PHP based batch files

I sometimes reach the limit of the batch language's capabilities.
I know, it is possible to calculate a cosine with SET /A, but practical...?

Or how about an MD5 checksum of a string?

PHP, on the other hand, does have these functions available.
So why not use PHP in batch files?

Start by downloading and installing PHP.

Next copy the following code and save it as MD5.BAT:

@IF NOT "%~1"=="" PHP.EXE -r "print(md5('%~1'));"

Or if you did not add your PHP directory to the PATH:

@IF NOT "%~1"=="" FOR /F "tokens=2*" %%A IN ('REG Query HKLM\SOFTWARE\PHP /v InstallDir') DO @%%~sB.\PHP.EXE -r "print(md5('%~1'));"

I love these one-liners! 😉

@IF NOT "%~1"=="" FOR /F %%A IN ('PHP.EXE -r "print^(md5^(\"%~1\"^)^)^;"') DO @SET MD5=%%A

@IF NOT "%~1"=="" FOR /F %%C IN ('FOR /F "tokens=2*" %%A IN ^(^'REG Query HKLM\SOFTWARE\PHP /v InstallDir^'^) DO @%%~sB.\PHP.EXE -r "print^(md5^(\"%~1\"^)^)^;"') DO @SET MD5=%%C

@IF NOT "%~1"=="" FOR /F "tokens=2*" %%A IN ('REG Query HKLM\SOFTWARE\PHP /v InstallDir') DO @FOR /F %%C IN ('%%~sB.\PHP.EXE -r "print^(md5^(\"%~1\"^)^)^;"') DO @SET MD5=%%C

Now test it, run:

MD5.BAT password

If all went well, the batch file should return 5f4dcc3b5aa765d61d8327deb882cf99, the MD5 checksum value for the string password.

Running:

MD5.BAT PASSWORD

should return 319f4d26e3c536b5dd871bb2c52e3178.

Likewise we can write a batch file to calculate the SHA1 checksum of a string:

@IF NOT "%~1"=="" PHP.EXE -r "print(sha1('%~1'));"

Note that I avoid spaces in the actual PHP command following the -r switch.
I found out the hard way that with spaces the batch file becomes very unreliable. Enclosing the PHP command in doublequotes is supposed to fix that, but I did not get reliable results.

The options for "new technology" batch files are unlimited!

Binary to decimal conversion:

:: https://www.robvanderwoude.com/batchphp.php
:: Usage:  "bin2dec 1101" returns "13"
@PHP -r print(bindec(%~1));

OK, bad example, this can also be done using SET /A for numbers below 32768.
But how about binary to hexadecimal conversion?

:: https://www.robvanderwoude.com/batchphp.php
:: Usage:  "bin2hex 11001101" returns "0xCD"
@PHP -r print('0x'.strtoupper(dechex(bindec(%~1))));

Or decimal to binary?

:: https://www.robvanderwoude.com/batchphp.php
:: Usage:  "dec2bin 13" returns "1101"
@PHP -r print(decbin(%~1));

Examples

💾 Click the floppy disk or package (for third party scripts) 📦 icons to download the ZIPped sources

❔ Click the question mark icons to view the MD5 and SHA1 checksums for the ZIPped sources

Using PHP only

You don't really need to embed PHP code in batch files, PHP can handle command lines quite well.

Let's take the MD5 function. An MD5.PHP for command line use would look like this:

#! php.exe -q
<?php
if ( $argv[1] ) {
	print( md5( $argv[1] ) );
}
?>

You can run it using the command PHP MD5.PHP "string" to get the MD5 checksum for "string".

Or you can define a file type association for PHP and just run the command MD5.PHP "string" to get the checksum.

Even the definition of the file type association can be automated. Just run the following batch code once:

FOR /F "tokens=1* delims==" %%A IN ('ASSOC .php') DO SET PHPFileType=%%B
FOR /F "tokens=2*" %%A IN ('REG Query HKLM\SOFTWARE\PHP /v InstallDir') DO (
	FTYPE "%PHPFileType%"=%%~sB.\PHP.EXE "%1"
)

Combine the power of PHP with WMI

Definitely unsuited for one-liners, but you can use PHP based WMI scripts.

Create the following script to list some monitor properties:

Save the file as wmimonitorid.php.

For PHP version 5.4.5 or later, the following modification in php.ini is required:

[COM_DOT_NET]
extension=php_com_dotnet.dll

Now run the following command:

php.exe -f wmimonitorid.php

(assuming php.exe is in the PATH)

The command's output may look like this:

Active                    : 1
InstanceName              : DISPLAY\SAM083A\7&cf6ea47&1&UID4194576_0
ManufacturerName          : 83;65;77;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;
ProductCodeID             : 48;56;51;65;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;
SerialNumberID            : 88;88;88;48;48;48;48;48;48;48;0;0;0;0;0;0;
UserFriendlyName          : 83;77;83;50;52;65;52;53;48;0;0;0;0;
UserFriendlyNameLength    : 13
WeekOfManufacture         : 41
YearOfManufacture         : 2011

Active                    : 1
InstanceName              : DISPLAY\SAM0467\7&cf6ea47&1&UID4194578_0
ManufacturerName          : 83;65;77;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;
ProductCodeID             : 48;52;54;55;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;
SerialNumberID            : 88;89;90;48;48;48;48;48;48;49;0;0;0;0;0;0;
UserFriendlyName          : 83;121;110;99;77;97;115;116;101;114;0;0;0;
UserFriendlyNameLength    : 13
WeekOfManufacture         : 12
YearOfManufacture         : 2009

Using Perl

Instead of PHP code embedded in batch files, you can also use Perl.

Let's take the MD5 function. A Perl based MD5Perl.bat would look like this:

@IF NOT "%~1"=="" perl.exe -MDigest::MD5=md5_hex -le "print md5_hex '%~1'"

Or for SHA-1:

@IF NOT "%~1"=="" perl.exe -MDigest::SHA1=sha1_hex -le "print sha1_hex '%~1'"

Caution

Dealing with command lines means not all characters are allowed.
Ampersands, single and double quotes, even spaces in arguments can break scripts.
Make sure to thoroughly test the scripts presented here, and your own, or in fact any script, before using them for "production".

PHP command line links

• PHP CLI
• Command-line PHP? Yes, you can!

PHP COM automation:

• PHP's COM class
• Class 'COM' not found error in PHP 5.4.5 or later
• Sample PHP code for WMI queries

Command line hash calculators for files:

• CommandLine Hash Generator
• ExactFile
• FCIV (Microsoft's File Checksum Integrity Verifier)
• HashMyFiles
• MD5Sums
• WinHasher (both GUI and command line)

Command line hash calculators for strings:

• StringHash.exe (with C# source code)
• StringHash.vbs (MD5 and SHA-256 only)