The following URL:

http://www.php.net/manual/en/faq.obtaining.php

contains a link to a browscap.ini file in section #6 that is no longer
PHP-compatible.

Please remove this link. Thank you.

~gary keith.

When PHP starts give an error on line 693:
"browser=Yahoo! Slurp"

if you replace it by:
"browser=Yahoo Slurp"

everything works fine.

So, maybe reclassify as something else than documentation problem.

All I want is my link removed.

If you cannot help me with that then please stay out of this bug report. I will not rehash the problems and slights that led to this here as it's an inappropriate place to do so.

Duplicate. see #27372

This is not bogus. There is a link in your documentation page to a browscap.ini file that is guaranteed to crash PHP. All I want is my link removed. If you can't help with that then please stay out of this.

It does NOT crash PHP.

It does crash PHP unless you have modded my file to prevent it. The simple fact is get_browser() does not work the same way browscap.dll does and until it does get_browser() is broken, will continue to crash PHP and cause me nothing but grief.

Why do you have to argue with me about this?

There is a link in your documentation to my website and I do not want PHP to link to my website anymore. Please remove the link.

Sorry, but I have to say that you're behaving like an ass. For the past three years we didn't hear anything at all about files being broken, and then suddenly since two weeks ago we treated you bad for those three years? Sorry, but I don't really understand that. 

What I also don't understand is that you just say "Don't file problems about PHP here, do that at http://bugs.php.net". That way you don't get the "shit" about our bugs, and we know that there are actually problems. Wouldn't that be the easiest thing for both you AND us?

That said, I don't think we should remove the link to your site as our users can still find the browscap.ini file there. (Feel free to mail me privately if you want, I don't think this discussion belongs in this bugsystem).

I have always asked people who report PHP bugs to file a bug report with PHP. I cannot make them do so. But the simple fact is I've had to make constant adjustments to my browscap.ini file to accommodate PHP over the years and PHP users especially have not been very polite about it. I am a very patient person and it took me this long to finally loose my patience. I attempted to contact the person who first contacted me asking permission to use my file and got no reply. If I couldn't get any reply privately then I had no choice but to go public where the situation could not be avoided.

What I'm asking is not unreasonable. All I want is to have the link removed from your documentation page otherwise PHP users are going to download a file that as of today in 4.3.x is guaranteed to crash your server. That does neither one of us any good. So just remove the link and you'll never hear from me again. I promise.

It's a known fact that users are impolite, we have lots of experience with that and it's not something neither you or we can "fix". But it is possible to just ignore them, and that's simply what we do.

Now, as your file does not crash the system (it just gives a warning when starting the webserver) we will get more bugreports about it, which is a *good* thing for us as it might pressure fixes in our way of handling the browscap.ini file. We can not remove the link to your site, unless there is an alternative browscap.ini file as we don't want to stop the get_browser() function from being implemented in PHP. So I want to suggest that you remove the wrong information on your site (ie, it does not crash, and *we* were not impolite to you and just tried to find a solution) and I'm sure that our fixes for handling the browscap.ini file are being implemented shortly (as there is already a patch).

(And please don't reopen this bug report, as we will just bogus it again)

I sent you an e-mail. As with every other PHP team member I've tried to contact I've had no reply as yet.

You need not worry about the link I asked be removed.

If I detect an HTTP_REFERER from php.net I simply redirect the user agent back from whence it came.

We could create a new manual page detailing the process of stripping characters PHP can't handle ('!'). Replace the (2?) links to the site with links to that page, which would contain the site's URL beneath a warning. Since that Yahoo! entry is the only bug-provoking one, even users would find it easy to clean up the file.

Happy flaming!

Uh, that is, of course, if you're willing to let us link with this added information.

There are more problems than just replacing an exclamation point. There's also the issue of ampersands and pound signs in browser names and pound signs in version numbers. These will all cause get_browser() to return bogus information and yet according to the MS spec for browscap.ini these are all valid characters.

How do you expect to get any cooperation from me when you end your message with "happy flaming!"?

This nlopess character barges in on my attempt to get a link removed and essentially, once again, tries to blame the whole situation on me. Then Derick comes along and calls me an ass. My attempts to post a note in the documentation section urging your users not to use my file keep getting deleted. These are small examples of what I've gotten in exchange with my cooperation with PHP. And now I'm the flamer?

We all have our breaking point. I've reached mine.

I will continue to redirect that link back to your own website. Be glad I am ethical enough not to redirect your users to some gross adult website.

Make sure you note the new restrictions in my Terms of Service.

Please govern yourselves accordingly.

I made a typo:

There's also the issue of ampersands and pound signs in browser names and pound signs in version numbers.

This should have stated:

There's also the issue of ampersands and parenthesis in browser names and pound signs in version numbers.

Wow, I'm sorry. That "Happy flaming!" was directed at derick at php.net, not you. I guess I assumed you watch php.net bug reports. ;-) I'd like to cooperate with you, while still helping php.net visitors to find a browscap.ini file. Again, sorry to be offensive. :)

Apology accepted. Thank you. I'm sorry I misunderstood to whom you were directing that comment.

IMO, the only realistic option to deal with this situation over the next several years is for me to provide an alternate browscap.ini file that takes PHP deficiencies into account.

I've been unwilling to do that because of how I've been treated by everyone at PHP with three exceptions: you, Jay and Ryan.

wget -q -O -  http://www.garykeith.com/data/browscap.ini | perl -ne '(/^\s*[\;\#\[]/ || /^\s*$/) && do { print ; next; }; y/\!\(\)//d; print;' > browscap.ini

fixes this. I'm pretty sure someone will come up with an equivalent php program. :-)

Gary,

Is there a way that someone could help you maintain a PHP compatible version of browscap.ini?

Clearly your site is the "goto" place for browscaps and I think it would only hurt PHP users to try to maintain it separately.  (I don't know how you stay on top of all the changes as it is...great work!)

That said, we at everydns would be happy to take care of maintaining a PHP version of the browscap if you let us know whenever it's updated but I think your site is still the best place for it to be -- google and php users already know about it. :)

Ultimately I think the solution is to just fix the php functions to follow the spec but in the meantime, maybe there's a way I (we) can help...

-davidu

Thanks for your offer. I've been corresponding with Rasmus and based on his assurances (and some hard work by two very dedicated and ethical volunteers) I have modified my code to produce a PHP-compatible version of browscap.ini. All you'll have to do is rename it from php_browscap.ini to browscap.ini and you'll be set to go. If all goes well the new file will be available this Sunday. If not then I'll get it online sometime next week or next Sunday at the latest. Newer versions of PHP will eventually be able to work with my native browscap.ini file but anything prior to the upcoming version 5 will always need to use my php_browscap.ini file as I understand there will be no backport because it will just not be possible.

The problem is solved!

Gary now provides a special file for PHP users. I've restored the link to his site.

Thanks
Nuno