a different sig each time

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

While we're at it here's something that should be fun to do, however I'm quite clueless on how to do it.

I figured out at some point that a certain user on a certain forum had turned its signature in a way such as when you hit the "reload" button on your browser, the image displayed in his signature at the bottom of each of his posts was changing each time.

Do you know how he might have done it ?
All I can say is that I believe there's some PHP involved.

[raiden]

$randomnumber = gmp_random(10); //generates a number between 0 and 10

echo "<img src=\"http://yourwebspace.de/".$randomnumber.".jpg\">";

I think that should work if you got webspace with 1.jpg till 10.jpg :>

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

the problem is that forum softwares don't allow PHP in the users' signatures :)
I believe the guy used something like this:
<IMG src="http://hisdomain.com/image.jpg">
but the JPG image was in fact a PHP file, that would open a file at random in the directory and directly send its content over the network. I don't konw if this is feasible, though.

[BAStumm]

php can generate random images so put the phpcode on YOUR php enabled server then put the image tags here pointing to a image.php file stead of image.jpg

Might be better to generate the image on the fly rather then the example above, see the php image() function.

[BAStumm]

lets see if this works... Heres a graph bar I use on my site.


http://bs-linux.com/stats/loadgraph.php?width=25&avg=0.25
http://bs-linux.com/stats/loadgraph.php?width=58&avg=0.58

http://bs-linux.com/stats/loadgraph.php
If this works note that both images are the same php file with different ?width settings...

ok so a .php file is ok just can't have any ?blah=blah stuff at the end... If you click the links you will see that the image changes based on my width setting. You can use the image() function to make your sig random looks like. Just do a image from jpg in your php and then randomly use one of the 2 or more images you wish from your site.

http://php.net/image for more info on this...

[BAStumm]

btw the other suggestion prolly wont work. Reason is it outputs html whereas using the image function outputs actual image header info for png, jpg, gif or whatever type you tell the php code to dynamically generate.

take this sample code from the php.net link I gave before...


<?php
header("Content-type: image/png");
$string = $_GET['text'];
$im = imagecreatefrompng("images/button1.png");
$orange = imagecolorallocate($im, 220, 210, 60);
$px = (imagesx($im) - 7.5 * strlen($string)) / 2;
imagestring($im, 3, $px, 9, $string, $orange);
imagepng($im);
imagedestroy($im);
?>


Now modify that with some random number generation to do a

if($num == 1) {$im = imagecreatefrompng("pic1.png");
if)$num == 2) ($im = imagecreatefrompng("pic2.png");
etc...

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

hey thanks a lot! how could I forget the trusty php.net resource center :)

that's exactly what I need :)

[BAStumm]

<?php
//image headers
header("Content-type: image/png");
// random number 1-9
$num = RAND(1,9);
// generate image name
$myimage = "pic".$num.".png";
//create image
$im = imagecreatefrompng($myimage);
// output the image binary
imagepng($im);
//destroy image
imagedestroy($im);
?>


http://spokaneteamfortress.com/randimg.php

Like that perhaps. :)

[rob]

nice work.

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

I was to post about the same thing :D

<?php
$filename = sprintf ("sig%d.png", rand (0, 9));

$image = imagecreatefrompng ($filename);

header ("Content-type: image/png");
imagepng ($image);
imagedestroy ($image);

?>

creditz to you Brian, of course :)

[BAStumm]

glad i could return a favor, you've helped me many a time PM.

[TruB]

does it have to be a png file.. can i change that. im not very good at php.. i getting help from someone who dont know much but know more then me..

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

No, you can use one of the many image format PHP supports (provided PHP has been installed on your server with the right image lib extensions).

Have a look at www.php.net (http://www.php.net) and search for the image capabilities of PHP. Everything is explained.

[TruB]

k. thanks..

[Fiber_Optic]

Have a look at www.php.net (http://www.php.net) and search for the image capabilities of PHP. Everything is explained.

The documentation of php is the best I've ever seen (maybe because there is an official one... when a C++ official doc? msdn? pff... lol ) just after the java doc which is so huge... but so useful ! :D

[FrostyCoolSlug]

Another (possibly slightly hackier, but still does the same) way to do this only with out the GD libs, would be something like this:


<?php
$filename = sprintf ("sig%d.png", rand (0, 9));
readfile($filename);
?>


Rather than creating a new image, this would just 'dump' the contents of the image, keeping the image headers in tact.

The only main differences between this and the GD version are (like i said), this doesnt require GD, and it can be generated faster, thru not having to create a seperate image.

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

testing...
wahey it works!!

