XML-RPC Functions

xmlrpc_decode_request — Decodes XML into native PHP types
xmlrpc_decode — Decodes XML into native PHP types
xmlrpc_encode_request — Generates XML for a method request
xmlrpc_encode — Generates XML for a PHP value
xmlrpc_get_type — Gets xmlrpc type for a PHP value
xmlrpc_is_fault — Determines if an array value represents an XMLRPC fault
xmlrpc_parse_method_descriptions — Decodes XML into a list of method descriptions
xmlrpc_server_add_introspection_data — Adds introspection documentation
xmlrpc_server_call_method — Parses XML requests and call methods
xmlrpc_server_create — Creates an xmlrpc server
xmlrpc_server_destroy — Destroys server resources
xmlrpc_server_register_introspection_callback — Register a PHP function to generate documentation
xmlrpc_server_register_method — Register a PHP function to resource method matching method_name
xmlrpc_set_type — Sets xmlrpc type, base64 or datetime, for a PHP string value

User Contributed Notes

martin dot rode at programmfabrik dot de

10 years ago


To connect to a python xmlrpc server I use:

function do_call($host, $port, $request) {
  
    $url = "http://$host:$port/";
    $header[] = "Content-type: text/xml";
    $header[] = "Content-length: ".strlen($request);
    
    $ch = curl_init();   
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 1);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $header);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $request);
    
    $data = curl_exec($ch);       
    if (curl_errno($ch)) {
        print curl_error($ch);
    } else {
        curl_close($ch);
        return $data;
    }
}

$request = xmlrpc_encode_request('add', array(3, 4));
$response = do_call($host, $port, $request);

Anonymous

10 years ago


This XML-RPC Service makes the use XML-RPC very esay.

<?php

/**
* function myfun() returns  
*@return array
*/
function myfunc(){
    return $some_array;
}

$ws = new XML_RPC_Server();
$ws->registerFunction('myfunc');
$ws->run();

?>

http://www.pure-php.de/node/31

It creates also a simple docu.
http://www.pure-php.com/php/service.php?doc

giunta dot gaetano at sea-aeroportimilano dot it

9 years ago


If you need to use this extension but are stuck on a server where it can not be installed, the php-xmlrpc library found at http://phpxmlrpc.sourceforge.net includes an emulation layer that aims to be 100% compatible with the API of the native extension (as part of the "extras" package since version 0.2).
This means your code should be able to run unmodified on top of the php-xmlrpc library. Of course performance will be at least an order of magnitude worse...

steph at zend dot com

11 years ago


It took me a while to get a client together without external libraries.  This very basic client/server pair works on my home set-up - hopefully it will save the next xml-rpc virgin some grief.



/* clienttest.php */

<?php

function do_call($host, $port, $request) {

    

    $fp = fsockopen($host, $port, $errno, $errstr);

    $query = "POST /home/servertest.php HTTP/1.0\nUser_Agent: My Egg Client\nHost: ".$host."\nContent-Type: text/xml\nContent-Length: ".strlen($request)."\n\n".$request."\n";



    if (!fputs($fp, $query, strlen($query))) {

        $errstr = "Write error";

        return 0;

    }



    $contents = '';

    while (!feof($fp)) {

        $contents .= fgets($fp);

    }



    fclose($fp);

    return $contents;

}



$host = 'localhost';

$port = 80;

$request = xmlrpc_encode_request('cycle', 'egg');

$response = do_call($host, $port, $request);

/* do something with $response, e.g. print it */

?>



/* servertest.php */

<?php

function lifecycle($method, $params) {

/* $method = 'cycle', $params = (array of) request parameter(s); $data is also passed from xmlrpc_server_call_method, if we had any data to pass */

    switch($params[0]) {

        case 'egg':

            $reply = 'All eggs will be birds one day.';

        break;

        default:

            $reply = 'That must have been an otheregg';

    }

    return $reply;

}



$server = xmlrpc_server_create();



/* register the 'external' name and then the 'internal' name */

xmlrpc_server_register_method($server, "cycle", "lifecycle");



$request = $HTTP_RAW_POST_DATA; // no you don't need 'always on', and no $_POST doesn't work.



