CODEWITHSUNDEEP
phpbackgroundcommand-line-interfacedetection
Rich06
Rich06

Reputation: 61

How can a PHP CLI script detect if running in the background?

I am developing a CLI PHP script that can either be executed in the foreground or the background. If running in the foreground I want to be able to interact with the user getting input information. Obviously if the script is launched in the background using the '&' parameter any user interaction should be skipped...

So is there a way for a PHP script to detect that it has been launched in the background?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 376

Answers (3)

lfjeff
lfjeff

Reputation: 2018

This is how I do it:

if (!stream_isatty(STDIN)) {
    echo "Running in background\n";
}

As mentioned above, this is basically the same as how it is usually done in C/C++. I can recall doing this when I was writing C programs for Unix 30+ years ago.

Upvotes: 0

Jonah Bishop
Jonah Bishop

Reputation: 12581

There's a Unix frequently asked question (which I found via this Stack Overflow post) that basically claims it cannot reliably be done. One suggestion the article gives is to check whether or not stdin is a terminal:

sh: if [ -t 0 ]; then ... fi
C: if(isatty(0)) { ... }

I agree with Pekka's comment that you should simply provide a parameter to the script. The -i (for interactive) option is sometimes used for this express purpose. If that parameter isn't passed, you can assume you're in "automated" mode.

Upvotes: 1

Shiplu Mokaddim
Shiplu Mokaddim

Reputation: 57650

Its not possible to detect if its running in background. I still didn't find any way to do.

One way could be to traverse process list and check the status of /usr/bin/php

The best ways is to use a parameter (say --daemon). When this parameter is passed it'll be running in background otherwise it'll print useful information on front-end.

You can create daemon using System_Daemon pear package.

Upvotes: 1

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