Fatal Error

By jeremycameron on 15 Nov 2005 at 17:41 UTC

Getting an error

Fatal error: Call to undefined function: user_access() in /big/dom/{username}/www/drupal/includes/common.inc on line 1921

Any help would be appreciated.

Comments

Zend/IONCube?

heine commented 15 November 2005 at 17:53

See http://drupal.org/node/26256

Perhaps you could tell us a little more?
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Followup

jeremycameron commented 15 November 2005 at 18:50

What further information are you looking for? This is a fresh install on a hosted website in which we are attempting to use Drupal as our CMS. I followed the installation instructions provided by Drupal and attempted to access the site and got the error above. I'm a little fuzzy on the resolution in the thread you linked in your reply or if there even was a resolution.

As much info as you have

heine commented 15 November 2005 at 19:14

As much info as you have available.
From Tips for posting to the forums

Detailed specifics. Often, before someone may be able to assist you, they will need to know the Drupal version number, the hosting environment, the specific error generated, and other information. Vague support requests just end up requiring a volley of question and answer, lengthening the time it takes to resolve an issue.

The cause of the problem for one poster was the deletion of all modules in the modules directory. Since you have a fresh install this isn't it I guess.

Another cause of the fatal error discussed in the thread I linked to is an incompatablity with Zend Optimizer or IONCube (both PHP optimizers). These optimizers cause erratic behaviour of foreach loops (returning arrays instead of single array elements). This depends on the php and optimizer version.

To see if such optimizers are enabled, paste the following into a file e.g. 'info.php' and upload it to your server. Then use your favorite browser to go to http://example.com/info.php

info.php:

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

The key phrases from the thread I linked to:

The site works again. Although I haven't got a reply from the hosting company yet, with phpinfo() I saw that IONCube is no longer enabled. Zend v1.3.0 is still enabled.

So perhaps IONCube was the problem!

I resolved a user_access error by disabling ZendOptimizer.

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Environment Info

jeremycameron commented 15 November 2005 at 19:21

Here is the info you requested:

OS: Linux
Apache v1.3.33
Zend Optimizer v2.5.7
php v4.3.10
latest ver of drupal

user.module not loaded

heine commented 16 November 2005 at 08:40

Apparantly user.module is not loaded.

Check that all files are properly uploaded (user.module should be in modules), and that Apache has read access to the modules directory. Also check in the database that the status column of the "system" database table for user.module is set to 1.

To see if it's a foreach() optimizer problem (phpaccellerator, zend optimiser, ioncube) you can use the following code in afile.php (or disable all optimizers)

<?php
$a = array (1, 2, 3, 17);

foreach ($a as $v) {
   print "Value of \$a: $v.\n";
}
?>

Load http://example.com/afile.php. When foreach() works properly this should print

Value of $a: 1.
Value of $a: 2.
Value of $a: 3.
Value of $a: 17.

--Some background--

Common.inc calls user_access after calling module_init()

module_init();

if (!user_access('bypass input data check')) {

module_init is located in module.inc and calls module_load_all:

function module_init() {
  module_load_all();
  module_invoke_all('init');
}


function module_load_all() {
  $list = module_list(TRUE, FALSE);
  $status = TRUE;

  foreach ($list as $module) {
    $status = (drupal_load('module', $module) && $status);
  }
  return $status;
}

See for even more background http://drupal.org/node/10858

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Still not working

jeremycameron commented 17 November 2005 at 01:51

* The user.module is uploaded and in the correct directory.
* Apache has rw access to the dir.
* The foreach() function works properly.
* All values in system table are set to '1'

We are still getting the same error. Any further help would be appreciated.

Sorry

heine commented 17 November 2005 at 08:04

[..] Apache has read access to the modules directory.

Sorry, what I meant to say is that the Apache user needs to be able to read the module. Make sure this user has the execute permission on all directories.

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Any other ideas?

jeremycameron commented 18 November 2005 at 04:16

The Apache user has full permissions on all directories in the Drupal instance.

Do you have any other ideas as to what may cause this issue?

Your afile.php example fails for me

Matthew Doucette commented 16 March 2006 at 03:57

I am having similar problems, and your afile.php example FAILS for me. Here is the output of your afile.php example:

Value of $a: Array. Value of $a: Array. Value of $a: Array. Value of $a: Array.

