illegal command error code 127 in php exec function

Question 1

I am using this php code:

exec("unrar e file.rar",$ret,$code);

and getting an error code of illegal command ie 127 ... but when I am using this command through ssh its working ... because unrar is installed on the server ... so can anyone guess why exec is not doing the right stuff?

Question 2

Try using the direct path of the application (/usr/bin/unrar of whatever), it sounds like php can't find the application.

Question 3

Problem solved with the following command:

$WshShell = new COM("WScript.Shell");
$oExec = $WshShell->Run("C:wampbinphpphpVERSIONNUMBERphp-win.exe -f C:/wamp/www/path/to/backgroundProcess.php", 0, false);

Question 4

Pass the argument:

exec('php email.php "' . addslashes($body) . '"');

Get it in email.php:

$body = stripslashes($argv[1]);

Question 5

Probably because you're using double-backslashes when you shouldn't be. Single quotes strings don't need your backslashes escaping unless it's the very last character in the string.

Question 6

function php_exec($file_path) {
    if (!($binary = which(array('php', 'php5', 'php-cli', 'php-cgi'))))
        return false;

    return exec("$binary $file_path > /dev/null 2>/dev/null &");
}

function which($binaries) {
    if (!($path = getenv('PATH')) && !($path = getenv('Path')))
        return false;

    $arr = preg_split('/[:;]/', $path);

    foreach ($arr as $p) {
        foreach ($binaries as $b) {
            if (file_exists("$p/$b"))
                return "$p/$b";
        }
    }   

    return false;
}

var_dump(php_exec('test.php'));

Explanation: On most systems the PHP binary is called php, php5, php-cli or php-cgi. which() function checks the standard path (both *nix and windows have environment variable called PATH/Path) for each of those names and if it find a file with such name, it will return it.

The PATH variable's format is: /bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/sbin for *nix (bash), and C:WindowsSystem32;C:Windows; for windows, so that's why I use preg_split('/[:;]/')

This solution is better than yours, because php_exec() will return false if it can't find a valid php binary. In your solution there's no way to know if the script execution failed.

illegal command error code 127 in php exec function

Answers

php,exec