Class Documentation: x_class_curl

Documentation

The x_class_curl class is designed to facilitate various types of HTTP requests, including file downloads and uploads, while optionally logging requests and responses to a database. It provides a straightforward interface for making GET, POST, or custom requests and converting between XML and JSON formats.

1. Logging: The class supports logging, which can be enabled using the logging() method. The log data is stored in a specified MySQL table. Ensure the MySQL table exists, or the class will automatically create it.
2. Curl Settings: The settings array passed to the request(), download(), and upload() methods allows customization of the curl request by using CURLOPT_* options.

The x_class_curl class provides several methods to make HTTP requests, log interactions, and convert data formats. Below is a detailed explanation of each method and its parameters.

Requirements

PHP Modules

• curl (to execute HTTP requests)
• json (for JSON conversions)
• simplexml (for XML conversions)

External Classes

• x_class_mysql class.

Table Structure

This section describes the table structure that the cURL class will automatically create to log HTTP requests made using cURL. The table is designed to store detailed information about each request, such as the URL, request type, and response data. Below is an overview of the columns and keys used in the table, along with their intended purpose.

Column Name	Data Type	Attributes	Description
id	int(10)	NOT NULL, AUTO_INCREMENT, PRIMARY KEY	A unique identifier for each logged request.
url	text		The remote URL to which the cURL request was made.
request	varchar(64)		The type of request or function name used (e.g., GET, POST, PUT).
filename	text		The filename involved if the request was related to file uploads.
settings	text		The configuration settings or parameters used for the cURL request.
output	text		The response or output returned by the cURL request.
section	varchar(128)	DEFAULT ''	For Multi Site Purposes to split database data in categories.
type	varchar(64)		The type of cURL request made, providing further context (e.g., API, File Transfer).
creation	datetime	DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP	The timestamp when the request was logged, automatically set when the record is created.

Key Name	Key Type	Columns	Usage
PRIMARY KEY	Primary	id	Ensures that each log entry is uniquely identifiable.

Class Usage

Methods Library

Method	Parameters	Description	Return Value
logging	mysql, logging, logging_settings, logging_table, section	Configures logging for requests. Initializes the logging table if it doesn’t exist.	void
request	url, request = "GET", settings = array()	Executes an HTTP request to the specified URL using the specified method (GET, POST, etc.).	string (response)
download	remote, local, request = "GET", settings = array()	Downloads a file from the specified remote URL to the local file system.	string (response)
upload	remote, local, request = "POST", settings = array()	Uploads a file from the local file system to the specified remote URL.	string (response)
xml_to_array	xml	Converts an XML string to a PHP associative array.	array
xml_to_json	xml	Converts an XML string to a JSON string.	string (JSON)
json_to_array	json	Converts a JSON string to a PHP associative array.	array
json_to_xml	json	Converts a JSON string to an XML string.	string (XML)
array_to_xml	array	Converts a PHP associative array to an XML string.	string (XML)
array_to_json	array	Converts a PHP associative array to a JSON string.	string (JSON)

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Method Details

logging(...)

Configures logging for the requests made using this class.

Parameter	Type	Description
mysql	object	MySQL connection object.
logging	bool	Enable or disable logging.
logging_settings	bool	Determines if the request settings should be logged.
logging_table	string	Name of the MySQL table where logs are stored.
section	string	Optional. A string identifier for the section of the application related to the request.

request(...)

Executes an HTTP request and returns the response.

Parameter	Type	Description
url	string	The URL to which the request is made.
request	string	The HTTP request method (default is GET).
settings	array	Optional. An associative array of additional curl options (CURLOPT_*) to customize the request.

Returns: The response from the server as a string.

download(...)

Downloads a file from a remote server to a local path.

Parameter	Type	Description
remote	string	The URL of the remote file to be downloaded.
local	string	The local path where the file should be saved.
request	string	The HTTP request method (default is GET).
settings	array	Optional. An associative array of additional curl options (CURLOPT_*) to customize the request.

Returns: The response from the server as a string.

upload(...)

Uploads a local file to a remote server.

Parameter	Type	Description
remote	string	The URL where the file should be uploaded.
local	string	The local path of the file to be uploaded.
request	string	The HTTP request method (default is POST).
settings	array	Optional. An associative array of additional curl options (CURLOPT_*) to customize the request.

Returns: The response from the server as a string.

Conversion Methods

These methods convert between XML, JSON, and PHP associative arrays:

• xml_to_array($xml): Converts XML to an array.
• xml_to_json($xml): Converts XML to JSON.
• json_to_array($json): Converts JSON to an array.
• json_to_xml($json): Converts JSON to XML.
• array_to_xml($array): Converts an array to XML.
• array_to_json($array): Converts an array to JSON.