PHP exec() vs system() vs passthru()

They have slightly different purposes. exec() is for calling a system command, and perhaps dealing with the output yourself. system() is for executing a system command and immediately displaying the output – presumably text. passthru() is for executing a system command which you wish the raw return from – presumably something binary. Regardless, I suggest … Read more

What is the difference between git clone and checkout?

The man page for checkout: http://git-scm.com/docs/git-checkout The man page for clone: http://git-scm.com/docs/git-clone To sum it up, clone is for fetching repositories you don’t have, checkout is for switching between branches in a repository you already have. Note: for those who have a SVN/CVS background and new to Git, the equivalent of git clone in SVN/CVS … Read more

PHP shell_exec() vs exec()

shell_exec returns all of the output stream as a string. exec returns the last line of the output by default, but can provide all output as an array specifed as the second parameter. See http://php.net/manual/en/function.shell-exec.php http://php.net/manual/en/function.exec.php