Last updated: Fri, 10 Oct 2008

register_shutdown_function

(PHP 4, PHP 5)

register_shutdown_function — Register a function for execution on shutdown

Description

void register_shutdown_function ( callback $function [, mixed $parameter [, mixed $... ]] )

Registers the function named by function to be executed when script processing is complete.

Multiple calls to register_shutdown_function() can be made, and each will be called in the same order as they were registered. If you call exit() within one registered shutdown function, processing will stop completely and no other registered shutdown functions will be called.

In PHP 4.0.6 and earlier under Apache, the registered shutdown functions are called after the request has been completed (including sending any output buffers), so it is not possible to send output to the browser using echo() or print(), or retrieve the contents of any output buffers using ob_get_contents(). Since PHP 4.1, the shutdown functions are called as the part of the request so that it's possible to send the output from them. There is currently no way to process the data with output buffering functions in the shutdown function. Shutdown function is called after closing all opened output buffers thus, for example, its output will not be compressed if zlib.output_compression is enabled.

As of PHP 4, it is possible to pass parameters to the shutdown function by passing additional parameters to register_shutdown_function().

Parameters

function
parameter
...

Return Values

No value is returned.

Notes

Note: Typically undefined functions cause fatal errors in PHP, but when the function called with register_shutdown_function() is undefined, an error of level E_WARNING is generated instead. Also, for reasons internal to PHP, this error will refer to Unknown at line #0.

Note: Working directory of the script can change inside the shutdown function under some web servers, e.g. Apache.

Note: Shutdown function is called during the script shutdown so headers are always already sent.


Contrary to the the note that "headers are always sent" and some of the comments below - You CAN use header() inside of a shutdown function as you would anywhere else; when headers_sent() is false. You can do custom fatal handling this way:



<?php

ini_set('display_errors',0);

register_shutdown_function('shutdown');



$obj = new stdClass();

$obj->method();



function shutdown()

{

  if(!is_null($e = error_get_last()))

  {

    header('content-type: text/plain');

    print "this is not html:\n\n". print_r($e,true);

  }

}

?>

boutell round-about boutell dhot com
29-Nov-2007 08:37


According to tests shown in this comment on the PHP5 deconstructor page:



http://us3.php.net/manual/en/language.oop5.decon.php#76710



Functions registered with register_shutdown_function are called before deconstructors, at least as of PHP 5.2.1. This contradicts an earlier commenter who claims that objects cannot be utilized in functions called from register_shutdown_function. This is good news for those who want to use register_shutdown_function to work around the (fairly nasty) problems with using objects in a session write handler.

dcez at land dot ru
13-Sep-2007 12:57


This simple function (i gues)  is for measuring page generation time in microseconds, using earlier mentioned register_shutdown_function... 



Here is an example:



<?php

set_time_limit(0);



function check_time($time_str, $end = false){



    global $start; //Need some global variable where we will ceep our start time



    list($msec, $sec) = explode(' ', $time_str);

    $result = bcadd($msec, $sec, 10);



    if(!$end){



        $start = $result;

        register_shutdown_function('check_time', microtime(), 'true'); //Function registrates itself only with some parametrs now



    }elseif($end){



        $end = $result;

        echo '<br />Page was generated in '.bcsub($end, $start, 10).' seconds...<br />';



    }



}



check_time(microtime()); //Caling our function once!



//Doing some job which we will measure...



$fd = fopen('users.txt', 'r');

while(!feof($fd)){

    $buffer .= fread($fd, 1024);

}

fclose($fd);



?>



As you see may be its large, but you dont have to call "check_time" function twice, in the start and at the end of the script, as many users usually do...

Fuzika
13-Aug-2007 08:27


Sinured's example of how to use a static method did not work for me.


But this did:





<?php


register_shutdown_function(array('theClass','theStaticMethod'));


?>





Hope this helps someone.





[EDIT by danbrown AT php DOT net: This example did not work for the author of this note because it is written for PHP 5.  The author was using PHP 4.]

Sinured
10-Aug-2007 09:26


You can use a static method of a class as a shutdown function without passing an instance. I think that doesn't make too much sense, however it's possible.



