Submit Comment

[john0611]

Hi all,

I have been working on my comments form which posts data to mysql db, redirects to thank you page, then after 2-3 seconds redirects back to the comments page. This works fine.

The issue I'm having here is users must fill in the mandatory fields (name, comment). I have tried an attempt, but once I press the submit button it bounces straight to the thank you page, then redirects to the comments page with the comment displayed but with no data?

Any ideas, help and suggestions really appreciated. Below is the source.

Thanks, John.

<?php
// query db and print from database
    $sql = "SELECT ID, Name, Email, Time, Comment, DATE_FORMAT(Time, 'Posted %d-%m-%y at %H:%i:%s') as Time FROM `comments` ORDER BY ID DESC"; // from comments get ID
    if ($result = mysql_query($sql)) {
      if (mysql_num_rows($result)) {

    while($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result)) {
      echo "<h4>" . "From: " . $row['Name'] . "<small>" . $row['Time'] . "</small>" . "</h4><br>";

      echo "<p>" . $row['Comment'] . "</p>"; 
    } }  

        } else {
        echo "Something is wrong!";
      }
    
?>

<div class="comment">

<?php
//initilize PHP
if($_POST['submit']) //If submit is hit
{

   //convert all the posts to variables:
   $name = $_POST['name'];
   $email = $_POST['email'];
   $comment = $_POST['comment'];
   
   
   //Insert the values into the correct database with the right fields
   //mysql table = news
   //table columns = id, title, message, who, date, time
   //post variables = $title, $message, '$who, $date, $time
   $result=MYSQL_QUERY("INSERT INTO comments (ID,Name,Email,Comment)" . "VALUES ('NULL', '$name', '$email', '$comment')"); 

    //confirm

header("Location: thank_you.php");
}
?>


<?php // insert timestamp into 'Time'
$query_autodate = "INSERT INTO comments (Time) VALUE ('TIMESTAMP: Auto CURDATE()', CURDATE() )"; ?>

<?php

  // list expected fields
  $expected = array('name', 'email', 'comment');
  // set required fields
  $required = array('name', 'email', 'comment');
  // create empty array for any missing fields
  $missing = array();
  
  // process the $_POST variables
  foreach ($_POST as $key => $value) {
    // assign to temporary variable and strip whitespace if not an array
    $temp = is_array($value) ? $value : trim($value);
    // if empty and required, add to $missing array
    if (empty($temp) && in_array($key, $required)) {
      array_push($missing, $key);
      }
    // otherwise, assign to a variable of the same name as $key
    elseif (in_array($key, $expected)) {
      ${$key} = $temp;
      }
    }
 
      // go ahead only if all required fields OK
  if (empty($missing)) {
    // build the message
    $message = "Name: $name\n\n";
    $message .= "Email: $email\n\n";
    $message .= "Comment: $comment\n\n";

    // limit line length to 70 characters
    $message = wordwrap($message, 70);
  
    // send it  

      unset($missing);
      }
      
?>

    <form id="sendcomment" name="sendcomment" method="post" action="">

      <?php
    if (isset($missing) && in_array('name', $missing)) { ?>
      <span class="warning">Enter your name.</span>
      <?php } ?>

      <label><abbr title="Enter your name."><font color="#FF0000"><sup>*</sup></font>Name:</abbr>
        <input type="text" name="name" id="name" maxlength="35" />
      </label>

      <label><abbr title="Enter your email address.">Email:</abbr>
        <input type="text" name="email" id="email" maxlength="35"/>
      </label>

      <?php
     if (isset($missing) && in_array('comment', $missing)) { ?>
      <span class="warning">Enter your contact no.</span>
      <?php } ?>

   <!-- <label><abbr title="Enter your contact no."><font color="#FF0000"><sup>*</sup></font>Tel.:</abbr>
        <input type="text" name="time" id="time" maxlength="25" /></label> -->

      <label><abbr title="Enter your comment."><font color="#FF0000"><sup>*</sup></font>Your Comment:</abbr></label>

       <textarea name="comment" id="comment" cols="0" rows="7"></textarea>

        <input type="submit" name="submit" id="submit" class="submit" value="Send" title="Send" />

        <input type="reset" name="reset" id="reset" class="reset" value="Reset" title="Reset" />

    </form>

[Schmoopy]

Much bigger problem on your hands that you should fix immediately is that at present your database is vulnerable to injection. If your site isn't live then this isn't as much of a problem, but it's a good habit to get into:

$name = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['name']); 

Do this for the rest of them too, anything you're entering into your database should be escaped, or someone could really mess things up for you.

Sorry this isn't the answer you were looking for but I thought I should point it out as it's quite a big security flaw.

You'll only need to escape the variables that are entered from users, the other variables do not need to be.

[john0611]

Hay Schmoopy,

Thanks for pointing that out, I will implement into source asap!

I need to find out more about injections.

Thanks, John.

[traq]

good beginner's security tutorials:

http://www.aachen-method.com/
http://www.addedbytes.com/php/writing-secure-php/

At least, I thought they were a good introduction.

[john0611]

Thanks for the info traq, very useful.

Thanks