Getting exec() PHP to work like it does on the command line

Question

The following command, which generates a .pdf file from a .tex file, works from the command line but not when I run it with PHP. The file has the appropriate permissions and I'm able to run other commands with exec() so not sure what is going on.

$file_path='uploads/some-path';

$full_path='uploads/some-path/file.pdf';

$cmd ="pdflatex -output-directory ".$file_path.' '.$full_path;

exec($cmd);

The flag -output-directory place the file in the file_path rather than the root directory.

`exec()` has three arguments and a return value. You're discarding everything that's not mandatory. — Álvaro González, Apr 28 '14 at 11:39
To find out what's wrong. You're probably assuming that `exec()` stops working randomly but it's never the case; you're feeding it with a specific command that does not complete successfully. — Álvaro González, Apr 28 '14 at 11:43
run `exec($cmd,$output,$status)` then `var_dump($output,$status)` to check your command's output and exit status. — lafor, Apr 28 '14 at 11:47

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 28 '14 at 11:43

2

Is pdflatex in the search path? Perhaps try specifying the full path to the executable and see if that makes a difference.

answered Apr 28 '14 at 11:43

Zebra North

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`whereis pdflatex` said `/usr/bin/pdflatex`. Adding this to the command worked!!!! thanks!!! – tim peterson Apr 28 '14 at 11:52

Getting exec() PHP to work like it does on the command line

1 Answers1