error logs

[articlefriendly]

I've been trying to get an error log of php &mysql errors to be written in each indiviual hosting accounts www root (or where ever the errror occured), but seem to have run up against a big, white page wall. All I get is the infamous blank white page, and no debug info anywhere that I can find.

Anybody happen to know what needs to be set to have an error log created automatically in individual accounts?

Thanks in advance,

Jan

[Vin DSL]

Just turn the error display on in your .ini file, and debug it...

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; Error handling and logging ;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

; error_reporting is a bit-field.  Or each number up to get desired error
; reporting level
; E_ALL             - All errors and warnings
; E_ERROR           - fatal run-time errors
; E_WARNING         - run-time warnings (non-fatal errors)
; E_PARSE           - compile-time parse errors
; E_NOTICE          - run-time notices (these are warnings which often result
;                     from a bug in your code, but it's possible that it was
;                     intentional (e.g., using an uninitialized variable and
;                     relying on the fact it's automatically initialized to an
;                     empty string)
; E_CORE_ERROR      - fatal errors that occur during PHP's initial startup
; E_CORE_WARNING    - warnings (non-fatal errors) that occur during PHP's
;                     initial startup
; E_COMPILE_ERROR   - fatal compile-time errors
; E_COMPILE_WARNING - compile-time warnings (non-fatal errors)
; E_USER_ERROR      - user-generated error message
; E_USER_WARNING    - user-generated warning message
; E_USER_NOTICE     - user-generated notice message
;
; Examples:
;
;   - Show all errors, except for notices
;
;error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE
;
;   - Show only errors
;
;error_reporting = E_COMPILE_ERROR|E_ERROR|E_CORE_ERROR
;
;   - Show all errors except for notices
;
error_reporting  =  E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE

; Print out errors (as a part of the output).  For production web sites,
; you're strongly encouraged to turn this feature off, and use error logging
; instead (see below).  Keeping display_errors enabled on a production web site
; may reveal security information to end users, such as file paths on your Web
; server, your database schema or other information.
display_errors = On

Um...

Then turn it off when you're done...

[articlefriendly]

My bad .. should have mentioned I already did that. Had the display errors setting set to off in php.ini, but I started back to work on writing more code, so I set it back to "on" ... restated the ded server, but no errors are being displayed on the page or in the cpanel error log. Also, no error_log is created in the user's directory (which is what I really want to happen!)

I also tried, error_reporting(E_ALL) and set the error logging on with a php_flag .. still nothing. would be no big deal normally as I'd just go over every line of code until I found what I forgot (usually a ; or a bracket), but I'm working on a big block of code, so having an error log show up in the home directory would be reallllllly helpful

Thanks for your help Vin,

Jan

[Vin DSL]

Hrm...

If you're running cPanel, you can always check the error log there.

That's usually what I do...

Double Hrm...

This is an odd one!

[Vin DSL]

Wait a minute...

You're *probably* running PHP as an Apache mod.

Have you tried...

php_flag display_errors on

in your .htaccess file?

[articlefriendly]

Yes, as mentioned above I tried that. Due to being old and nearly senile, I also rechecked to make sure I had actually set the display errors back to "on" in my php.ini, but I actually did, so it's not that either...
I though about using the cpanel error log but it's not showing any php or mysql errors. When I run the page with an error on it, all that shows in the cpanel log is that I tried to access it and got a 200 code...
Whm raw logs show the same thing basically ... I'm pretty sure if I hadn't had so much fun back in the 60's - 70's I'd probably have a clue, but right now I've run out of ideas.

I certainly appreciate your thoughts on the problem Vin I think I'll dig up a quick custom error handler and see if I can at least get the server to email me the errors ..

best,

Jan

[Ron]

Did you create and point a browser at a file with just

<?php
 phpinfo();
?>

in the same directory as the script to ensure you're picking up the .ini file you think you are?

[articlefriendly]

good question .. knowing me, that could happen

I'll check that now ...

best,

Jan

[jason]

Also make sure that your error_reporting setting is sent to *something*, if a failure occurs that stops execution, but you don't have error reporting turned on for that level of error then you'll see the white page regardless of your display_errors setting.

php_value error_reporting E_ALL
php_value error_reporting E_ALL ^E_NOTICE
etc.

--Jason

[articlefriendly]

Thank you jason, I appreciate your post, but I have set the error_reporting(E_ALL) directly in the pages I'm working on and it's turned on in php.ini ... I've been programming/debugging in php/mysql for a few years now, but this the first time I've run into error reporting not working even tho set in the server or directly thru the script.
Weird, but even my custom error handler isn't giving me anything. Got to be a setting somewhere I've missed, so back to the search!

Thanks again,

Jan

[Ron]

Just a couple more thoughts...

Maybe check to see that you're not getting a 500 error and the script just isn't running at all?

Did you have any luck with the phpinfo()-only file? (I neglected to mention to make it a .php extension file, but I figured you'd figure that out. )

Maybe you're hitting an "exit;" line somewhere?

[articlefriendly]

Good thinking on the exit; .... I use several die; statements so that could be the issue on the ded server, but I moved development of the script to one of my vps's and it's working fine, so I think I'll just work on it there

The ded server has been a pain since I got it, so I just canceled it, and I'll just work from vps's from now on ...

Thanks for you thoughts,

Jan