PHP Problem.. maybe number datatypes.

Agg · 16th September 2002, 1:04 PM

Very strange problem just started last night with article.php that handles the reviews etc on OCAU. It seems to be fine for existing, older reviews.. but when we make a new one, it gets mangled. The data looks ok in the database and, given it uses the forum database to store the data, there's no other indications of database corruption..

When I reply (add another page) to an old, and currently working, review thread.. article.php produces mangled output. If I delete that new reply then it goes back to being fine. If I make a new thread (new review) then it is immediately mangled.

This makes me think that perhaps, due to the number of posts in the forums, we've hit some kind of datatype-limit for PHP. I know it's not a strictly-typed language and I don't think we declare any types anywhere, just letting PHP handle it.

Does this sound like a problem anyone's had before..? Anything I should be looking for? Doing settype($var, double) on the postnumber variable doesn't seem to fix the prob.

Sorry for the vagueness of the problem description and the lack of code in this message.. if you have any questions or need more info, fire away.

nudge · 16th September 2002, 10:58 PM

what do you mean by 'mangled'?

TerminalError · 16th September 2002, 11:01 PM

so article.php adds the data to the database correctly... but when it reads it, it outputs crap? what does the crap look like?

i doubt it has anything to do with the forums... unless you are using the existing forum tables to store the data...

Agg · 16th September 2002, 11:52 PM

We use the forums to enter and store the data. article.php grabs the data from the forum database and outputs it. A thread is an article. The first message in the thread has special info. The first reply is the first page of the article, the second reply is the second page, etc.

nudge · 17th September 2002, 12:09 AM

There shouldnt be a problem with upper limits, as this thread has id=94511.

From thr PHP manual:
"The size of an integer is platform-dependent, although a maximum value of about two billion is the usual value (that's 32 bits signed). PHP does not support unsigned integers. "

Perhaps its something else, such as HTML tags getting in the way when rendering the article.

Any examples of mangled ouput would be helpful =)

Agg · 17th September 2002, 1:50 AM

Fixed! It was apparently a problem with phpaccelerator not being loaded. No idea why that would cause it, but it will fix the server load issue we've had for the last few days, too.

Thanks anyway! Locking this.

16th September 2002, 1:04 PM	#1
Agg Lord of the Pings Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: A Reported Post near you Posts: 25,464	PHP Problem.. maybe number datatypes. Very strange problem just started last night with article.php that handles the reviews etc on OCAU. It seems to be fine for existing, older reviews.. but when we make a new one, it gets mangled. The data looks ok in the database and, given it uses the forum database to store the data, there's no other indications of database corruption.. When I reply (add another page) to an old, and currently working, review thread.. article.php produces mangled output. If I delete that new reply then it goes back to being fine. If I make a new thread (new review) then it is immediately mangled. This makes me think that perhaps, due to the number of posts in the forums, we've hit some kind of datatype-limit for PHP. I know it's not a strictly-typed language and I don't think we declare any types anywhere, just letting PHP handle it. Does this sound like a problem anyone's had before..? Anything I should be looking for? Doing settype($var, double) on the postnumber variable doesn't seem to fix the prob. Sorry for the vagueness of the problem description and the lack of code in this message.. if you have any questions or need more info, fire away. __________________ www.overclockers.com.au - also now on twitter and facebook.

16th September 2002, 10:58 PM	#2
nudge Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Amsterdam NL Posts: 863	what do you mean by 'mangled'? __________________ nudge.id.au \| just a melbourne boy surviving in amsterdam \| TomTom for iPhone

16th September 2002, 11:01 PM	#3
TerminalError Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Blue Mtns Posts: 641	so article.php adds the data to the database correctly... but when it reads it, it outputs crap? what does the crap look like? i doubt it has anything to do with the forums... unless you are using the existing forum tables to store the data... __________________ /!\ Certified Bandwidth Abuser Traded with: KostA, CBJ, c0rr, terrabyte, beechy, Travloujak, iNVaDeR, DarkStyle, crimsonglory, darknight84, 180sxdrifterj, Zangetsu. Last edited by TerminalError; 16th September 2002 at 11:06 PM.

16th September 2002, 11:52 PM	#4
Agg Lord of the Pings Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: A Reported Post near you Posts: 25,464	We use the forums to enter and store the data. article.php grabs the data from the forum database and outputs it. A thread is an article. The first message in the thread has special info. The first reply is the first page of the article, the second reply is the second page, etc. __________________ www.overclockers.com.au - also now on twitter and facebook.

17th September 2002, 12:09 AM	#5
nudge Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Amsterdam NL Posts: 863	There shouldnt be a problem with upper limits, as this thread has id=94511. From thr PHP manual: "The size of an integer is platform-dependent, although a maximum value of about two billion is the usual value (that's 32 bits signed). PHP does not support unsigned integers. " Perhaps its something else, such as HTML tags getting in the way when rendering the article. Any examples of mangled ouput would be helpful =) __________________ nudge.id.au \| just a melbourne boy surviving in amsterdam \| TomTom for iPhone

17th September 2002, 1:50 AM	#6
Agg Lord of the Pings Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: A Reported Post near you Posts: 25,464	Fixed! It was apparently a problem with phpaccelerator not being loaded. No idea why that would cause it, but it will fix the server load issue we've had for the last few days, too. Thanks anyway! Locking this. __________________ www.overclockers.com.au - also now on twitter and facebook.