HTTP Requests in PHP without cURL

Three ways to call HTTP in PHP — with Harbour/FiveWin analogies

Pick the level of abstraction that matches your needs. The closer you go to the wire, the more you must implement yourself.

Drop‑in replacement: from cURL to stream_context

Swap the cURL block for this minimal version when you post JSON to a local microservice. It keeps your code tiny and readable.

$ctx = stream_context_create([
  'http' => [
    'method'        => 'POST',
    'header'        => ['Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8', 'Connection: close'],
    'content'       => json_encode($payload, JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE),
    'timeout'       => 5,
    'ignore_errors' => true
  ]
]);
$resp = @file_get_contents('http://127.0.0.1:9090/booklock_status', false, $ctx);

if ($resp === false) {
  http_response_code(502);
  echo json_encode(['success'=>false,'message'=>'proxy_error','error'=>'MS unreachable']);
  exit;
}

$statusLine = $http_response_header[0] ?? 'HTTP/1.1 200';
$parts = explode(' ', $statusLine);
$status = (int)($parts[1] ?? 200);
http_response_code($status);
echo $resp;

Tip: ignore_errors => true lets you read 4xx/5xx bodies for richer error JSON.

What stream_context_create() actually does

The real work happens in file_get_contents('http://…', false, $ctx): PHP’s built‑in HTTP wrapper opens the socket, builds the request, reads the response, and returns the body. The received headers go into $http_response_header.

Low‑level socket (HTTP/1.1) — why it’s not for production

Great to understand what happens on the wire; painful to maintain in real projects.

$socket = @fsockopen('127.0.0.1', 9090, $errno, $errstr, 5);
$body   = json_encode($payload, JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);

$req  = "POST /booklock_status HTTP/1.1\r\n";
$req .= "Host: 127.0.0.1:9090\r\n";
$req .= "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8\r\n";
$req .= "Content-Length: ".strlen($body)."\r\n";
$req .= "Connection: close\r\n\r\n";
$req .= $body;

fwrite($socket, $req);
$response = stream_get_contents($socket);
fclose($socket);
// Then split headers/body, parse status line, handle chunking…

Harbour/FiveWin parallels

• PHP cURL ≈ Harbour high‑level HTTP client (WinInet/WinHTTP wrapper). Minimal code, maximum robustness.
• PHP stream_context ≈ Harbour “system HTTP wrapper” — covers the common 80% with tiny code.
• PHP fsockopen ≈ Harbour hb_socket* + HBSSL — total control, total responsibility.

Where does the HTTP status code come from?

• cURL: libcurl reads the first line (HTTP/1.1 200 OK) and stores the number; you read it via curl_getinfo(..., CURLINFO_RESPONSE_CODE).
• stream wrapper: headers are exposed via $http_response_header. The first line contains the status; parse it and mirror it with http_response_code($status).

Debug & CLI testing with curl

Even if your PHP uses file_get_contents, keep the curl CLI for smoke tests, CI checks, and documentation.

curl -v -X POST http://127.0.0.1:9090/booklock_status \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"dbname":"BELEGUNG","buchung_id":"12345","user":"TEST","intent":"edit"}'

Practical recommendations

Migration checklist: cURL → stream_context

• Set Content‑Type to application/json; charset=utf‑8
• Enable ignore_errors to read 4xx/5xx bodies
• Apply a sensible timeout (e.g. 5s)
• Adopt the microservice status code from $http_response_header
• Return the raw MS JSON body unchanged

Abbreviations legend

HTTP

Protocol for web requests and responses between clients and servers.

TCP

Connection‑oriented transport protocol used under HTTP.

TLS

Encryption layer that makes HTTP secure (HTTPS).

cURL

Library and CLI tool for HTTP(S) requests; PHP exposes it via curl_*.

DLL

Dynamic‑link library on Windows, loaded by processes at runtime.

CLI

Command‑line interface; here, the curl terminal tool.

JSON

Text format for structured data (key‑value pairs).

PoC

Proof of Concept; minimal demo to show feasibility.

CI/CD

Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment automation pipelines.

Proxy

A mediator that forwards requests to an upstream service.

Max. 10 entries • Collected on first occurrence • Plain‑language explanations