hosting, and although you havent said, it may be
returning the IP instead of the servername withint the path:

should be
/path/to/vhosts/servername.com/htdocs
but is
/path/to/vhosts/IP_OF_SERVER/htdocs
instead, in this case yuo can just do a string replace
$_SERVER["SERVER_ADDR"]
with
$_SERVER["SERVER_NAME"]
with the
$_SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"]
variable

laredotornado@zipmail.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> We're using PHP 4.4.4 with Apache 2 on Linux. Aggravatingly, the
> hosting company has done something to where $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']
> no longer returns the path to the web root directory. I have now gone
> through all my code and replaced $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] with a
> constant, DOC_ROOT. Now, the challenge is to define the constant.
>
> Suggestions?
>
> One important thing. The file the constant will be defined in is not
> necessarily going to be a file at the web root level.
>
> Thanks for all your help, - Dave
>

IMHO if they can't or won't fix $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'], then it's
time to change hosting companies. I wouldn't host with a company who
screwed up such an important predefined value.

--
==================
Remove the "x" from my email address
Jerry Stuckle
JDS Computer Training Corp.
jstucklex@attglobal.net
==================

Just do print_r($_SERVER); and find what is there. I bet you can find
the useful info from there.

Now I'm a little bit on same directions with Jerry. Why did they do
that? If they've blocked all useful information from SERVER -vars,
then get worried about their admin -skills. Perhaps... they don't want
users to know the paths, because there is no security between user
accounts. Just my first thought, I might be faaa a a r off.

--
Jussi

Deep abstraction kills strong typing.

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