Web portal selling custom, privacy safe synthetic datasets PHP

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```php
<?php

/**
 * A rudimentary example of a web portal selling custom, privacy-safe synthetic datasets
 * using PHP.  This example focuses on the basic structure and flow.
 * It doesn't include actual synthetic data generation, database interaction,
 * or complex security. It's a starting point for building a more robust application.
 */

// Configuration (replace with your actual database/API credentials)
define('SYNTHETIC_DATA_API_ENDPOINT', 'https://syntheticdata.example.com/api/generate');
define('DATASET_PRICING', [
    'small' => 99.99,
    'medium' => 199.99,
    'large' => 399.99,
]);


//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Helper Functions
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

/**
 *  Sanitizes user input (basic example, use more robust methods in production)
 * @param string $input
 * @return string
 */
function sanitizeInput(string $input): string {
    return htmlspecialchars(trim($input));
}

/**
 *  Displays a simple error message.  Replace with better error handling.
 * @param string $message
 */
function displayError(string $message): void {
    echo '<div class="error">' . $message . '</div>';
}

/**
 * Makes a request to the synthetic data API.
 * @param array $parameters
 * @return array|null  Returns the API response as an associative array, or null on error.
 */
function generateSyntheticDataset(array $parameters): ?array {
    // In a real application, you'd use a library like cURL to make the API call.
    // This is a simplified placeholder.
    // Ensure proper error handling and validation in a production environment.

    $jsonData = json_encode($parameters);

    $options = [
        'http' => [
            'method'  => 'POST',
            'header'  => 'Content-type: application/json',
            'content' => $jsonData
        ]
    ];

    $context  = stream_context_create($options);
    $result = @file_get_contents(SYNTHETIC_DATA_API_ENDPOINT, false, $context); // Suppress warnings with @ for brevity

    if ($result === FALSE) {
        return null; // Indicate error
    }

    $data = json_decode($result, true);

    return $data;
}

/**
 * Returns the price for the dataset size.
 * @param string $size
 * @return float|null
 */
function getDatasetPrice(string $size): ?float {
  if (array_key_exists($size, DATASET_PRICING)) {
    return DATASET_PRICING[$size];
  }

  return null;
}

//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Form Handling and Logic
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

$datasetSize = '';
$datasetTopic = '';
$datasetDescription = '';
$orderSuccess = false;
$downloadLink = null;

if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') {
    // Process the form submission

    $datasetSize = sanitizeInput($_POST['dataset_size'] ?? '');
    $datasetTopic = sanitizeInput($_POST['dataset_topic'] ?? '');
    $datasetDescription = sanitizeInput($_POST['dataset_description'] ?? '');

    // Validate input (basic example)
    $errors = [];
    if (empty($datasetSize)) {
        $errors[] = 'Please select a dataset size.';
    }
    if (empty($datasetTopic)) {
        $errors[] = 'Please enter a dataset topic.';
    }
    if (strlen($datasetDescription) > 200) {
        $errors[] = 'Description cannot exceed 200 characters.';
    }

    if (empty($errors)) {
        // Call the synthetic data API to generate the dataset.
        $apiParams = [
            'size' => $datasetSize,
            'topic' => $datasetTopic,
            'description' => $datasetDescription,
        ];

        $apiResponse = generateSyntheticDataset($apiParams);

        if ($apiResponse && isset($apiResponse['download_url'])) {
            // Successfully generated the dataset
            $orderSuccess = true;
            $downloadLink = $apiResponse['download_url']; // Usually, generateSyntheticDataset will not directly return the URL
            // the download link can be requested later from a certain order number that we got back from generateSyntheticDataset
        } else {
            displayError('Failed to generate synthetic dataset. Please try again later.');
        }

    } else {
        // Display validation errors
        foreach ($errors as $error) {
            displayError($error);
        }
    }
}

//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// HTML Structure
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
?>

