PHP - What exactly is exec() calling?

Asked Mar 27 '15 at 21:28

Active Mar 27 '15 at 21:28

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I'm sorry to ask what seems to me is a dumb question but after reading the documentation and doing some experiments I'm not sure what exactly exec() is calling when I run, for example,

exec("getType \"$file\"",$out);

Is it the same as me typing the command in a command prompt or will it run the function getType which can be defined elsewhere in the program? If it is the prior where does getType come from? If it is the later why would I not just call the function in a script like usual?

Thanks for any help clearing this up, it is very much appreciated.

asked Mar 27 '15 at 21:28

mario

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[exec](http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.exec.php) — `Execute an external program` should be your clue: the keyword is __external__ – Mark Baker Mar 27 '15 at 21:29
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It uses a shell to execute the command, so it's much the same as if you typed `getType` into your shell. – David Schwartz Mar 27 '15 at 21:30
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read this: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/732832/php-exec-vs-system-vs-passthru – ismaestro Mar 27 '15 at 21:31

PHP - What exactly is exec() calling?

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