Calling php code from php code on different server

The situation is following. I have a local (development) PHP server (Win + IIS) on my computer and I would like to call a function on a remote server because there is an executable file on the remote server (linux) that does not run on my local computer.
So on the remote server would be a simple PHP page which calls the executable with given parameters and returns the results.
I can imagine making an ajax call from javascript to this remote PHP page, but in my case I am using PHPUnit locally and at one point I need to call this remote page for specific data (which the executable file provides).
So my question is – how to make a call from PHP (local) to PHP (remote)? Is web-services the way to go or can this be accomplished simpler?

Answer

$output = file_get_contents('http://your.remote.server/page.php?args=12345');

Or you can use cURL. Keep in mind that when you’re executing files in PHP you should limit the ability for other people to do so(ie. password protect the page/directory) and escape the shell arguments before running them.