I have a simple script to read and echo a text file and close the file. The file is constantly being edited, so I want to re-run the script once a minute. I know I did this some time ago but I’m 84 and don’t remember how I did it. LOL
Found the answer
header(“refresh: 30”);
Here’s a simple example:
<?php
// Set the page to refresh every 60 seconds
header("refresh: 60");
// lets say your file is named "data.txt"
$filename = "data.txt";
// Check if the file exists
if (file_exists($filename)) {
// Read and display the file content
$content = file_get_contents($filename);
echo nl2br($content); // nl2br() will convert new lines in the text file to <br> in HTML
} else {
echo "File not found!";
}
?>
or you can use HTML
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="60">
Refreshing the page once a minute is not a good idea. Use Firebase real-time database instead. It automatically changes on the page when the data changes.
Sorry, but in this case that would be using a sledge hammer to drive a nail. I’m not talking about a data base but just a text file of less than thirty lines.
Some people love their Power tools, when a simple tool is all that is needed…
Use whatever you deem best for your project…
With a bit of javascript you can make a timed file-loader:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>File (re)Loader</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>File (re)Loader</h1>
<h3>Content of [data.txt]</h3>
<p>Reloading in <span id="load-counter">60</span> seconds</p>
<pre id="file-content"></pre>
<script>
var counter = 59;
const loadFile = () =>
{
counter++;
if (counter===60)
{
counter=0;
// Note:
// Quick And Dirty direct call to data.txt.
// Use a server side (php) script call so serve your data.txt content
fetch('data.txt', {cache:"no-store"})
.then(response => response.text())
.then((data) =>
{
document.getElementById('file-content').innerText = data;
});
}
document.getElementById('load-counter').innerText = (60-counter);
}
const startLoader = () =>
{
loadFile();
setInterval(loadFile, 1000);
}
(function (fn)
{
if (document.readyState === "complete" || document.readyState === "interactive")
{
setTimeout(fn, 1);
}
else
{
document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", fn);
}
}(startLoader));
</script>
</body>
</html>