<?php

register_shutdown_function('someClass::someMethod');

?>



If this method is *NOT* static, then PHP will complain about an invalid callback instead of just emitting an E_STRICT error.

buraks78 at gmail dot com
01-Jul-2007 08:51


Read the post regarding the change of working directory to ServerRoot carefully. This means that require_once "path/to/script" (or similar constructs) with relative paths will not work in shutdown functions.

Ldkronos
25-Jan-2007 12:55


It's already been discussed on the zlib page ( http://www.php.net/zlib ), but hasn't been mention here...



When zlib compression is enabled, register_shutdown_function doesn't work properly. Anything output from your shutdown function will not be readable by the browser. Firefox just ignores it. IE6 will show you a blank page.



The workaround that worked for me is to add the following to the top of the script.

ini_set('zlib.output_compression', 0);

docey
06-Nov-2006 03:17


if you want to make use of php5 __construct and _destruct functionality this functions is your rescue.



so say you have a class called 'fiveclass', you need some code like this:



<?php

class fiveclass

{



  function fiveclass()

  {

   return $this->__construct(); // forward php4 to __construct

  }



  function __construct()

  {

    // register __destruct method as shutdown function

    register_shutdown_function(array(&$this, "__destruct"));



   return true;

  }



  function __destruct()

  {

    // finish what where doing;

    close_db();

    flush_output();

    write_cache_away();



   return true;

  }



}



$obj = new fiveclass();

?>



now you have the same functionality. __destruct is automaticly called at the end of your script.

morphling at quick dot cz
30-Apr-2006 06:14


There is a note "Shutdown function is called during the script shutdown so headers are always already sent.", but my php 5.1 seems to act differently.

Example:

<?php

class Test {

    

    private $running;

    

    public function main() {

        $this->running = true;

        ob_start();

        error_reporting(E_ALL);

        register_shutdown_function(array($this, "clean_exit"));

        echo "Hello";

        // triggers E_ERROR

        $fatal->error();

        

        $this->running = false;    

    }



    public function clean_exit() {

        if ($this->running) {

            header("Location: error.php");    

        }    

    }

}

$t = new Test();

$t->main();

?>

This example redirects you on error.php, this could be a simple way to handle E_ERROR.

michael at onlinecity dot dk
20-Apr-2006 04:07


Note that under Windows 2003/IIS6 and PHP5 5.1.2 ISAPI the register_shutdown_function executes under IUSR_, regardless of what user the script executes under.

This means that even if you use Application Pools and NETWORK SERVICE as user, shutdown functions will run under the default IIS user.

dweingart at pobox dot com
13-Mar-2006 11:53


I have discovered a change in behavior from PHP 5.0.4 to PHP 5.1.2 when using a shutdown function in conjunction with an output buffering callback.



In PHP 5.0.4 (and earlier versions I believe) the shutdown function is called after the output buffering callback.



In PHP 5.1.2 (not sure when the change occurred) the shutdown function is called before the output buffering callback.



Test code:

<?php

function ob_callback($buf) {

    $buf .= '<li>' . __FUNCTION__ .'</li>';

    return $buf;

}



function shutdown_func() {

    echo '<li>' . __FUNCTION__ .'</li>';

}



ob_start('ob_callback');

register_shutdown_function('shutdown_func');

echo '<ol>';

?>



PHP 5.0.4:



1. ob_callback

2. shutdown_func



PHP 5.1.2:



1. shutdown_func

2. ob_callback

me at thomaskeller dot biz
11-Mar-2006 05:27


Well, it might be obvious, but one should remember that one cannot send any HTTP header in the shutdown callback.



Something like



<?php



function redirect()

{

     header("Location: myuri.php");

}



register_shutdown_function("redirect");



// do something useful here



?>



doesn't work and PHP sends out the popular "headers already sent" warning.



I tried to set a redirection target somewhere in the script, but wanted to make sure that it was only set/executed at the very end of the script, since my custom redirect function also cleaned any output buffers at that point. Well, no luck here =)

kenneth dot kalmer at gmail dot com
27-Jan-2006 12:26


I performed two tests on the register_shutdown_function() to see under what conditions it was called, and if a can call a static method from a class. Here are the results:



<?php

/**

 * Tests the shutdown function being able to call a static methods

 */

class Shutdown

{

    public static function Method ($mixed = 0)

    {

        // we need absolute

        $ap = dirname (__FILE__);

        $mixed = time () . " - $mixed\n";

        file_put_contents ("$ap/shutdown.log", $mixed, FILE_APPEND);

    }

}

// 3. Throw an exception

register_shutdown_function (array ('Shutdown', 'Method'), 'throw');

throw new Exception ('bla bla');



// 2. Use the exit command

//register_shutdown_function (array ('Shutdown', 'Method'), 'exit');

//exit ('exiting here...')



