Running shell commands

[jhsachs]

I'm experimenting with the shell_exec function to gain shell capability on a Linux host that doesn't provide it otherwise. I've found that I can see what is in different directories by entering a command line like:

 

cd ..; ls

 

but if I enter two consecutive command lines:

 

cd ..
ls

 

The cd command has no effect. Apparently shell_exec is using a new shell every time I call it.

 

Is there a way to start a shell in a PHP script and keep it active while I pass it multiple commands, so that this won't happen?

[trq]

Not using php alone. You could write a simple Ajax based form that would post your commands to shell_exec one at a time though.

[WebStyles]

also, many commands can be done on one line...

 

this:

cd ..; ls

 

is the same as:

ls ../

[trq]

this:

cd ..; ls

 

is the same as:

ls ../

 

No it's not. It might look similar, but it has two completely different effects.

 

It's is true though that you can separate commands via ;

[WebStyles]

The list of files will be the same (in this particular example), except it won't move you into the directory... still, since it's a simple php script that's always running from the same directory, always including the path to execute the commands could help.

 

Anyway, a simple google search for 'php shell terminal' returned this: http://sourceforge.net/projects/phpterm/.

 

hope this helps

[jhsachs]

The SourceForge listing looks promising. I'll look into it.

 

How would the Ajax solution work? I thought Ajax just provided a channel for the client to communicate with a server script between page loads. The script to do anything that it couldn't do without Ajax in the picture.