Apache or PHP generating prepending line feed character
apache2, character, php, prepend
Solution
It seems like the `0a` problem was caused by a trailing Enter character in a PHP file included by my main PHP file. When I removed it from the include file, the `0a` character in my output disappeared.
What I find peculiar about this is the different handling of whitespace between PHP versions that I experienced, and the fact that I still got the `0a` when testing the community's suggestions.
I have no more time to put research into this, but my advice to people experiencing similar problems is to check whether whitespace in include files may play into the equation. In addition, avoid ending the `<?php` tag as suggested by Dan below.
Problem
I am trying to generate an XML file in a PHP web application: ``` <?php ... header('Content-Type: application/xml'); header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=test.xml'); echo "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?>\r\n" . ... ``` Bizarrely, when using my servers (PHP Version 5.3.8/Apache 2.2.17 and PHP Version 5.3.10-1/Apache 2.2.22 respectively) a line feed (hex `0a`) character is inserted in the beginning of the output, resulting in invalid XML that cannot be used. There's one more online question about this, unresolved. So if I try `echo "bug";` I get 4 bytes, not 3: `0a 62 75 67` However, when using WAMP server locally (PHP 5.4.3/Apache 2.4.2), I get 3 bytes: `62 75 67`. - Is this a known bug/feature? - Is it a configuration issue? - Which is to blame, Apache or PHP? - Do I have to upgrade my servers? I'd rather not.