preg_match explanation

[mantrid]

Hello
Found this piece of code using preg_match to check file types during upload
of files.
$allowed_file_t ypes = "(jpg|jpeg|gif| bmp|png)";
preg_match("/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i",
$_FILES['uploadedfile']["name"])

I understand the basic preg_match but am confused as to how the string
pattern part is working i.e.
"/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i"

I need to understand it better as although it appears to work in other parts
of my site, Im getting an error message on one page

Warning: preg_match() expects parameter 2 to be string, array given in
/home/iddsoftw/public_html/questiondbase/usersquestions. php on line 52

Can anyone give a step by step explanation of what its doing
Thanks
Ian

[Rik]

Re: preg_match explanation

mantrid wrote:

Hello
Found this piece of code using preg_match to check file types during
upload of files.

No, after uploading, unfortunately.

$allowed_file_t ypes = "(jpg|jpeg|gif| bmp|png)";
preg_match("/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i",
$_FILES['uploadedfile']["name"])
>
I understand the basic preg_match but am confused as to how the string
pattern part is working i.e.
"/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i"
>
I need to understand it better as although it appears to work in
other parts of my site, Im getting an error message on one page
>
Warning: preg_match() expects parameter 2 to be string, array given in
/home/iddsoftw/public_html/questiondbase/usersquestions. php on line 52
>
Can anyone give a step by step explanation of what its doing

Your problem is not in the regex (which means: filename has to end on
..jpg/.jpeg etc.).
Your problem is in the $_FILES part.
If you upload 1 file, named uploadedfile, $_FILES['uploadedfile']['name']
contains the string with the name of that file. If however you upload more
files (several inputs named uploadedfile[] for instance),
$_FILES['uploadedfile']['name'] will contain an array of names of the
uploaded file. That array won't fit in preg_match, and you'll have to loop
in some way through the $_FILES array.

var_dump($_FILE S) in the bugging script, and all will be clear I think.

Grtz,
--
Rik Wasmus

[mantrid]

Re: preg_match explanation

Hi

silly me, I am using a loop and I see now that I left the [$i] of the end of
['uploadedfile']["name"] in the preg_match. It works now, but I'd still like
to know how the pattern variable is working in the code.

Ian

"Rik" <luiheidsgoeroe @hotmail.comwro te in message
news:55755$4532 3f90$8259c69c$1 5987@news1.tude lft.nl...

mantrid wrote:

Hello
Found this piece of code using preg_match to check file types during
upload of files.

>
No, after uploading, unfortunately.
>

$allowed_file_t ypes = "(jpg|jpeg|gif| bmp|png)";
preg_match("/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i",
$_FILES['uploadedfile']["name"])

I understand the basic preg_match but am confused as to how the string
pattern part is working i.e.
"/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i"

I need to understand it better as although it appears to work in
other parts of my site, Im getting an error message on one page

Warning: preg_match() expects parameter 2 to be string, array given in
/home/iddsoftw/public_html/questiondbase/usersquestions. php on line 52

Can anyone give a step by step explanation of what its doing

>
>
Your problem is not in the regex (which means: filename has to end on
.jpg/.jpeg etc.).
Your problem is in the $_FILES part.
If you upload 1 file, named uploadedfile, $_FILES['uploadedfile']['name']
contains the string with the name of that file. If however you upload more
files (several inputs named uploadedfile[] for instance),
$_FILES['uploadedfile']['name'] will contain an array of names of the
uploaded file. That array won't fit in preg_match, and you'll have to loop
in some way through the $_FILES array.
>
var_dump($_FILE S) in the bugging script, and all will be clear I think.
>
Grtz,
--
Rik Wasmus
>
>

[peter]

Re: preg_match explanation

Found this piece of code using preg_match to check file types during
upload
of files.
$allowed_file_t ypes = "(jpg|jpeg|gif| bmp|png)";
preg_match("/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i",
$_FILES['uploadedfile']["name"])
>
I understand the basic preg_match but am confused as to how the string
pattern part is working i.e.
"/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i"

the regular expression equates to the following:-

"/\.(jpg|jpeg|gif |bmp|png)$/i"

basically it is saying that the string MUST contain a . (which has been
escaped by the slash) plus jpg OR jpeg OR gif OR bmp OR png. AS you see the
| means OR when enclosed in brackets like it currently is. The $ states that
the match must be at the end of the string (or in this case the file name)
and the /i staes that the match should be case insensitive.

