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XML-RPC and XML-RPC Server Classes
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<h1>XML-RPC and XML-RPC Server Classes</h1>
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<p>CodeIgniter's XML-RPC classes permit you to send requests to another server, or set up
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your own XML-RPC server to receive requests.</p>
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<h2>What is XML-RPC?</h2>
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<p>Quite simply it is a way for two computers to communicate over the internet using XML.
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One computer, which we will call the <dfn>client</dfn>, sends an XML-RPC <strong>request</strong> to
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another computer, which we will call the <dfn>server</dfn>. Once the server receives and processes the request it
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will send back a <strong>response</strong> to the client.</p>
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<p>For example, using the MetaWeblog API, an XML-RPC Client (usually a desktop publishing tool) will
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send a request to an XML-RPC Server running on your site. This request might be a new weblog entry
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being sent for publication, or it could be a request for an existing entry for editing.
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When the XML-RPC Server receives this request it will examine it to determine which class/method should be called to process the request.
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Once processed, the server will then send back a response message.</p>
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<p>For detailed specifications, you can visit the <a href="http://www.xmlrpc.com/">XML-RPC</a> site.</p>
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<h2>Initializing the Class</h2>
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<p>Like most other classes in CodeIgniter, the XML-RPC and XML-RPCS classes are initialized in your controller using the <dfn>$this->load->library</dfn> function:</p>
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<p>To load the XML-RPC class you will use:</p>
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<code>$this->load->library('xmlrpc');</code>
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<p>Once loaded, the xml-rpc library object will be available using: <dfn>$this->xmlrpc</dfn></p>
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<p>To load the XML-RPC Server class you will use:</p>
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$this->load->library('xmlrpc');<br />
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$this->load->library('xmlrpcs');
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<p>Once loaded, the xml-rpcs library object will be available using: <dfn>$this->xmlrpcs</dfn></p>
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<p class="important"><strong>Note:</strong> When using the XML-RPC Server class you must load BOTH the XML-RPC class and the XML-RPC Server class.</p>
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<h2>Sending XML-RPC Requests</h2>
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<p>To send a request to an XML-RPC server you must specify the following information:</p>
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<li>The URL of the server</li>
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<li>The method on the server you wish to call</li>
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<li>The <em>request</em> data (explained below).</li>
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<p>Here is a basic example that sends a simple Weblogs.com ping to the <a href="http://pingomatic.com/">Ping-o-Matic</a></p>
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<code>$this->load->library('xmlrpc');<br />
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$this->xmlrpc->server('http://rpc.pingomatic.com/', 80);<br />
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$this->xmlrpc->method('weblogUpdates.ping');<br />
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$request = array('My Photoblog', 'http://www.my-site.com/photoblog/');<br />
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$this->xmlrpc->request($request);<br />
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if ( ! $this->xmlrpc->send_request())<br />
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echo $this->xmlrpc->display_error();<br />
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<p>The above code initializes the XML-RPC class, sets the server URL and method to be called (weblogUpdates.ping). The
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request (in this case, the title and URL of your site) is placed into an array for transportation, and
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compiled using the request() function.
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Lastly, the full request is sent. If the <dfn>send_request()</dfn> method returns false we will display the error message
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sent back from the XML-RPC Server.</p>
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<h2>Anatomy of a Request</h2>
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<p>An XML-RPC <dfn>request</dfn> is simply the data you are sending to the XML-RPC server. Each piece of data in a request
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is referred to as a <dfn>request parameter</dfn>. The above example has two parameters:
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The URL and title of your site. When the XML-RPC server receives your request, it will look for parameters it requires.</p>
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<p>Request parameters must be placed into an array for transportation, and each parameter can be one
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of seven data types (strings, numbers, dates, etc.). If your parameters are something other than strings
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you will have to include the data type in the request array.</p>
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<p>Here is an example of a simple array with three parameters:</p>
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<code>$request = array('John', 'Doe', 'www.some-site.com');<br />
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$this->xmlrpc->request($request);</code>
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<p>If you use data types other than strings, or if you have several different data types, you will place
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each parameter into its own array, with the data type in the second position:</p>
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$request = array (<br />
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array('John', 'string'),<br />
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array('Doe', 'string'),<br />
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array(FALSE, 'boolean'),<br />
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array(12345, 'int')<br />
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);
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$this->xmlrpc->request($request);</code>
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The <a href="#datatypes">Data Types</a> section below has a full list of data types.