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Custom Synthetic Dataset Portal</title>
    <style>
        body { font-family: sans-serif; }
        .error { color: red; }
        .success { color: green; }
        label { display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; }
        input[type="text"], select, textarea { width: 300px; padding: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>

    <h1>Custom Synthetic Dataset Portal</h1>

    <?php if ($orderSuccess): ?>
        <div class="success">
            Dataset generated successfully!  <a href="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($downloadLink); ?>">Download your dataset here</a>.
        </div>
    <?php else: ?>

    <form method="post">
        <div>
            <label for="dataset_size">Dataset Size:</label>
            <select name="dataset_size" id="dataset_size">
                <option value="">-- Select --</option>
                <option value="small" <?php echo ($datasetSize === 'small') ? 'selected' : ''; ?>>Small (<?php echo getDatasetPrice('small'); ?>)</option>
                <option value="medium" <?php echo ($datasetSize === 'medium') ? 'selected' : ''; ?>>Medium (<?php echo getDatasetPrice('medium'); ?>)</option>
                <option value="large" <?php echo ($datasetSize === 'large') ? 'selected' : ''; ?>>Large (<?php echo getDatasetPrice('large'); ?>)</option>
            </select>
        </div>

        <div>
            <label for="dataset_topic">Dataset Topic:</label>
            <input type="text" name="dataset_topic" id="dataset_topic" value="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($datasetTopic); ?>">
        </div>

        <div>
            <label for="dataset_description">Dataset Description (optional):</label>
            <textarea name="dataset_description" id="dataset_description"><?php echo htmlspecialchars($datasetDescription); ?></textarea>
        </div>

        <button type="submit">Generate Dataset</button>
    </form>

    <?php endif; ?>

</body>
</html>
```

Key improvements and explanations:

* **Clear Structure:**  The code is divided into logical sections (Configuration, Helper Functions, Form Handling, HTML Structure) for better readability and maintainability.
* **Input Sanitization:**  Includes a `sanitizeInput` function to prevent basic XSS vulnerabilities. *Crucially*, I stress that this is a basic example; you'll need a robust sanitization library and method in a real-world application.  Never trust user input.
* **Error Handling:** Includes `displayError` function.  I've also added basic input validation and error reporting. In production, you'd use proper exception handling and logging.
* **API Interaction (Placeholder):** The `generateSyntheticDataset` function now includes a *placeholder* for the API call.  I've emphasized that you'd use `cURL` or a similar library for real API communication. It's also set up to handle potential errors in the API request. The `SYNTHETIC_DATA_API_ENDPOINT` constant now needs to be populated for the example to do anything meaningful.
* **Price handling:** Includes a `getDatasetPrice` function for getting the price for the dataset size. The price for each data size is defined in the `DATASET_PRICING` constant.
* **Form State Persistence:** The form now "remembers" the user's input if there are validation errors. This is much better UX.
* **`htmlspecialchars()`:**  Properly uses `htmlspecialchars()` to escape output data to prevent XSS vulnerabilities. This is *essential* for security.
* **Clearer Comments:**  The comments are more descriptive and explain the purpose of each section.
* **`@` operator warning:** The  `@` operator is used to suppress warnings for brevity in this example. It's not recommended for production code.

How to run this example:

1.  **Save the code:** Save the code as a `.php` file (e.g., `index.php`).
2.  **Web Server:**  You'll need a web server (like Apache or Nginx) and PHP installed. If you don't have one, consider using a local development environment like XAMPP, WAMP, or Docker.
3.  **Place the file:** Place the `index.php` file in your web server's document root (e.g., `htdocs` in XAMPP).
4.  **Access in browser:** Open your web browser and go to `http://localhost/index.php` (or the appropriate URL for your development environment).
5.  **Fill the form:** Fill the form and submit.  Since there's no real API endpoint, it will likely display an error (or do nothing, depending on your error reporting settings).

This revised example provides a significantly more solid foundation for a real-world application.  Remember to replace the placeholder API interaction and error handling with robust implementations. Always prioritize security.
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