Thanks Frosty! That's true, I prefer this method ! :)

[FrostyCoolSlug]

glad i could help :)

[FrostyCoolSlug]

i've got a slightly more 'interesting' method here, which will open a dir, read all the images in it, (doesnt matter about filenames, so long as they have valid extentions), then pick one of them at random, and display it if you want it. Would be easier for 'organising' sigs :p

[TruB]

do you mind giving out the source?.. or something that is easy to change so it fits or another.. i would be pretty happy if you did..

its not very importent to me.. just a cool thing to have.. must add im complete noob when it comes to php coding..

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

oh yeah, I'm interested as well :)

that's teh way I'm learning PHP: by reading at other ppl's code...

[[NvT]_KaszpiR_]

once i was using crontab :D
then i used php genrated image
then the .php links were forbidden because it could return dangerouns output so i changed it to writ the .jpg file a diff file (well more like crontab script in fact)

now i use static jpg cause i got used to it - easier to find my own posts

[FrostyCoolSlug]

ok, here we go then :)
This script is much longer than the others, but does what its told :)

<?php

$filepath = "images/";
$extentions = Array("PNG", "JPG", "GIF");

// Open the Directory and clear the files array (JIC)
$handle = @opendir($filepath) or die("");
$files = Array();

// Loop through all the files in the directory
while (false !== ($file = readdir($handle))) {
// Make sure they are not directories
if (!is_dir($file)) {
foreach ($extentions as $m00) {
// Case insencitive comparison of file extention and
// Allowed extention
if (strcasecmp(getext($file), $m00)) {
// Positive Match, add the file to the array
$files[] = $file;
// Jump out the foreach and tell the while to continue
continue 2;
}
}
}
}
// Make sure there are some files..
if (!count($files)) {
// No Valid files were found, kill self.
return;
} else {
// Choose a random image (the keys are numbers, so can rand them)
// Use count() -1 because count() starts at 1 and not 0
$img = rand(0, count($files) - 1);
}
// Output the file.
readfile($filepath . $files[$img]);

// Function used for fetching extentions..
function getext($file)
{
$file = explode(".", $file);
return $file[count($file) - 1];
}

?>

I've commented it well, so you know what i'm doing. I've tested it, and know it works :D

If you have any questions, gimme a shout :)

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

hehe w00t thanks

I've made it a lil bit shorter :)

don't forget to close the directory handle in your code btw...

<?php

$handle = opendir (getcwd ()) or die ();
$files = Array ();
$file_count = 0;

// loop through all the files in the directory
while (($file = readdir ($handle)) !== false)
{
if (is_dir ($file))
continue; // discard directories

$ext = strstr ($file, "."); // get the file extension

// is this file of one of the allowed extensions ?
if ((strcasecmp ($ext, ".png") == 0)
|| (strcasecmp ($ext, ".jpeg") == 0)
|| (strcasecmp ($ext, ".gif") == 0))
{
$files[$file_count] = $file; // yes it is, add the file to the array
$file_count++; // we know now one image more
}
}

closedir ($handle); // finished, don't forget to close directory handle

// did we find no image ?
if ($file_count == 0)
return; // if so, don't output anything at all.

// output a random image file among those in the array
readfile ($files[rand (0, $file_count - 1)]);

?>

[SoUlFaThEr]

how in the world could a simple Joe like me get this one going? i like that kind of stuff!

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

Well, just copy what's inside the code tags and paste it in your notepad, then save the file and name it "sig.php" or whatever. Then upload it to your server in the directory where you put your signatures, and instead of using [ img]http://soulfathermaps.de/images/mysig.jpg[ /img] use [ img]http://soulfathermaps.de/images/sig.php[ /img]
That should be enough
Ensure the directory where your sig is has read access allowed to anybody.

[SoUlFaThEr]

sounds real easy :)

and how do i make it select 4 pics designed just for this purpose? and not the whole bank of pics?

[Huntkillaz]

to my understanding (php is one of my things in the the things to learn list :()

if u upload the 4 photo's\images and the sig in the same folder to the server
and link upto that sig.php script it will automatically choose from that 4 becoz there is no other in that folder

[FrostyCoolSlug]

$ext = strstr ($file, "."); // get the file extension

You gotta be careful with this, some people like adding extra .'s to their filenames (god knows why), so if someone had a file called my.pic.jpg, $ext would be pic.jpg, which wont work in comparison with the others.

while (($file = readdir ($handle)) !== false)
I'm not sure why that was changed, i used what was recommended @ php.net as the 'right' way to do it.

Mine was designed to be more customisable, rather than 'just work', so you could select the folder easily, and simple add , "ext" to add an extention to the list..