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<h2>Creating an XML-RPC Server</h2>
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<p>An XML-RPC Server acts as a traffic cop of sorts, waiting for incoming requests and redirecting them to the
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appropriate functions for processing.</p>
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<p>To create your own XML-RPC server involves initializing the XML-RPC Server class in your controller where you expect the incoming
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request to appear, then setting up an array with mapping instructions so that incoming requests can be sent to the appropriate
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class and method for processing.</p>
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<p>Here is an example to illustrate:</p>
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$this->load->library('xmlrpc');<br />
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$this->load->library('xmlrpcs');<br />
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$config['functions']['<var>new_post</var>'] = array('function' => '<dfn>My_blog.new_entry</dfn>'),<br />
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$config['functions']['<var>update_post</var>'] = array('function' => '<dfn>My_blog.update_entry</dfn>');<br />
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$config['object'] = $this;<br />
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$this->xmlrpcs->initialize($config);<br />
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$this->xmlrpcs->serve();</code>
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<p>The above example contains an array specifying two method requests that the Server allows.
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The allowed methods are on the left side of the array. When either of those are received, they will be mapped to the class and method on the right.</p>
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<p>The '<var>object</var>' key is a special key that you pass an instantiated class object with, which is necessary when the method you are mapping to is not
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part of the CodeIgniter super object.</p>
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<p>In other words, if an XML-RPC Client sends a request for the <var>new_post</var> method, your
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server will load the <dfn>My_blog</dfn> class and call the <dfn>new_entry</dfn> function.
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If the request is for the <var>update_post</var> method, your
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server will load the <dfn>My_blog</dfn> class and call the <dfn>update_entry</dfn> function.</p>
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<p>The function names in the above example are arbitrary. You'll decide what they should be called on your server,
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or if you are using standardized APIs, like the Blogger or MetaWeblog API, you'll use their function names.</p>
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<p>There are two additional configuration keys you may make use of when initializing the server class: <var>debug</var> can be set to TRUE in order to enable debugging, and <var>xss_clean</var> may be set to FALSE to prevent sending data through the Security library's xss_clean function.
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<h2>Processing Server Requests</h2>
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<p>When the XML-RPC Server receives a request and loads the class/method for processing, it will pass
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an object to that method containing the data sent by the client.</p>
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<p>Using the above example, if the <var>new_post</var> method is requested, the server will expect a class
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to exist with this prototype:</p>
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<code>class <kbd>My_blog</kbd> extends CI_Controller {<br />
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function <kbd>new_post</kbd>(<var>$request</var>)<br />
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{<br />
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}<br />
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<p>The <var>$request</var> variable is an object compiled by the Server, which contains the data sent by the XML-RPC Client.
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Using this object you will have access to the <em>request parameters</em> enabling you to process the request. When
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you are done you will send a <dfn>Response</dfn> back to the Client.</p>
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<p>Below is a real-world example, using the Blogger API. One of the methods in the Blogger API is <dfn>getUserInfo()</dfn>.
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Using this method, an XML-RPC Client can send the Server a username and password, in return the Server sends
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back information about that particular user (nickname, user ID, email address, etc.). Here is how the processing
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function might look:</p>
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<code>class <kbd>My_blog</kbd> extends CI_Controller {<br />
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function <kbd>getUserInfo</kbd>(<var>$request</var>)<br />
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{<br />
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$username = 'smitty';<br />
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$password = 'secretsmittypass';<br /><br />
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$this->load->library('xmlrpc');<br />
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<br />
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$parameters = $request->output_parameters();<br />
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<br />
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if ($parameters['1'] != $username AND $parameters['2'] != $password)<br />
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{<br />
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return $this->xmlrpc->send_error_message('100', 'Invalid Access');<br />
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}<br />
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<br />
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$response = array(array('nickname' => array('Smitty','string'),<br />
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'userid' => array('99','string'),<br />
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'url' => array('http://yoursite.com','string'),<br />
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'email' => array('jsmith@yoursite.com','string'),<br />
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'lastname' => array('Smith','string'),<br />
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'firstname' => array('John','string')<br />
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),<br />
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'struct');<br />
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return $this->xmlrpc->send_response($response);<br />
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}<br />
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<p>The <dfn>output_parameters()</dfn> function retrieves an indexed array corresponding to the request parameters sent by the client.
