PHP shell_exec() vs exec()
command, exec, php, shell
Solution
`shell_exec` returns all of the output stream as a string. `exec` returns the last line of the output by default, but can provide all output as an array specifed as the second parameter.
See
- http://php.net/manual/en/function.shell-exec.php
- http://php.net/manual/en/function.exec.php
Problem
I'm struggling to understand the difference between `shell_exec()` and `exec()`... I've always used `exec()` to execute server side commands, when would I use `shell_exec()`? Is `shell_exec()` just a shorthand for `exec()`? It seems to be the same thing with fewer parameters.