PHP: transfer a large array between two sites

Question

I'm trying to transfer a large array between two sites in PHP. I'm the admin in both. The array is created on one site, and after its creation I wish to automatically redirect the user to the other site, and pass the processed array along.

I cannot use the SESSION superglobal, as it is limited to a specific domain. GET is not suitable, as the array is too long. I'm not sure if POST is suitable, and if there is a way to automatically send the data without forcing to user to click a button and submit some form. I know javascript can be used for this, but prefer to have something more robust.

I'm relatively new to PHP, and would love to hear of any other ways of performing this. Thanks!

Answer 1

The easiest way would be to use a HTTP library like cURL and setup and send a POST request to the other site. Also including the users IP address would allow you to associate the posted data. Without JavaScript you cannot redirect a user with POST data.

One thing you may want to be aware of with the above method is that depending on how it is implemented the user may arrive before the data does.

There is no limit on POST as defined in the HTTP specs, but you may run into issues handling it on your other server (depending on what you mean by large) depending on php configuration. (POST limit is I believe set to 8MB by default)

Answer 2

Send an HTTP POST request via cURL functions and add the serialize()ed array to the request body.