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In the above example, the output parameters will be the username and password.</p>
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<p>If the username and password sent by the client were not valid, and error message is returned using <dfn>send_error_message()</dfn>.</p>
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<p>If the operation was successful, the client will be sent back a response array containing the user's info.</p>
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<h2>Formatting a Response</h2>
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<p>Similar to <em>Requests</em>, <em>Responses</em> must be formatted as an array. However, unlike requests, a response is an array
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<strong>that contains a single item</strong>. This item can be an array with several additional arrays, but there
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can be only one primary array index. In other words, the basic prototype is this:</p>
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<code>$response = array('Response data', 'array');</code>
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<p>Responses, however, usually contain multiple pieces of information. In order to accomplish this we must put the response into its own
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array so that the primary array continues to contain a single piece of data. Here's an example showing how this might be accomplished:</p>
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$response = array (<br />
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array(<br />
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'first_name' => array('John', 'string'),<br />
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'last_name' => array('Doe', 'string'),<br />
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'member_id' => array(123435, 'int'),<br />
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'todo_list' => array(array('clean house', 'call mom', 'water plants'), 'array'),<br />
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),<br />
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'struct'<br />
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);
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<p class="important">Notice that the above array is formatted as a <dfn>struct</dfn>. This is the most common data type for responses.</p>
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<p>As with Requests, a response can be one of the seven data types listed in the <a href="#datatypes">Data Types</a> section.</p>
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<h2>Sending an Error Response</h2>
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<p>If you need to send the client an error response you will use the following:</p>
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<code>return $this->xmlrpc->send_error_message('123', 'Requested data not available');</code>
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<p>The first parameter is the error number while the second parameter is the error message.</p>
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<h2>Creating Your Own Client and Server</h2>
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<p>To help you understand everything we've covered thus far, let's create a couple controllers that act as
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XML-RPC Client and Server. You'll use the Client to send a request to the Server and receive a response.</p>
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<p>Using a text editor, create a controller called <dfn>xmlrpc_client.php</dfn>.
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In it, place this code and save it to your <samp>applications/controllers/</samp> folder:</p>
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<textarea class="textarea" style="width:100%" cols="50" rows="32"><?php
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class Xmlrpc_client extends CI_Controller {
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$this->load->helper('url');
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$server_url = site_url('xmlrpc_server');
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$this->load->library('xmlrpc');
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$this->xmlrpc->server($server_url, 80);
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$this->xmlrpc->method('Greetings');
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$request = array('How is it going?');
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$this->xmlrpc->request($request);
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if ( ! $this->xmlrpc->send_request())
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echo $this->xmlrpc->display_error();
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print_r($this->xmlrpc->display_response());
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<p>Note: In the above code we are using a "url helper". You can find more information in the <a href="../general/helpers.html">Helpers Functions</a> page.</p>
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<p>Using a text editor, create a controller called <dfn>xmlrpc_server.php</dfn>.
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In it, place this code and save it to your <samp>applications/controllers/</samp> folder:</p>
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<textarea class="textarea" style="width:100%" cols="50" rows="30"><?php
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class Xmlrpc_server extends CI_Controller {
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$this->load->library('xmlrpc');
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$this->load->library('xmlrpcs');
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$config['functions']['Greetings'] = array('function' => 'Xmlrpc_server.process');
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$this->xmlrpcs->initialize($config);
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$this->xmlrpcs->serve();
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function process($request)
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$parameters = $request->output_parameters();
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'you_said' => $parameters['0'],
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'i_respond' => 'Not bad at all.'),
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return $this->xmlrpc->send_response($response);
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<p>Now visit the your site using a URL similar to this:</p>
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<code>example.com/index.php/<var>xmlrpc_client</var>/</code>
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<p>You should now see the message you sent to the server, and its response back to you.</p>
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<p>The client you created sends a message ("How's is going?") to the server, along with a request for the "Greetings" method.
