php-phantomjs/_posts/2014-07-26-usage.md

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layout: post title: Usage categories: [] tags: []

fullview: true

This page contains some common examples of how to use the PHP PhantomJS library.

• Basic Request
• POST Request
• Other Request Methods
• Response Data
• Screen Captures
• Custom Timeout
• Delay Page Render
• Custom Run Options

For more advanced customization or to load your own PhantomJS scripts, see the advanced documentation.

Basic Request

A basic GET request:

{% highlight php %}

<?php

use JonnyW\PhantomJs\Client;

$client = Client::getInstance();

$request  = $client->getMessageFactory()->createRequest();
$response = $client->getMessageFactory()->createResponse();

$request->setMethod('GET');
$request->setUrl('http://google.com');

$client->send($request, $response);

if($response->getStatus() === 200) {
    echo $response->getContent();
}

{% endhighlight %}

You can also set the URL, request method and timeout period when creating a new request instance through the message factory:

{% highlight php %}

<?php

use JonnyW\PhantomJs\Client;

$client = Client::getInstance();

$request  = $client->getMessageFactory()->createRequest('http://google.com', 'GET', 5000);
$response = $client->getMessageFactory()->createResponse();

$client->send($request, $response);

if($response->getStatus() === 200) {
    echo $response->getContent();
}

{% endhighlight %}

POST Request

A basic POST request:

{% highlight php %}

<?php

use JonnyW\PhantomJs\Client;

$client = Client::getInstance();

$request  = $client->getMessageFactory()->createRequest();
$response = $client->getMessageFactory()->createResponse();

$data = array(
    'param1' => 'Param 1',
    'param2' => 'Param 2'
);

$request->setMethod('POST');
$request->setUrl('http://google.com');
$request->setRequestData($data); // Set post data

$client->send($request, $response);

{% endhighlight %}

Other Request Methods

The PHP PhantomJS library supports the following request methods:

• OPTIONS
• GET
• HEAD
• POST
• PUT
• DELETE
• PATCH

The request method can be set when creating a new request instance through the message factory:

{% highlight php %}

<?php

use JonnyW\PhantomJs\Client;

$client = Client::getInstance();

$request  = $client->getMessageFactory()->createRequest('http://google.com', 'PUT');

{% endhighlight %}

Or on the request instance itself:

{% highlight php %}

<?php

use JonnyW\PhantomJs\Client;

$client = Client::getInstance();

$request  = $client->getMessageFactory()->createRequest();
$request->setMethod('PATCH');

{% endhighlight %}

Response Data

A standard response gives you access to the following interface:

Accessor	Description	Return Type
getHeaders()	Returns an array of all response headers.	Array
getHeader(header)	Returns the value for a specific response header e.g. Content-Type.	Mixed
getStatus()	The response status code e.g. 200.	Int
getContent()	The raw page content of the requested page.	String
getContentType()	The content type of the requested page.	String
getUrl()	The URL of the requested page.	String
getRedirectUrl()	If the response was a redirect, this will return the redirect URL.	String
isRedirect()	Will return true if the response was a redirect or false otherwise.	Boolean
getConsole()	Returns an array of any javascript errors on the requested page along with a stack trace.	Array

If the response contains a status code of 0, chances are the request failed. Check the request debug log for more detailed information about what may have gone wrong.

Screen Captures

You can save screen captures of a page to your local disk by creating a screen capture request and setting the path you wish to save the file to:

{% highlight php %}

<?php

use JonnyW\PhantomJs\Client;

$client = Client::getInstance();

$request  = $client->getMessageFactory()->createCaptureRequest('http://google.com');
$response = $client->getMessageFactory()->createResponse();

$file = '/path/to/save/your/screen/capture/file.jpg';

$request->setCaptureFile($file);

$client->send($request, $response);

{% endhighlight %}

You will need to make sure the directory that you are saving the file to exists and is writable by your application.

You can also set the width, height, x and y axis for your screen capture:

{% highlight php %}

<?php

use JonnyW\PhantomJs\Client;

$client = Client::getInstance();

$request  = $client->getMessageFactory()->createCaptureRequest('http://google.com');
$response = $client->getMessageFactory()->createResponse();

$file = '/path/to/save/your/screen/capture/file.jpg';

$top    = 10;
$left   = 10;
$width  = 200;
$height = 400;

$request->setCaptureFile($file);
$request->setCaptureDimensions($width, $height, $top, $left);

$client->send($request, $response);

{% endhighlight %}

Custom Timeout

By default, each request will timeout after 5 seconds. You can set a custom timeout period (in milliseconds) for each request:

{% highlight php %}

<?php

use JonnyW\PhantomJs\Client;

$client = Client::getInstance();

$request  = $client->getMessageFactory()->createRequest('http://google.com');
$response = $client->getMessageFactory()->createResponse();

$timeout = 10000; // 10 seconds

$request->setTimeout($timeout);

$client->send($request, $response);

{% endhighlight %}

Delay Page Render

Sometimes when taking screen captures you may want to wait until the page is completely loaded before saving the capture. In this instance you can set a page render delay (in seconds) for the request:

{% highlight php %}

<?php

use JonnyW\PhantomJs\Client;

$client = Client::getInstance();

$request  = $client->getMessageFactory()->createCaptureRequest('http://google.com');
$response = $client->getMessageFactory()->createResponse();

$delay = 5; // 5 seconds

$request->setDelay($delay);

$client->send($request, $response);

{% endhighlight %}

You can set a page render delay for standard requests also.

Custom Run Options

The PhantomJS API contains a range of command line options that can be passed when executing the PhantomJS executable. These can also be passed in via the client before a request:

{% highlight php %}

<?php

use JonnyW\PhantomJs\Client;

$client = Client::getInstance();
$client->addOption('--load-images=true');
$client->addOption('--ignore-ssl-errors=true');

$request  = $client->getMessageFactory()->createRequest('http://google.com');
$response = $client->getMessageFactory()->createResponse();

$client->send($request, $response);

{% endhighlight %}

You can also set a path to a JSON configuration file that contains multiple PhantomJS options:

{% highlight php %}

<?php

use JonnyW\PhantomJs\Client;

$client = Client::getInstance();
$client->addOption('--config=/path/to/config.json');

$request  = $client->getMessageFactory()->createRequest('http://google.com');
$response = $client->getMessageFactory()->createResponse();

$client->send($request, $response);

{% endhighlight %}

See the PhantomJS Documentation for a full list of command line options.