Mbstring.func_overload 7 makes big problems with other PHP apps

[Ralf_K]

I have installed eGroupWare using the openSUSE RPMs and almost everything seems to be fine (Apache 2.2.4, PHP 5.2.5, UTF-8).

But there is one serious issue with mbstring setting “php_value mbstring.func_overload 7”, which I have setup in my apache configuration for the /usr/share/egroupware/ directory (it was the default config coming within the RPM package).

With “php_value mbstring.func_overload 7” my Wordpress and Mediawiki instances - running in the same virtual host - do not work anymore. I get really strange errors and the pages can’t be loaded any more or are even corrupt. From the PHP Manual you can learn, that the parameter mbstring.func_overload is not recommended in the directory context due to uncertain behaviour:
Note: It is not recommended to use the function overloading option in the per-directory context, because it’s not confirmed yet to be stable enough in a production environment and may lead to undefined behaviour.

After setting “php_value mbstring.func_overload 0” (or by removing the line from the apache config) Wordpress and Mediawiki work fine again. And I could not see a problem with eGroupWare, e.g. sending Emails with UTF-8 chars is still working.

My questions / comments:

• “php_value mbstring.func_overload 7” should not be set in the context. I only see the option to setup a new virtual host for eGroupWare, but that means to configure a new name in DNS or to use another TCP port. Any other ideas ?
• What exactly does “php_value mbstring.func_overload 7” in eGroupWare ? Is it really needed ? For what modules exactly ?

[Ralf_Becker_6]

Hi Ralf,

if we create for example the short 3-char abbreviation for the German
month März, with substr(“März”,0,3) you will get “Mä” instead of “Mär”,
if func_overload == 0.

Ralf

Ralf K. schrieb:

I have installed eGroupWare using the openSUSE RPMs and almost everything
seems to be fine (Apache 2.2.4, PHP 5.2.5, UTF-8).

But there is one serious issue with mbstring setting “php_value
mbstring.func_overload 7”, which I have setup in my apache configuration for
the /usr/share/egroupware/ directory (it was the default config coming
within the RPM package).

With “php_value mbstring.func_overload 7” my Wordpress and Mediawiki
instances - running in the same virtual host - do not work anymore. I get
really strange errors and the pages can’t be loaded any more or are even
corrupt. From the http://us3.php.net/mbstring PHP Manual you can learn,
that the parameter mbstring.func_overload is not recommended in the
directory context due to uncertain behaviour:
Note: It is not recommended to use the function overloading option in the
per-directory context, because it’s not confirmed yet to be stable enough in
a production environment and may lead to undefined behaviour.

After setting “php_value mbstring.func_overload 0” (or by removing the line
from the apache config) Wordpress and Mediawiki work fine again. And I could
not see a problem with eGroupWare, e.g. sending Emails with UTF-8 chars is
still working.

My questions / comments:

• “php_value mbstring.func_overload 7” should not be set in the
  context. I only see the option to setup a new virtual host for eGroupWare,
  but that means to configure a new name in DNS or to use another TCP port.
  Any other ideas ?
• What exactly does “php_value mbstring.func_overload 7” in eGroupWare ? Is
  it really needed ? For what modules exactly ?

–
Ralf Becker
eGroupWare Training & Support ==> http://www.egroupware-support.de
Outdoor Unlimited Training GmbH [www.outdoor-training.de]
Handelsregister HRB Kaiserslautern 3587
Geschäftsführer Birgit und Ralf Becker
Leibnizstr. 17, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
Telefon +49 (0)631 31657-0

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[Ralf_K]

Hi Ralf,

thanks for your quick answer.

However, I haven’t seen any problem with “Umlauts” in the egw GUI yet. Maybe those issues are so rare that I need to play more with egw in order to see where func_overload = 7 is necessary.

Is func_overload = 7 also needed if I would set the character set to one of the ISO sets ?

Ralf

Hi Ralf,

if we create for example the short 3-char abbreviation for the German
month März, with substr(“März”,0,3) you will get “Mä” instead of “Mär”,
if func_overload == 0.

Ralf

Ralf K. schrieb:

I have installed eGroupWare using the openSUSE RPMs and almost everything
seems to be fine (Apache 2.2.4, PHP 5.2.5, UTF-8).

But there is one serious issue with mbstring setting “php_value
mbstring.func_overload 7”, which I have setup in my apache configuration for
the /usr/share/egroupware/ directory (it was the default config coming
within the RPM package).

[Konstantin_R_Beliaev]

I have the same problem with mbstring.func_overload=7 and mediawiki.

That is fun: some modules of EGW also reject mbstring.func_overload=7 :
rpc.php 37: ‘You need to set mbstring.func_overload to 0 for rpc.php.’;
CharsetTest.class 43: ‘Please disable mbstring.func_overload to test PHP fallback.’

If the problem is only in substr and strlen, may be easier to find workaround, instead of overloading functions?

[Ralf_K]

The RPM release of egw comes with an additional config for rpc.php:
<Location /egroupware/rpc.php>
php_value mbstring.func_overload 0
Order allow,deny
Allow from all

I have the same problem with mbstring.func_overload=7 and mediawiki.

That is fun: some modules of EGW also reject mbstring.func_overload=7 :
rpc.php 37: ‘You need to set mbstring.func_overload to 0 for rpc.php.’;
CharsetTest.class 43: ‘Please disable mbstring.func_overload to test PHP fallback.’

If the problem is only in substr and strlen, may be easier to find workaround, instead of overloading functions?

[Konstantin_R_Beliaev]

I use Windows + Apache, not Linux. In some other post I have read that per-directory settings of func_overload is not tested well in Apache

[quote=“Ralf K.”]
The RPM release of egw comes with an additional config for rpc.php:
<Location /egroupware/rpc.php>
php_value mbstring.func_overload 0
Order allow,deny
Allow from all

[Ralf_Becker_6]

No, if you use a single byte charset, there no reason to set
func_overload. Using a single byte charset has the disadvantage, the
fmail for example can not show you any mail, using a different charset,
with utf-8 we can simply convert the content to utf-8 and show it.

Ralf

Ralf K. schrieb:

Hi Ralf,

thanks for your quick answer.

However, I haven’t seen any problem with “Umlauts” in the egw GUI yet. Maybe
those issues are so rare that I need to play more with egw in order to see
where func_overload = 7 is necessary.

Is func_overload = 7 also needed if I would set the character set to one of
the ISO sets ?

Ralf

Ralf Becker-3 wrote:

Hi Ralf,

if we create for example the short 3-char abbreviation for the German
month März, with substr(“März”,0,3) you will get “Mä” instead of “Mär”,
if func_overload == 0.

Ralf

Ralf K. schrieb:

I have installed eGroupWare using the openSUSE RPMs and almost everything
seems to be fine (Apache 2.2.4, PHP 5.2.5, UTF-8).

But there is one serious issue with mbstring setting “php_value
mbstring.func_overload 7”, which I have setup in my apache configuration
for
the /usr/share/egroupware/ directory (it was the default config coming
within the RPM package).

–
Ralf Becker
eGroupWare Training & Support ==> http://www.egroupware-support.de
Outdoor Unlimited Training GmbH [www.outdoor-training.de]
Handelsregister HRB Kaiserslautern 3587
Geschäftsführer Birgit und Ralf Becker
Leibnizstr. 17, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
Telefon +49 (0)631 31657-0

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Check out the new SourceForge.net Marketplace.
It’s the best place to buy or sell services for
just about anything Open Source.
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