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The Server receives the request and maps it to the "process" function, where a response is sent back.</p>
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<h2>Using Associative Arrays In a Request Parameter</h2>
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<p>If you wish to use an associative array in your method parameters you will need to use a struct datatype:</p>
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<code>$request = array(<br />
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array(<br />
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// Param 0<br />
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array(<br />
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'name'=>'John'<br />
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),<br />
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'struct'<br />
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),<br />
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array(<br />
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// Param 1<br />
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array(<br />
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'size'=>'large',<br />
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'shape'=>'round'<br />
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),<br />
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'struct'<br />
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)<br />
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);<br />
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$this->xmlrpc->request($request);</code>
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<p>You can retrieve the associative array when processing the request in the Server.</p>
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<code>$parameters = $request->output_parameters();<br />
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$name = $parameters['0']['name'];<br />
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$size = $parameters['1']['size'];<br />
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$size = $parameters['1']['shape']; </code>
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<h1>XML-RPC Function Reference</h1>
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<h2>$this->xmlrpc->server()</h2>
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<p>Sets the URL and port number of the server to which a request is to be sent:</p>
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<code>$this->xmlrpc->server('http://www.sometimes.com/pings.php', 80);</code>
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<h2>$this->xmlrpc->timeout()</h2>
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<p>Set a time out period (in seconds) after which the request will be canceled:</p>
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<code>$this->xmlrpc->timeout(6);</code>
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<h2>$this->xmlrpc->method()</h2>
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<p>Sets the method that will be requested from the XML-RPC server:</p>
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<code>$this->xmlrpc->method('<var>method</var>');</code>
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<p>Where <var>method</var> is the name of the method.</p>
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<h2>$this->xmlrpc->request()</h2>
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<p>Takes an array of data and builds request to be sent to XML-RPC server:</p>
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<code>$request = array(array('My Photoblog', 'string'), 'http://www.yoursite.com/photoblog/');<br />
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$this->xmlrpc->request($request);</code>
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<h2>$this->xmlrpc->send_request()</h2>
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<p>The request sending function. Returns boolean TRUE or FALSE based on success for failure, enabling it to be used conditionally.</p>
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<h2>$this->xmlrpc->set_debug(TRUE);</h2>
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<p>Enables debugging, which will display a variety of information and error data helpful during development.</p>
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<h2>$this->xmlrpc->display_error()</h2>
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<p>Returns an error message as a string if your request failed for some reason.</p>
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<code>echo $this->xmlrpc->display_error();</code>
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<h2>$this->xmlrpc->display_response()</h2>
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<p>Returns the response from the remote server once request is received. The response will typically be an associative array.</p>
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<code>$this->xmlrpc->display_response();</code>
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<h2>$this->xmlrpc->send_error_message()</h2>
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<p>This function lets you send an error message from your server to the client. First parameter is the error number while the second parameter
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is the error message.</p>
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<code>return $this->xmlrpc->send_error_message('123', 'Requested data not available');</code>
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<h2>$this->xmlrpc->send_response()</h2>
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<p>Lets you send the response from your server to the client. An array of valid data values must be sent with this method.</p>
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<code>$response = array(<br />
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array(<br />
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'flerror' => array(FALSE, 'boolean'),<br />
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'message' => "Thanks for the ping!"<br />
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)<br />
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'struct');<br />
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return $this->xmlrpc->send_response($response);</code>
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<a name="datatypes"></a>
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<p>According to the <a href="http://www.xmlrpc.com/spec">XML-RPC spec</a> there are seven types
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of values that you can send via XML-RPC:</p>
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<li><em>int</em> or <em>i4</em></li>
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<li><em>boolean</em></li>
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<li><em>string</em></li>
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<li><em>double</em></li>
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<li><em>dateTime.iso8601</em></li>
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<li><em>base64</em></li>
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<li><em>struct</em> (contains array of values)</li>
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<li><em>array</em> (contains array of values)</li>
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