Image Databasing

Creating the Image Database
First, create a mysql database called base64imgdb (this is the name that will be used throughout the tutorial)
Second, create a table called images with two rows. Name the first one imgid, and give it the parameters TYPE: INT EXTRA: auto_increment, and check the circle under Primary. Name the second sixfourdata, and make it TYPE: LONGTEXT. Here is the sql code:

CREATE TABLE `images` (
`imgid` INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT ,
`sixfourdata` LONGTEXT NOT NULL ,
PRIMARY KEY ( `imgid` ) 
);

The READDIR.PHP script
This script reads a directory within the server, selects all the jpg and gif images, encodes them into base64, and uploads them to the database, except in a different order. This is because the script reads each image in a loop, and we would like to keep a constant connection to the mysql database instead of creating multiple ones. Here is the database connection where and need to be changed:

<?
$dbcnx = mysql_connect("localhost", "username", "password"); 
mysql_select_db("base64imgdb");
?>

Next we need to open the directory, where is the directory the readdir.php file is located:

$path = "./";
$dir_handle = opendir($path) or die("Unable to open directory $path");

This is the hardest part of the script: sorting the image types, reading the data using , converting it using , and then inserting it into the table.

<?
while ($file = readdir($dir_handle)) {
$filetyp = substr($file, -3);
if ($filetyp == 'gif' OR $filetyp == 'jpg') {
$handle = fopen($path . "/" . $file,'r');
$file_content = fread($handle,filesize($path . "/" . $file));
fclose($handle);
$encoded = chunk_split(base64_encode($file_content)); 
$sql = "INSERT INTO images SET sixfourdata='$encoded'"; 
mysql_query($sql);
}
}
?>

This is the last and final part of the readdir.php: closing the directory and stating the proccess is complete:

<?
closedir($dir_handle);
echo("complete");
mysql_close($dbcnx);
?>

The Image Reader IMAGE.PHP
This file may be the hardest file to understand whenever you see how simple view.php is, but bear with me, your patience will pay off. This file takes a request, requests the row in the table, decodes the data, and presents itself as an image. First, we have to connect to the database again:

<?
$dbcnx = mysql_connect("localhost", "username", "password"); 
mysql_select_db("base64imgdb");
?>

Now we need to find out which row its requesting, which is done using :

<?
$img = $_REQUEST["img"];
?>

After this, we need to connect to the table, get the data, and set it into variables:

<?
    $result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM images WHERE imgid=" . $img . 
""); 
    if (!$result) { 
      echo("<b>Error performing query: " . mysql_error() . "</b>"); 
      exit(); 
    } 
    while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) { 
	$imgid = $row["imgid"];
	$encodeddata = $row["sixfourdata"]; 
	}
?>

Now here is the last and most confusing part of the file:

<?
mysql_close($dbcnx);
echo base64_decode($encodeddata);
?>

Now let me explain this. All this does is decodes the base64-encoded image data, end echos it. Thats it, nothing else.
"Let me see the picture already!" VIEW.PHP (example viewer)
Okay, so you made it this far already. This is now the easiest to copy and paste but hardest part to understand, where matches with whatever row the image is on, for example if its row 357 then you would need to put

<img src="image.php?img=1"  border="0" alt="" />

Now that wasnt so hard was it? But most of you are probably wondering why when you link to a page, you get an image. This is the reason: images arent defined by their 3 letter suffixes (such as jpg or gif), but by how their headers are written. IMAGE.PHP simply echos the image data, and acts like an image even though it just proccesses the request. This is why you get an image.

The files please!
readdir.php:

<?
###############################
# DB CONNECTION
# CHANGE THESE VALUES 
###############################
$dbcnx = mysql_connect("localhost", "username", "password"); 
mysql_select_db("base64imgdb");

$path = "./";
$dir_handle = opendir($path) or die("Unable to open directory $path");

while ($file = readdir($dir_handle)) {
$filetyp = substr($file, -3);
if ($filetyp == 'gif' OR $filetyp == 'jpg') {
$handle = fopen($file,'r');
$file_content = fread($handle,filesize($file));
fclose($handle);
$encoded = chunk_split(base64_encode($file_content)); 
$sql = "INSERT INTO images SET sixfourdata='$encoded'"; 
mysql_query($sql);
}
}

closedir($dir_handle);
echo("complete");
mysql_close($dbcnx);
?>

image.php:

<?
$dbcnx = mysql_connect("localhost", "username", "password"); 
     
mysql_select_db("base64imgdb");
      
$img = $_REQUEST["img"];

    $result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM images WHERE imgid=" . $img . ""); 
    if (!$result) { 
      echo("<b>Error performing query: " . mysql_error() . "</b>"); 
      exit(); 
    } 
    while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result) ) { 
	$imgid = $row["imgid"];
	$encodeddata = $row["sixfourdata"]; 
	}
mysql_close($dbcnx);
echo base64_decode($encodeddata);
?>

And view.php (i shouldnt need to post this..)

<html>
<body>
..
<img src="image.php?img=1"  border="0" alt="" />
..
</body>
</html>