Just to be sure, I will go copy and paste the source code of afile.php:

<?php
$a = array (1, 2, 3, 17);
foreach ($a as $v) {
   print "Value of \$a: $v.\n";
}
?>

So, does this mean I should disable Zend?

Here is my info:

Server API  Apache  
Virtual Directory Support  disabled  
PHP API  20020918  
PHP Extension  20020429  
Zend Extension  20021010  
Debug Build  no  
Thread Safety  disabled  
Registered PHP Streams

__________
Matthew Doucette / Xona.com™

Yes - How to disable Zend Optimizer

heine commented 16 March 2006 at 06:43

Yes, though no garantue it will solve your problem, it's the best bet.

To disable Zend, locate your php.ini file, open it and comment all zend_ variables with a semi-colon.

Example

[ZEND]
;zend_optimizer.optimization_level=15
;zend_extension_manager.optimizer=/usr/local/Zend/lib/Optimizer-2_6_0
;zend_extension_manager.optimizer_ts=/usr/local/Zend/lib/Optimizer_TS-2_6_0
;zend_optimizer.version=2.6.0
;zend_extension=/usr/local/Zend/lib/ZendExtensionManager.so
;zend_extension_ts=/usr/local/Zend/lib/ZendExtensionManager_TS.so

Restart Apache after the edit.

Good luck!
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I don't have access to php.ini!

Matthew Doucette commented 16 March 2006 at 13:02

Thanks, but no luck for me. I do not have access to the php.ini file! I was hoping for another method of disabling it, as I do not have access to server configuration files.

__________
Matthew Doucette / Xona.com™

Ask your host

heine commented 16 March 2006 at 13:21

If you do not control the server, contact your host and explain your problem.

Symptom: Drupal fails with a fatal error, because an essential module is not included.

Immediate cause: PHP statement foreach returns arrays instead of array items.

Diagnosis: Most likely a problem / incompatability between PHP and a PHP accelerator (eg Zend optimizer).

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Installing Zend Optimizer Hard?

Matthew Doucette commented 16 March 2006 at 23:59

Is installing Zend Optimizer a difficult thing to do? It seems quite easy based on these instructions:

http://www.zend.com/content/download/490/1981/file/ZendOptimizer_UserGui...

Just wondering how big a deal it would be to do it myself... with my inexperience that is... Everything's always easy right until things go wrong and you don't have the experience to bail yourself out! :)

Anyways, it looks extremely automated.

__________
Matthew Doucette / Xona.com™

It's about rights

heine commented 17 March 2006 at 06:59

Installing is not very difficult, but I doubt you have sufficient rights on the server to do so.
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Zend Extension 20021010 is quite old...

Matthew Doucette commented 16 March 2006 at 13:05

Zend Extension 20021010 does seem quite old. Assuming Drupal DOES work with ZendOptimizer, I should get my host to upgrade.

Is Drupal known to have problems with older versions of ZendOptimizer?

__________
Matthew Doucette / Xona.com™

Optimizer & PHP, not drupal

heine commented 16 March 2006 at 13:15

When basic PHP language constructs such as foreach() do not work properly I think it's safe to say it's a problem with PHP & Zend Optimizer, not with Drupal.

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Exactly.

Matthew Doucette commented 16 March 2006 at 18:51

Exactly. I agree. I did not mean to blame Drupal... I was just questioning whether it is know to work with ZendOptimizer's older versions. ZendOptimizer is obviously flawed and the cause of at least one problem on my server.
__________
Matthew Doucette / Xona.com™

Don't worry

heine commented 16 March 2006 at 19:05

Drupal works on php + zend optimizer, but only when those two are compatible. Your host probably upgraded php, but forgot to upgrade the optimizer as well (happened twice on one of my hosts).
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Fatal Error

Comments

Zend/IONCube?

Followup

As much info as you have

Environment Info

user.module not loaded

Still not working

Sorry

Any other ideas?

Your afile.php example fails for me

Yes - How to disable Zend Optimizer

I don't have access to php.ini!

Ask your host

Installing Zend Optimizer Hard?

It's about rights

Zend Extension 20021010 is quite old...

Optimizer & PHP, not drupal

Exactly.

Don't worry

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