Why does a PHP file not get included in the file when run by the server?

Question

I have one file called showRelayTeams.php and another called databaseSELECTOperation.php

I am trying to put the one with the database function into the one called showRelayTeams.php

showRelayTeam.php

<?php
$House = $_GET['q'];

$Data = "No Data";

$Query = "SELECT Firstname, Lastname, AgeGroup, Event, Value FROM tblEventEntries WHERE House = '" . $House . "' ORDER BY Value ASC;";

require("http://127.0.0.1/phpscripts/databaseOperations.php");

$Data = databaseSELECTOperation($Query);

$Counter = 0;

if (mysqli_num_rows($Data) > 0) {
    echo "<table>";
    echo "<tr>";
    echo "<th>Name</th>";
    echo "<th>Age Group</th>";
    echo "<th>Event</th>";
    echo "<th>Time</th>";
    echo "<th>Select?</th>";
    echo "</tr>";

    while ($Row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($Data)) {
        $Counter++;
        echo "<tr>";
        echo "<td>" . $Row["Firstname"] . " " . $Row["Lastname"] . "</td>";
        echo "<td>" . $Row["AgeGroup"] . "</td>";
        echo "<td>" . $Row["Event"] . "</td>";
        echo "<td>" . $Row["Value"] . "</td>";
         echo "<td><input type='checkbox' id='" . $Counter . "'  
onclick='boxChecked(this.id)'></td>";
        echo "</tr>";
     }
}

echo "</table>";
?>

databaseSELECTOperation.php

<?php
//use the SQL SELECT command and return the data
function databaseSELECTOperation($Query) {
    //this file will include the host, username, password and the database name
    include "http://127.0.0.1/includes/variables.php";

    //start a connection to the database using the credentials
    $Connection = mysqli_connect($DatabaseHost, $Username, $Password, $DatabaseName);

    //if the connection to the database was not successfully made then
    if (!$Connection) {
        //end the script and then print an error
        die("Could not connect to the database: " . mysqli_error());
    } //end if

    //run the query and put the data returned in to a variable
    $DataReturned = mysqli_query($Connection, $Query);

    //return the data to the script that called it
    return $DataReturned;
}
?>

I get the following error:

Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function databaseSELECTOperation()

When I insert the following code just after the require statement, I get

function not found

<?php
if (function_exists('databaseSELECTOperation')) {
    echo "function found.<br />\n";
} else {
    echo "function not found<br />\n";
}
?>

Any ideas on how to solve this?

You're requiring it via http, so it will get the parsed response from that page, not the code. Try using the absolute file path instead. — aynber, Oct 16 '18 at 16:00
You're including a HTTP page at *require()*. Change it to **require("databaseOperations.php");**. — Ernani Azevedo, Oct 16 '18 at 16:01
[Little Bobby](http://bobby-tables.com/) says [you may be at risk for SQL Injection Attacks](https://stackoverflow.com/q/60174/). Learn about [Prepared Statements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepared_statement) with [parameterized queries](https://stackoverflow.com/a/4712113/5827005). — GrumpyCrouton, Oct 16 '18 at 16:02
The file is `databaseOperations.php` or `databaseSELECTOperation.php`? — Felippe Duarte, Oct 16 '18 at 16:03
@GrumpyCrouton since its a select box, wouldn't that mean the user cant put in anything so its safe, but ill have a read for the other text boxes on the website, thanks — Sammy Simpson, Oct 16 '18 at 16:12
@SammySimpson That is an incorrect assumption, I can go to any website that I want to and right click any select element and click "Inspect Element", and I can change any value to anything that I want. — GrumpyCrouton, Oct 16 '18 at 16:14

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 16 '18 at 16:15

That is the error:

require("http://127.0.0.1/phpscripts/databaseOperations.php");

When you are referring to the file via URL, it is including the output which is already processed by a web server, while you need to include the source PHP code.

Instead, you need to specify the path to the file on the file system like in the following examples:

require('../phpscripts/databaseOperations.php');
require('/var/www/html/phpscripts/databaseOperations.php');
require('C:\inetpub\html\phpscripts\databaseOperations.php');

Why does a PHP file not get included in the file when run by the server?

1 Answers1