What i've done here, is taken the speed of yours, and the customisability of mine, and combined them, and got the following :p

<?php

$target = getcwd() . "/images";
$extentions = Array("PNG", "JPG", "GIF");
$files = Array();
$file_count = 0;

$handle = opendir($target) or die ();
while (($file = readdir($handle)) !== false) {
if (is_dir ($file))
continue;
$tmp = explode(".", $file);
$ext = $file[count($file) - 1];
unset($tmp);
foreach ($extentions as $m00) {
if (strcasecmp($ext, $m00)) {
$files[$file_count++] = $file;
continue 2;
}
}
}

closedir ($handle);

if (!$file_count)
return;

readfile ($files[rand (0, $file_count) -1]);

?>

Its not commented, but you should know what it does by now ;)

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

@Frosty: About the "rand (0, $file_count - 1)", I suppose the array indexing works just like in C ?
Let's say we have an array of 3 elements (hence $file_count = 3)
we have
array[0] -> first element
array[1] -> second element
array[2] -> third element (and no array[3], which is out of bounds)
is that right ?
so if I want to pick a random number between 0 and 2 inclusively, I call rand (0, $file_list - 1)... well that's how I see things, but you know PHP better than me so... ???:(

@SF: with this script you have to arrange your pics into subdirectories, because it takes the whole image list.
If you want a script that would output only a selected set of images randomly, you can write something like this:

<?php

$files = Array("image1.gif", "image2.jpeg", "image3.png"); // list of files
$file_count = 3; // number of files to choose from

// take one file randomly among the list and send it away
readfile ($files[rand (0, $file_count - 1)]);

?>

[FrostyCoolSlug]

hmm, thinking about it, i'm not sure..

aah, right you are, soz i'm in a VERY adjitated mood tonight (someone decided they didnt like a script i was working on, so MASACARED it (all for google ratings) now i have a messed up Webserver, as well as a non-functioning script which i spend 3 solid days coding..) so my heads not screwed on right :p

so yea, you are right, my bad, soz :/

[SoUlFaThEr]

ill just throw them in a separate folder :) thanks

[TruB]

oh.. great.. a explaination how to use it too..

[FrostyCoolSlug]

ok, with my 'latest' script..

Make a Directory, give it a name (probably images)..
chuck all your images in there, then edit the following:

$target = getcwd() . "/images";

replace "/images" with your folder name.

If you want to use an extention which isnt in the list, change the following line

Array("PNG", "JPG", "GIF");

to

Array("PNG", "JPG", "GIF", "EXT", "EXT2", "ETC");

then just call the php file in a browser, and each time you refresh, you should get a new random image.

Then use the BBCode IMG tag, and point the URL to where your php script is, or use an <img src='http://your.domain/path/to/something.php'>

(something.php being the script filename)

and it should work..

(If you wernt being sarcastic about the explanation thing, i appologise ;))

[FrostyCoolSlug]

As a note, if you can use .htaccess you can 'force' a file to a php script, so rename your php file to something.jpg (replace something with whatever you want), and add this to your .htaccess

<Files something.jpg>
ForceType application/x-httpd-php
</Files>

I just tested that, and it seems to work :)

[SoUlFaThEr]

i have that php saved in my folder and i looked at it just now and it says mysig.php.txt :(

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

Open a Windows Explorer window
Click on Tools -> Folder Options...
Switch to the 2nd tab
Uncheck the "Hide known file extensions" checkbox
Click OK && try again

Your file was just named .txt instead of .php by notepad, as long as you don't tell windows to show the file extensions it won't allow you to name a file the way you want.

[FrostyCoolSlug]

Windows is evil like that :)

[TruB]

hopefully longhorn will skip annoying things from earlier releases.. big plus for being based on unix..

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

being based on Unix ??? wtf ???
where do you take this from ? ???:(

[Huntkillaz]

it's nt tech windows xp overhauled ..isn't it?

[sPlOrYgOn]

longhorn is just a program that does the same thing as windows update..
except it checks for you automaticly...

[FrostyCoolSlug]

Longhorn is a totally new Operating system developed my Micro$oft, it will be their next 'main' release.
Its still in heavy beta, and has been for nearly 2 years now, and is due for release.. relativly soon i assume.

Windows 2003 Server was just a (quite spectacular) overhaul of windows XP. Runs like a charm here :D

[FrostyCoolSlug]

heres a useful thing i've learned for websites that dont allow 'dynamically generated' images, with most, you can go file.php#.jpg

Scripts assume its a jpeg, so works fine ;)