Clear CMD-shell with php

Question

I have this simple php script which outputs a string every second.

<?php
$i = 1;

while(1)
{
    exec("cls");    //<- Does not work
    echo "test_".$i."\n";

    sleep(1);
    $i++;
}

I execute the script in the command shell on windows (php myscript.php) and try to clear the command shell before every cycle. But I don't get it to work. Any ideas?

There is no solutions at all, unless on Windows OS... you can start a bounty for that :) — Halayem Anis, Apr 12 '16 at 13:19

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 20 '16 at 09:03

3

How about this?

<?php
$i = 1;
echo str_repeat("\n", 300); // Clears buffer history, only executes once
while(1)
{
    echo "test_".$i."\r"; // Now uses carriage return instead of new line

    sleep(1);
    $i++;
}

the str_repeat() function executes outside of the while loop, and instead of ending each echo with a new line, it moves the pointer back to the existing line, and writes over the top of it.

answered Apr 20 '16 at 09:03

Chris

96
2

Thats a good workaround and i think it is the best possible solution yet. Thank you. – Black Apr 20 '16 at 09:24

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 18 '16 at 11:56

2

can you check this solution

$i = 1;
echo PHP_OS;

while(1)
{
    if(PHP_OS=="Linux")
    {
        system('clear');
    }
    else
        system('cls');
    echo "test_".$i."\n";

    sleep(1);
    $i++;
}

answered Apr 18 '16 at 11:56

Naisa purushotham

905
10
18

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 18 '16 at 08:33

1

Apparently, you have to store the output of the variable and then print it to have it clear the screen successfully:

$clear = exec("cls");
print($clear);

All together:

<?php
$i = 1;

while(1)
{
    $clear = exec("cls");
    print($clear);
    echo "test_".$i."\n";

    sleep(1);
    $i++;
}

I tested it on Linux with clear instead of cls (the equivalent command) and it worked fine.

answered Apr 18 '16 at 08:33

fedorqui

275,237
103
548
598

Oh, too bad. I tested on Linux and expected Windows to behave similarly by adapting the command (from `clear` to `cls`). – fedorqui Apr 18 '16 at 09:09

score 1 · Answer 4 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:08

1

Duplicate of ➝ this question

Under Windows, no such thing as

@exec('cls');

Sorry! All you could possibly do is hunt for an executable (not the cmd built-in command) like here...

edited May 23 '17 at 12:08

Community

1
1

answered Apr 18 '16 at 08:45

Frank N

9,625
4
80
110

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Apr 12 '16 at 10:03

0

You have to print the output to the terminal:

<?php
$i = 1;

while(1)
{
    exec("cls", $clearOutput);
    foreach($clearOutput as $cleanLine)
    {
         echo $cleanLine;
    }
    echo "test_".$i."\n";

    sleep(1);
    $i++;
}

answered Apr 12 '16 at 10:03

Nadir

1,799
12
20

Naisa purushotham · Answer 6 · 2016-04-18T11:31:29.693

0

if it is linux server use following command (clear) if it is window server use cls i hope it will work

$i = 1;

while(1)
{
    exec("clear");    //<- This will work
    echo "test_".$i."\n";

    sleep(1);
    $i++;
}

second solution

<?php
$i = 1;
echo PHP_OS;

while(1)
{
    if(PHP_OS=="Linux")
     {
        $clear = exec("clear");
        print($clear);
      }
    else
    exec("cls");
    echo "test_".$i."\n";

    sleep(1);
    $i++;
}

This one worked for me, tested also.

edited Apr 18 '16 at 11:31

answered Apr 18 '16 at 11:20

Naisa purushotham

905
10
18

I tried your second solution on windows but it does not work. But thx! – Black Apr 18 '16 at 11:43

Clear CMD-shell with php

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