Jan 16 2010

Copying remote files on your server with PHP

Category: Facebook Connect,PhpGiulio Pons @ 2:22 pm

Here is a function that let you copy remote files (remote images, for example) on your web site. This can be done also with CURL, but this function it’s enaugh if you’re not making some real splider job:

function copyFile($url,$filename){
	$file = fopen ($url, "rb");
	if (!$file) return false; else {
		$fc = fopen($filename, "wb");
		while (!feof ($file)) {
			$line = fread ($file, 1028);
			fwrite($fc,$line);
		}
		fclose($fc);
		return true;
	}
}

As I wrote on the Facebook Connect Tutorial, this function can be added in your Facebook Connect page to save the user picture on your server, where you already have the users’ avatars of your community.

First, you have to retrive also the picture from Facebook, so, change the call to facebook’s users_getInfo method, near line 68 of the Facebook Connect Tutorial code:

// you need also the picture, not only the name:
$user_details=$fb->api_client->users_getInfo($fb_user, array('last_name','first_name','pic_square'));

Then, after the insert of the new user on your database (after line 100 in the tutorial), copy its picture where you need:

// get the id of the user just created
// and copy the file on your avatar_imgs directory
// (this code supposes that you store the avatars with
// the id of the user on the database)
$id_new_user = mysql_insert_id();
$avatar_new = "avatar_imgs/" . $id_new_user . ".jpg";
copyFile( $user_details[0]['pic_square'] , $avatar);
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  5. Facebook Connect Tutorial

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4 Responses to “Copying remote files on your server with PHP”

  1. Face says:

    Ouch, by doing that you are not allowed to use the facebook api any longer: http://developers.facebook.com/policy/

  2. admin says:

    Mmm… I’ve just read the policies and it seems that you are right. Well this is just a tutorial.

  3. Fiend says:

    Sure this sounds like a shady question… but how would they know?

    Just curious im not going to use it cause i dont wanna get banned just …. curious.

  4. admin says:

    I think they can’t discover it with software.
    But it doesn’t matter how… it’s a rule.

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