[mantrid]

Re: preg_match explanation

thanks that explains a lot.
if i wanted to make it case insensitive should I simply remove the /i ?
also I thought || was 'or', is this special only to preg_match?
also
why the /\. and not just \.

Ian


"peter" <submit@flexiwe bhost.comwrote in message
news:egv0dc$34o $1@emma.aioe.or g...

>

Found this piece of code using preg_match to check file types during
upload
of files.
$allowed_file_t ypes = "(jpg|jpeg|gif| bmp|png)";
preg_match("/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i",
$_FILES['uploadedfile']["name"])

I understand the basic preg_match but am confused as to how the string
pattern part is working i.e.
"/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i"

>
the regular expression equates to the following:-
>
"/\.(jpg|jpeg|gif |bmp|png)$/i"
>
basically it is saying that the string MUST contain a . (which has been
escaped by the slash) plus jpg OR jpeg OR gif OR bmp OR png. AS you see

the

| means OR when enclosed in brackets like it currently is. The $ states

that

the match must be at the end of the string (or in this case the file name)
and the /i staes that the match should be case insensitive.
>
>
>

[Colin Fine]

Re: preg_match explanation

mantrid wrote:

>
"peter" <submit@flexiwe bhost.comwrote in message
news:egv0dc$34o $1@emma.aioe.or g...

>>Found this piece of code using preg_match to check file types during
>>upload
>>of files.
>>$allowed_file _types = "(jpg|jpeg|gif| bmp|png)";
>>preg_match( "/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i",
>>$_FILES['uploadedfile']["name"])
>>>
>>I understand the basic preg_match but am confused as to how the string
>>pattern part is working i.e.
>>"/\." . $allowed_file_t ypes . "$/i"

>the regular expression equates to the following:-
>>
>"/\.(jpg|jpeg|gif |bmp|png)$/i"
>>
>basically it is saying that the string MUST contain a . (which has been
>escaped by the slash) plus jpg OR jpeg OR gif OR bmp OR png. AS you see

the

>| means OR when enclosed in brackets like it currently is. The $ states

that

>the match must be at the end of the string (or in this case the file name)
>and the /i staes that the match should be case insensitive.
>>
>>
>>

>
>

(top posting corrected)

thanks that explains a lot.
if i wanted to make it case insensitive should I simply remove the /i ?
also I thought || was 'or', is this special only to preg_match?
also
why the /\. and not just \.
>
Ian
>

Many languages distinguish '|' bitwise OR from '||' boolean OR. It had
never occurred to me before that '|' in regexp had any connection with
these operators: I guess therefore that the answer is that there is no
need to distinguish two different kinds of OR so you might as well use a
single character.

The / .. / pair are the delimiters of the pattern. I think you can use
any character that doesn't occur in the pattern (and I suspect that, as
in Perl, you can use matched characters like '{' and '}' if they don't
occur in the pattern, though I can't quickly find a reference to say so).

We talk of the modifier as being '/i', but really it's just 'i'
immediately following the closing delimiter.

Colin

[peter]

Re: preg_match explanation

thanks that explains a lot.
if i wanted to make it case insensitive should I simply remove the /i ?
also I thought || was 'or', is this special only to preg_match?
also
why the /\. and not just \.

as colin pointed out the / are in this case signifying the start and end of
the pattern you could have quite easily for example used & which I have done
in the past when it seemed more appropriate. the \ is actually escaping the
.. as it has special meaning (a . matches any single character and of course
... matches 2 characters).

1 thing to watch with regular expressions is that certain characters have 1
meaning in 1 situation and another meaning ina different situation for
example ^ at the start of a regular expression means to match at the start
of a string (or new line depending on the mode you are running the regular
expression and of course which language the regular expression is used in)
but it also means anything but in a character set for example the following
would match anything BUT a w [^w].