// 1. Exit normally

//register_shutdown_function (array ('Shutdown', 'Method'));

?>



To test simply leave one of the three test lines uncommented and execute. Executing bottom-up yielded:



1138382480 - 0

1138382503 - exit

1138382564 - throw



HTH

sezer yalcin
27-Dec-2005 12:11


re:codeslinger at compsalot dot com



fork() is actually creating 2 processes from one. So there is no surprise register_shutdown_function will be executed per each process.



I think you have reported this as a bug and now in php 5.1.0 when you exit from child process, it does not execute it. Well, what are you going to do if you have something to register for forked process?



I hope php will be more stable near soon!



codeslinger at compsalot dot com

03-Feb-2005 09:22 

Here is a nice little surprise to keep in mind...



If you register a shutdown function for your main program.  And then you fork() a child.



Guess What?

When the child exits it will run the code that was intended for the main program.  This can be a really bad thing  ;-)



Happily there is a simple work-around.  All you need to do is to create a global variable such as:



$IamaChild = [TRUE | FALSE];



and have your shutdown function check the value...

http://livejournal.com/~sinde1/
02-Dec-2005 07:49


If you want to do something with files in function, that registered in register_shutdown_function(), use ABSOLUTE paths to files instead of relative. Because when script processing is complete current working directory chages to ServerRoot (see httpd.conf)

Niels Ganser <php dot comment at depoll dot de>
22-Sep-2005 10:58


Just a quick note: from 5.0.5 on objects will be unloaded _before_ your shutdown function is called which means you can't use previously initiated objects (such as mysqli).



See bug 33772 for more information.

codeslinger at compsalot dot com
03-Feb-2005 12:22


Here is a nice little surprise to keep in mind...



If you register a shutdown function for your main program.  And then you fork() a child.



Guess What?

When the child exits it will run the code that was intended for the main program.  This can be a really bad thing  ;-)



Happily there is a simple work-around.  All you need to do is to create a global variable such as:



$IamaChild = [TRUE | FALSE];



and have your shutdown function check the value...

php at kevin dot offwhite dot net
28-May-2004 05:14


Various commenters have described how this function doesn't work for time-consuming background processing, because the webpage doesn't close the connection.  The workaround using output buffering and header('Connection: close'); seems to work, but the solution I prefer is to put the background processing in a separate script which gets included as a transparent gif.  



<?php



  //logger.php -- does the time-consuming log_it() function



  function log_it()

  {

    sleep(12); //simulate long processing

    error_log('log_it() completed');  

  }



  error_reporting(0);

  register_shutdown_function('log_it');

  header('Cache-Control: no-cache');

  header('Content-type: image/gif');



  //the size of the unencoded transparent gif

  header('Content-length: 85');



  //1x1 pixel transparent gif

  print base64_decode('R0lGODlhAQABALMAAAAAAIAAAACAA'.

                       'ICAAAAAgIAAgACAgMDAwICAgP8AAA'.

                       'D/AP//AAAA//8A/wD//wBiZCH5BAE'.

                       'AAA8ALAAAAAABAAEAAAQC8EUAOw==');



  flush();

  exit;

  



?>



@-----------Page you want to add background processing to ---------@

<html>

<body>

<h1>Hello World</h1>



<!-- Call logger.php to do background processing -->

<img src="logger.php" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" />



</body>

</html>

@------------------------------------------------------------------@



The only caveat is, of course, if the user has images turned off then the script won't be called.  Tested successfully with IE6, Firefox 0.8, and Opera 7.11

astrolox at lawyersonline dot co dot uk
18-Mar-2004 02:57


When using the register_shutdown_function command in php 4. The registered functions are called in the order that you register them.





This is important to note if you are doing database work using classes that register shutdown functions for themselves. 