/* the parameters here are 'server, xml-string and user data'.  There's supposed to be an optional 'output options' array too, but I can't get it working :( hence header() call */

$response = xmlrpc_server_call_method($server, $request, null);

header('Content-Type: text/xml');

print $response;



xmlrpc_server_destroy($server);

?>

digibrisk at gmail dot NOSPAM dot SPAMNO dot com

8 years ago


Adding to what giunta dot gaetano at sea-aeroportimilano dot it and astrolox at lawyersonline dot co dot uk said about the Sourceforge PHP XML-RPC project: You can probably use function_exists() to determine whether the extension is installed so you don't have to incur performance costs. If it's not installed, then the function won't exist, and function_exists() returns false. You can then fall back on the alternative library if that's the case. For example:

<?php

if(!function_exists("xmlrpc_server_create")) {
    // include necessary files.
}

?>

keithNO dot SPAMthornhill at gmail dot com

9 years ago


for others attempting the same thing, here is what a function would look like if you wanted to send a base64 encoded file from a client and then save it onto the server. the other code necessary to call this function via an RPC is available in other comments so i won't repeat it.

parameters:
1 - name of file
2 - base64 encoded data of file

note the use of $file_data->scalar

<?
    function sendFile($method_name, $params, $user_data) {
        $file = "/somedir/" . $params[0];
        $file_data = $params[1];

        $fh = @fopen($file, "wb");
        if ($fh) {
            if (@fwrite($fh, $file_data->scalar)) {
                $msg = "success msg";
            } else {
                $msg = "couldn't write to file";
            }
            fclose($fh);
            return $msg;
        } else {
            return "couldn't open file";
        }
    }
?>

john # curioussymbols com

10 years ago


I couldn't make the 'xmlrpc_errors' php.ini setting do anything 
noticeable (PHP 4.3.11), so I used the following code to report errors 
from my XMLRPC server. Hope it's helpful for someone.

<?php
function return_xmlrpc_error($errno,$errstr,$errfile=NULL,$errline=NULL
       ,$errcontext=NULL){
    global $xmlrpc_server;
    if(!$xmlrpc_server)die("Error: $errstr in '$errfile', line '$errline'");

    header("Content-type: text/xml; charset=UTF-8");
    print(xmlrpc_encode(array(
        'faultCode'=>$errno
        ,'faultString'=>"Remote XMLRPC Error from 
          ".$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'].": $errstr in at $errfile:$errline"
    )));
    die();
}    
set_error_handler('return_xmlrpc_error');
?>

In my server function, I just trigger_error("message",E_USER_ERROR)]
 if something can't be completed.

Then on the client side,
<?php
        $data =& xmlrpc_decode($response['body']);

        if(xmlrpc_is_fault($data)){
            trigger_error($data['faultString'],E_USER_ERROR);
        }
?>

astrolox at lawyersonline dot co dot uk

11 years ago


The PHP XML-RPC project at SourceForge makes life a hell of a lot easier. However, the project uses some function names which are identical to thoses provided by the XML-RPC extention.

If you are on a server with XML-RPC extension compiled in but wish to use the PHP based version then you will have to rename some of the functions.

I notice that sourceforce says there is activity on the project in 2005 but the last release was January 12, 2003.

I recommend that you use this not so friendly PHP extention if available. However this sourceforce project is still a good idea if you don't control which extenions are be available on the server.

http://phpxmlrpc.sourceforge.net/

Jerome Delamarche

11 years ago


The documentation lacks an example that shows how to send a fault in a response. Here is how to do it:

$args = array("faultCode" => $errcode, "faultString" => $errmsg);
$resp = xmlrpc_encode_request(NULL,$args);
//echo $resp;

php at hendrik-krauss dot de

11 years ago


On "datetime" values:

If you implement an XML-RPC server with these functions and a client calls a method on your server, sending a datetime as parameter (in ISO 8601 format, as specified at http://www.xmlrpc.com/spec), the PHP XML-RPC will pass your registered server method an object as parameter. That object, for example, looks like:
obj->type="datetime"
obj->scalar="20040420T13:32:40"
obj->timestamp=1082460760

If you do xmlrpc_get_type(obj), it will return "datetime", so presumably that function just returns the value of 'type'. 'scalar' seems to be the on-the-wire representation of the datetime (ISO 8601, exactly as received). 'timestamp' appears to be the ISO value in 'scalar' converted into a normal PHP timestamp (i.e. Unix time_t).

