Acquire php string in asp

[Al Fonda]

From a programmer no longer available I have a file written in php which asks for a licensee name, which it names 'name'. At a Submit button it sends the user to another php file which includes the code

$licensee_name=$_GET['name']

I want to use vbscript, so as to incorporate existing code which generates a key. Using the website editor I have written a skeleton file with the extension asp, which runs OK but lacks the 'name' to work with.

My question is, how do I acquire in asp the string output of a php script?

[jhardman]

have you tried

request("name")

? Try it. If that doesn't work, post more of the code. How is 'name' variable passed?

Jared

[Al Fonda]

have you tried

request("name")

? Try it. If that doesn't work, post more of the code. How is 'name' variable passed?

Jared

Thanks for the response.

When per your suggestion I type ~ request("name") ~ into the file using the on-site editor, it just echoes that text.

Note that I am not using a vbscript editor. I am not compiling anything. I normally use just vb, in which my application runs on my computer or when compiled, uploaded, and downloaded. I have Visual Studio 2005 in an unopened box, and will open it if compiling is necessary, but perhaps it is not even needed, and it might be worth more on ebay if not opened. I am trying to just write a smidgeon of code using the on-site editor, no compiler The site is definitely asp-enabled.

The tail end of the existing receipt.php code, which also instructs PayPal to issue a receipt, is

$today = date("m/d/y");
echo ("<br>To retrieve a license code for the use of the program, please fill in below the name of the licensee and the date for the use of the program.<br><br>");
echo (" <form name=\"input\" action=\"form_action.asp\" method=\"get\">");
echo (" <label for=\"name\">Licensee Name:</label>");
echo (" <input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" id=\"name\" value=\"Your Name Here\">");
echo (" <label for=\"date\">License Date (mm/dd/yy):</label>");
echo (" <input type=\"text\" name=\"date\" id=\"date\" value=\"$today\">");
//echo (" <input type=\"submit\" value=\"submit\">");
//echo (" </form>");

This successfully asks for a name and a date. At a click on the Submit button it sends the user to form_action.php file (or, now, to form_action.asp) which includes the code

$licensee_name=$_GET['name']
$licensee_name=$_GET['date']

and pretends to generate a key. My remaining task is to insert code to encrypt the name and the date into a key for use of the application, which is written in vb, where it will be authenticated by identical encryption code. I have the core of the encryption code in vbscript. What I do not have in vbscript (for an asp version of form_action) is acquisition of 'name" and 'date' to start with.

[Al Fonda]

Jared? Anyone? I need the advice.

Is vbsrpt like html and psp, so that it just runs on the web, needing no compilation?

If so, are conditioning statements required? What are they?

And then how do I pick up the output of the prior php script?

If not, do I need to dig into vbstudio to learn what to do?

Tell me, and I'll do it.

Al

[jhardman]

VBscript is a scripted language, which means it is never fully compiled, but runs on a script interpreter. In asp pages, it is the server (usually IIS, although Apache can be configured to interpret vbscript) which interprets the scripts. For IIS it is fairly simple to tell the server to look for vbscript code on any .asp file. I'm not sure what you mean by "conditioning statements", so maybe the answer is "no". all vbscript code in an asp page should be within:

<% 'here is my code %>

I'm still trying to figure out how the php is sending the output. I don't understand php all that well. Could you explain how the data is sent? I've never heard of anyone attempting what you are trying, but as long as the data is going thru regular http channels it should be within the request() collection.

try this asp file:

dim x
for each x in request.form
   response.write x & ": " & request.form("x") & "<br>" & vbNewLine
next
 
for each x in request.querystring
   response.write x & ": " & request.querystring("x") & "<br>" & vbNewLine
next
 
for each x in request.cookies
   response.write x & ": " & request.cookies("x") & "<br>" & vbNewLine
next
 

save this as "requestTest.asp" and send your form to it. This should list all of the data sent to this page.

Let me know if this helps.

Jared

[Al Fonda]

Jared:

I see now that the symbols <% and %> enclosing the code (and nothing else?) make it work. (That’s what I meant by “conditioning.”)

With that done, the code you gave me returns

name:
date:

which are only the names of the requested fields, not the content.

You said “I don't understand php all that well. Could you explain how the data is sent?”

Neither do I, but I already gave you for the receipt.php script which asks for the name and date. It does produce boxes on screen with default entries <Your Name Here> and today’s date, each of which can be changed before pressing Submit.

If sent to form_action.php it arrives OK. That code is

<?php
$licensee_name=$_GET['name']
$licensee_name=$_GET['date']
echo ("<br><b>Licensee Name: </b>$licensee_name");
echo ("<br><b>License Date: </b>$license_date");
?>

So, what I need is the asp equivalent of GET. I need to acquire in asp the string which GET gets in php.

Al

[Al Fonda]

Jason:

Progress report. By trial and error I discovered the following:

Of the 3 options you provided, 2 can be omitted. And, when the quote marks around x are omitted, giving

<%
dim x 
for each x in request.querystring 
    response.write x & ": " & request.querystring(x) & "<br>" & vbNewLine 
next 
%>

then the desired strings appear:

name: Your Name Here
date: 04/24/07

So we’re getting closer.

What I still need to do is set a vb string to be equal to the content of request.querystring(x).

Al

[Al Fonda]

Jason:

Or, am I already there? Are request.querystring(1) and request.querystring(2) the vb strings I am looking for?

I’ll assume so and see what happens, next chance I get.

Al

[jhardman]

Jason:

Or, am I already there? Are request.querystring(1) and request.querystring(2) the vb strings I am looking for?

I’ll assume so and see what happens, next chance I get.

Al

Yes! Sorry, the quote marks were a stupid mistake. Now that you know how they are sent you can simplify the code even further. I wouldn't recommend using the numbers even though they will work. It would be better to say request.querystring("name") and request.querystring("date"). And since only the querystring had data, you can drop the ".querystring" (although a lot of people leave it in just to be exact).

You can use these request variables anywhere in the page, or you can store them in new variables:

dim name, date
name = request("name")
date = request("date")

Jared

[Al Fonda]

Jared:

OK, got it. Thanks. By cut and try I have it working, up to the point of feeding the specified string into the encryption scheme.

But when I paste in the code which would come next if I were still in vb, then depending on what I comment out I get errors (running on the web server) like

Microsoft VBScript runtime error '800a01fa'
Class not defined: 'CMD5'

Microsoft VBScript runtime error '800a01a8'

Microsoft VBScript runtime error '800a000d'
Type mismatch: 'CLng'

and trial and error is no help. Am I simply out of my depth, so that I need a consultant?

Al

[jhardman]

All of these errors are solvable. The part I thought would be tricky was communicating with the php, but since you got that done, you should be able to handle all of your problems like normal. Remember that VBScript is simpler than VB. All variables are "by val" so if you pass something in another format it will generate an error.

Post your code and I'll take a look at it.

Jared