You must register the shutdown_functions in the order that you want things to shutdown. ( ie the database needs to shutdown last )





Example of what will not work but what you might expect to work :





<?php


class database {





        function database() {


                echo "connect to sql server -- (database :: constructor)<br>\n";


                register_shutdown_function( array( &$this, "phpshutdown" ) );


                $this->connected = 1;


        }


        


        function do_sql( $sql ) {


                if ( $this->connected == 1 ) {


                        echo "performing sql -- (database :: do_sql)<br>\n";


                } else {


                        echo " ERROR -- CAN NOT PERFORM SQL -- NOT CONNECTED TO SERVER -- (database :: do_sql)<br>\n";


                }


        }


        


        function phpshutdown() {


                echo "close connection to sql server -- <b>(database :: shutdown)</b><br>\n";


                $this->connected = 0;


        }       


}





class table {


        


        function table( &$database, $name ) {


                $this->database =& $database;


                $this->name = $name;


                echo "read table data using database class -- name=$this->name -- (table :: constructor)<br>\n";


                register_shutdown_function( array( &$this, "phpshutdown" ) );


                $this->database->do_sql( "read table data" );


        }


        


        function phpshutdown() {


                echo "save changes to database -- name=$this->name -- <b>(table :: shutdown)</b><br>\n";


                $this->database->do_sql( "save table data" );


        }


}





$db =& new database();





$shoppingcard =& new table( &$db, "cart " );


?>





Output of the above example is :-





connect to sql server -- (database :: constructor)


read table data using database class -- name=cart -- (table :: constructor)


performing sql -- (database :: do_sql)


close connection to sql server -- (database :: shutdown)


save changes to database -- name=cart -- (table :: shutdown)


ERROR -- CAN NOT PERFORM SQL -- NOT CONNECTED TO SERVER -- (database :: do_sql)

Jim Smith
15-Mar-2004 07:17


I was trying to figure out how to pass parameters to the register_shutdown_function() since you cannot register a function with parameters and passing through globals is not appropriate. E.g. what I was trying to do was  <? register_shutdown_function("anotherfunction('parameter')") ?>


Turns out, the trick is to use create_function() to create a "function" that calls the desired function with static parameters.





<?php


$funtext="mail('u@ho.com','mail test','sent after shutdown');";


register_shutdown_function(create_function('',$funtext));


?>





Here's another example showing in-line logging and a post-execution version: 





Before: in-process logging





<?php


function logit($message) {


   $oF=fopen('TEST.log', 'a');


   fwrite($oF,"$message\n");


   fclose($oF);


   sleep(5);  // so you can see the delay


}


print "loging";


logit("traditional execution");


print "logged";


exit;


?>


After:





<?php


function logit($message) {


   $forlater=create_function('',"loglater('$message');");


   register_shutdown_function($forlater);


}


function loglater($message) {


   $oF=fopen('TEST.log', 'a');


   fwrite($oF,"$message\n");


   fclose($oF);


   sleep(5);  // so you can see the delay


}


print "loging";


logit("delayed execution");


print "logged";


exit;


?>





In the 'before' example, the file is written (and the delay occurs) before the "logged" appears. In the 'after' example, the file is written after execution terminates. 





Maybe it would be nice to add a parameter to the register_shutdown_function that does this automatically?

sts at mail dot xubion dot hu
15-Mar-2004 05:56


If you need the old (<4.1) behavior of register_shutdown_function you can achieve the same with "Connection: close" and "Content-Length: xxxx" headers if you know the exact size of the sent data (which can be easily caught with output buffering).

An example:

<?php

header("Connection: close");

ob_start();

phpinfo();

$size=ob_get_length(); 

header("Content-Length: $size");

ob_end_flush();

flush();

sleep(13);

error_log("do something in the background");

?>



The same will work with registered functions.

According to http spec, browsers should close the connection when they got the amount of data specified in Content-Length header. At least it works fine for me in IE6 and Opera7.

James Wyse (James [at] tastyspoon.com)
12-Feb-2004 11:49


Just a note to say that if your function uses paths relative to the script you are running (ie. for reading files, "../dir/" etc) then your function may not work correctly when registered as a shutdown function. I'm not sure where the 'working dir' IS when running a shutdown function but I find it best to use absolute paths ("/home/www/dir/").

www dot php dot net at spam dot monnard dot org
02-Dec-2003 01:26


Response to => vbwebprofi at gmx dot de 22-Nov-2003 03:12



You have to do a changement on the object to see the difference between = and =&



Here is your code modified to see the difference.