Note on 'scalar': Using a MySQL DB, we did something like  "select blah where start_time >= $obj->scalar ;". That actually worked and returned expected results, so MySQL appears to handle that ISO 8601 format correctly.

swunderlin at REMOVE-telemedia dot ch

11 years ago


pear hs an XML_RPC package, if you can't recompile your php:
http://pear.php.net/package/XML_RPC

bmichael at goldparrot dot com

13 years ago


If anyone is interested in making XMLRPC requests directly from the client, I have been able to get xmlrpc to 
work with vcXMLRPC javascript backend.

After about 1 week of scanning the market, I found this solution to be the best on Javascript back end.  It uses the Microsoft.HTTP activeX control for IE, or HTTPRequest Object for Mozilla.

You include vc(Virtual Cowboys) vcXMLRPC.js file into your pages and make the rpc calls from with javascript to create the requests.

It works both ways.

Two Notes:

I have tested it on IE 6.02 and you need to change lines in ProcessRequest :
function to read:

  dom = this.getObject("XMLDOM",http.responseText);

and change the getObject function to use the latest ActiveX Control:

 MSXML2.XMLHTTP.3.0  (or 4.0)
 MSXML2.DOMDocument.3.0  (or 4.0)

The controls are found on MSDN in the Web Services -> XML area.

As another note, you DO NOT NEED the rpcproxy.cgi script to use this.  That is a proxy script to get around JS Security.  You can use PHP to build the proxy.  But, I was able to get the CGI working with GCC compiler on Solaris (change the -KPCI, depend and -x03 optimizer settings in the Makefile )

steve at orangeNOSPAMimagineering dot com

13 years ago


There's a handy library by Keith Devens (version 2.2.1) at 

http://www.keithdevens.com/software/xmlrpc/



Here is a sample client. It remotely calls sample.sumAndDifference

with two parameters (3 and 5).

It returns:



sum => 8

difference => -2



<?php

include ("kd_xmlrpc.php");

// define("XMLRPC_DEBUG", 0);    // Set to 1 for handy debugging



$method = "sample.sumAndDifference";

$params = XMLRPC_prepare(array(3,5));



$site = "xmlrpc-c.sourceforge.net";

$location = "/api/sample.php";



list($success, $result) = XMLRPC_request( $site, $location, $method, $params );



// XMLRPC_debug_print();    // uncomment for debugging



foreach ( $result as $key => $value ) {

          echo(" $key => $value \n");

}



?>

hfuecks at pinkgoblin dot com

13 years ago


This extension does not handle the process of making making XML-RPC client requests via HTTP; it only prepares the XML-RPC request payload.

This differs from many other XML-RPC implementations but offers greater flexibility, allowing SSL connections, authentication headers and XML-RPC via other transports like SMTP.

nic at uklinux dot NOSPAM dot net

14 years ago


An alternative XML-RPC implementation is available at http://xmlrpc.usefulinc.com - it's written in PHP so you can use it on servers for which you don't have the luxury of rebuilding PHP on.

nic

handco at gmail dot com

9 years ago


Hi, 

A little snippet to implement OO XML RPC Server.

