title: Send AJAX-like post request using PHP only
body: <p>I'm currently working on some automatization script in PHP (No HTML!).
  I have two PHP files. One is executing the script, and another one receive $_POST data and returns information.
  The question is how from one PHP script to send POST to another PHP script, get return variables and continue working on that first script without HTML form and no redirects.
  I need to make requests a couple of times from first PHP file to another under different conditions and return different type of data, depending on request.
  I have something like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&lt;?php // action.php  (first PHP script)
  /* 
      doing some stuff
  */
  $data = sendPost('get_info');// send POST to getinfo.php with attribute ['get_info'] and return data from another file
  $mysqli-&gt;query("INSERT INTO domains (id, name, address, email)
          VALUES('".$data['id']."', '".$data['name']."', '".$data['address']."', '".$data['email']."')") or die(mysqli_error($mysqli));
  /* 
      continue doing some stuff
  */
  $data2 = sendPost('what_is_the_time');// send POST to getinfo.php with attribute ['what_is_the_time'] and return time data from another file
  
  sendPost('get_info' or 'what_is_the_time'){
  //do post with desired attribute
  return $data; }
  ?&gt;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I think i need some function that will be called with an attribute, sending post request and returning data based on request.
  And the second PHP file:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&lt;?php // getinfo.php (another PHP script)
     if($_POST['get_info']){
         //do some actions 
         $data = anotherFunction();
         return $data;
     }
     if($_POST['what_is_the_time']){
         $time = time();
         return $time;
     }
  
     function anotherFunction(){
     //do some stuff
     return $result;
     }
  ?&gt;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Thanks in advance guys.</p>
  
  <p>Update: OK. the curl method is fetching the output of php file. How to just return a $data variable instead of whole output?</p>