The modification of the code are essentially the var $Value_changed and the function change().

I have tested it under RedHat 9 with PHP 4.2.2



--8<--- cls_TEST.php --------------------------------------------->8--

<?php

class TEST {

    var $Value;

    var $Value_changed;



    // Constructor



    function TEST($in_Value = 0){

        // Register destructor

        register_shutdown_function(array(&$this, '_TEST'));

        

        $this->Value = $in_Value;

        $this->Value_changed = $in_Value;

        $this->_Log('TEST');

    }

    

    // Destructor

    function _TEST() {

        $this->_Log('_TEST');

    }

    

    // Private function

    function _Log($in_Msg) {

        $oF = fopen('/tmp/TEST.log', 'a');

        fwrite($oF, sprintf("%s : %-5s = %d ; %d\n",

                            date('Y-m-d H:i:s', time()),

                            $in_Msg,

                            $this->Value,

                            $this->Value_changed));

        fclose($oF);

    }

    

    // Function change()

    function change() {

        $this->Value_changed++;

        $this->_Log('change');

    }

}

?>

--8<--- test_TEST.php -------------------------------------------->8--

<?php

    // include class TEST

    include_once('cls_TEST.php');

    

    echo "New...<br>\n";

    $o1 =  new TEST(1);

    $o2 =& new TEST(2);

    # Strange declaration :

    $o3 &= new TEST(3);

    

    echo "Sleep...<br>\n";

    sleep(5);

    

    echo "Change...<br>\n";

    $o1->change();

    $o2->change();

    # The following line doesn't work !

    #$o3->change();

    

    echo "Sleep...<br>\n";

    sleep(5);

    

    echo "End.";

?>

--8<-------------------------------------------------------------->8--



It should produce a content like this in the file, specified in the _Log function :



2003-12-02 04:22:55 : TEST  = 1 ; 1

2003-12-02 04:22:55 : TEST  = 2 ; 2

2003-12-02 04:22:55 : TEST  = 3 ; 3

2003-12-02 04:23:01 : change = 1 ; 2

2003-12-02 04:23:01 : change = 2 ; 3

2003-12-02 04:23:06 : _TEST = 1 ; 1

2003-12-02 04:23:06 : _TEST = 2 ; 3

2003-12-02 04:23:06 : _TEST = 3 ; 3

gabe at websaviour dot com
21-Nov-2003 03:09


It should be noted that register_shutdown_function() does not guarantee that the connection will be closed before executing the function.  In particular on Apache 1.3.27 w/ PHP 4.3.0 on OS X as well as Apache 1.3.22 w/ PHP 4.1.2 on Red Hat I have discovered that Apache does not close the connection until after the registered shutdown function has completed execution.  I am not sure what the circumstances that cause this are, but there is a bug at http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=20447 



This is important, because as far as I can tell, the documented functionality of register_shutdown_function() is the *ONLY* way to achieve anything resembling asynchronous processing with PHP in a web server environment.  In my mind this is a severe limitation, because if you have some processing intensive task that needs to be done and you want to do it in PHP, there is no way to have it occur without an accompanying wait in a browser window.  Sure you can use ignore_user_abort() to ensure that processing doesn't get cancelled by an impatient user (or impatient browser for that matter), but usability is still compromised.

phpmanual at NO_SPHAMnetebb dot com
15-Nov-2003 11:31


Given this code:





<?php


class CallbackClass {


    function CallbackFunction() {


        // refers to $this


    }





    function StaticFunction() {


        // doesn't refer to $this


    }


}





function NonClassFunction() {


}


?>





there appear to be 3 ways to set a callback function in PHP (using register_shutdown_function() as an example):





1: register_shutdown_function('NonClassFunction');





2: register_shutdown_function(array('CallbackClass', 'StaticFunction'));





3: $o =& new CallbackClass();


   register_shutdown_function(array($o, 'CallbackFunction'));





The following may also prove useful:





<?php


class CallbackClass {


    function CallbackClass() {


        register_shutdown_function(array(&$this, 'CallbackFunction')); // the & is important


    }


    


    function CallbackFunction() {


        // refers to $this


    }


}


?>

jules at sitepointAASASZZ dot com
01-Jul-2003 03:41


If your script exceeds the maximum execution time, and terminates thusly:



Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 20 seconds exceeded in - on line 12



The registered shutdown functions will still be executed.