File RPCPlugin.php : 

class RPCPlugins {
    
    private $plugins;
    
    function __construct ($pathname, $rpcServer) {
        $d = dir($pathname);
        while (($file = $d->read()) !== false) {
            if (ereg('(.*)\.php$', $file, $regs)) {
                include_once ($pathname . '/' . $file);
                $class=$regs[1];
                $this->plugins = new $class($rpcServer);            
            }
        }
    }
    
}

class RPCPlugin {
    
    private $_rpcServer;
    
    function __construct($rpcServer) {
        $this->_rpcServer = $rpcServer;
        
        $methods = get_class_methods($this);
        
        foreach ($methods as $method) {
            if (substr($method, 0,1) != '_') {
                xmlrpc_server_register_method($rpcServer,get_class($this) . "." . $method,array(&$this,$method));
            }
        }
        
    }
    
}

An example of plugin in plugins/Test.php  : 

 class Test extends RPCPlugin {
     
     
     function HelloWorld ($method, $params) {
         return "Hello World --->>" . $params[0];
     }
     
 }

Now the real server : 

require_once 'RPCPlugin.php';
 
 $rpcServer = xmlrpc_server_create();
 
$plugins = new RPCPlugins(realpath('plugins/'), $rpcServer);
 
 $resp = xmlrpc_server_call_method($rpcServer,$HTTP_RAW_POST_DATA,null);
 if ($resp) {
     header ('Content-Type: text/xml');
     echo $resp;
 }
 xmlrpc_server_destroy($rpcServer)

Then you can call ethod by classname.method. 
For this sample Test.HelloWorld

Hn'Co

mboeren at php dot net

12 years ago


Just a quick addition to my previous xmlrpc_client class: since you cannot use remote methods containing capital letters or methods from subhandlers (like 'system.listMethods()'), I added a 'call(...)' method to the class. 

<?php
    // this method should be copy/pasted in the 
    // xmlrpc_client class

    function call($function)
    {
        $return = NULL;
        $argv = func_get_args();
        array_shift($argv); // remove function argument
        $this->__call($function, $argv, &$return);
        return $return;
    }

    // now, you can also do
    $result = $client->call('system.listMethods');
    $sum = client->call('add', '1', '2');
?>

mboeren at php dot net

12 years ago


I use the following code (requires the overload extension) to make developing clients easier:

<?php
include("utils/utils.php"); // from xmlrpc-epi utils

/*
Usage:
    $client = new xmlrpc_client("http://localhost:7080");
    print $client->echo('x')."\n";
    print $client->add(1, 3)."\n";

*/
class xmlrpc_client
{
    var $url;
    var $urlparts;

    function xmlrpc_client($url)
    {
        $this->url = $url;
        $this->urlparts = parse_url($this->url);
        foreach(array('scheme', 'host', 'user', 'pass', 'path',
                      'query', 'fragment')
                as $part) {
            if (!isset($this->urlparts[$part])) { 
                $this->urlparts[$part] = NULL;
                }
            }
    }

    function __call($function, $arguments, &$return)
    {
        $requestprms['host'] = $this->urlparts['host'];
        $requestprms['port'] = $this->urlparts['port'];
        $requestprms['uri'] = $this->urlparts['path'];
        $requestprms['method'] = $function;
        $requestprms['args'] = $arguments;
        $requestprms['debug'] = 0;
        $requestprms['timeout'] = 0;
        $requestprms['user'] = NULL;
        $requestprms['pass'] = NULL;
        $requestprms['secure'] = 0;

        $result = xu_rpc_http_concise($requestprms);
        if (is_array($result) && isset($result['faultCode'])) {
            print('Error in xmlrpc call \''.$function.'\''."\n");
            print('  code   : '.$result['faultCode']."\n");
            print('  message: '.$result['faultString']."\n");
            return false;
            }
        $return = $result;
        return true;
    }

}
overload('xmlrpc_client');

?>

ivanr at webkreator dot com

13 years ago


For a really easy way to use this XML-RPC extension take a look at

XML-RPC Class Server (http://www.webkreator.com/php/xcs/)

It automatically creates servers out of PHP classes. Creating clients is almost as easy, especially with the recent addition of the overload extension to PHP (see http://www.php.net/manual/en/ref.overload.php).

XML-RPC Functions

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User Contributed Notes