I figured it was important that this be made clear!

php at spandex dot deleteme dot nildram dot co dot uk
28-Apr-2003 04:43


I've had immense trouble getting any of the examples of emulated destructors to work.  They always seemed to have a copy of the object just after initialisation.  Many people mention that the register_shutdown_function will take a copy of the object rather than a reference... and this can be cured with an ampersand.  If you look in the PEAR docs for the way they emulate destructors you'll find that you also need one before the "new" statement when you create an instance of your object.  There's an editors note above that mentions this too... but I thought I'd collect it all here in one example that really works.  Honest... I'm using it (PHP 4.3.1):





<?php


class Object {


    var $somevar = "foo";





    function Object() {


        $somevar = "bar";


        register_shutdown_function(array(&$this, 'MyDestructor'));


    }





    function MyDestructor() {


        # Do useful destructor stuff here...


    }


}





# Now create the object as follows and then 'MyDestructor'


# will be called on shutdown and will be able to operate on


# the object as it ended up... not as it started!


$my_object =& new Object;


?>

kwazy at php dot net
29-Jan-2003 10:53


One more note to add about register_shutdown_function and objects.





It is possible to self-register the object from the constructor, but even using the syntax:


register_shutdown_function(array(&$this,'shutdown'))





will only result in the function being called with the object in the "just initialized" state, any changes made to the object after construction will not be there when the script actually exits.





But if you use:





<?php


$obj = new object();


register_shutdown_function(array(&$obj,'shutdown'));


?>





the object method 'shutdown' will be called with the current state of the object intact.





[Editor's note: The explanation for this behavior is really simple.


"$obj = new object()" creates a copy of the object which you can refer with $this in the object's constructor.


To solve this "problem" you should use "$obj = &new object()" which assign the reference to the current object.]

24-Oct-2002 12:35


When using CLI ( and perhaps command line without CLI - I didn't test it) the shutdown function doesn't get called if the process gets a SIGINT or SIGTERM. only the natural exit of PHP calls the shutdown function.


To overcome the problem compile the command line interpreter with --enable-pcntl and add this code:





<?php


function sigint()


{


    exit;


}


pcntl_signal(SIGINT, 'sigint');


pcntl_signal(SIGTERM, 'sigint');


?>





This way when the process recieves one of those signals, it quits normaly, and the shutdown function gets called.


Note: using the pcntl function in web server envoirment is considered problematic, so if you are writing a script that runs both from the command line and from the server, you should put some conditional code around that block that identifies wheater this is a command line envoirment or not.

adam at saki dot com dot au
20-Aug-2002 06:38


When using objects the syntax register_shutdown_function(array($object, 'function')) will take a copy of the object at the time of the call.  This means you cannot do this in the constructor and have it correctly destruct objects.  The alternative is to use register_shutdown_function(array(&$object, 'function')) where the ampersand passes the reference and not the copy.  This appears to work fine.

enygma at phpdeveloper dot org
16-Jul-2002 06:37


I figured I'd share this since I got it working on my box.... this lets you run the "bye" function if the page ends normally or they stop it.



<?php

set_time_limit("0");

function bye(){

    //this is run when the page ends

    if(connection_aborted()){

        //this just means that the user hit the stop button or something

    }

}

register_shutdown_function('bye');

$count=100000000000000;

for($i=0; $i<$count; $i++){

    #sit here and loop for a bit so we can have time to hit Stop...

    echo " \n";

}

echo "end";

?>



I figured it might be useful to someone out there trying to run a function when the page ends (or is stopped).

priebe at mi-corporation dot com
14-Mar-2002 11:25


Note that register_shutdown_function() does not work under Apache on Windows platforms.  Your shutdown function will be called, but the connection will not close until the processing is complete.  Zend tells me that this is due to a difference between Apache for *nix and Apache for Windows.



I'm seeing similar behavior under IIS (using php4isapi).

add a note

register_tick_function

get_defined_functions