Entries tagged "PHP"
End PHP Scripts Gracefully After a Failed Database Connection
Last week's post talked about externalizing the MySQL connection script for easier maintenance. The problem with the previous code is that it's not very user friendly. If the database connection fails, it just drops everything and displays an error. Well, there's probably other content on the web page that can be viewed without database access. The website navigation, for example, most likely doesn't require a database. The navigation will probably lead to other pages that don't need that database. To minimize the impact to the visitor, let's look at a more graceful solution for handling connection failures. [Continue reading]
Maintain Your Database Login Information with Ease by Externalizing the Connection Script
When working with databases like MySQL, a connection needs to be established before processing any queries. That connection script could be added to the top of every page needing access, but what happens when the database password needs updating. Who wants to update dozens (or thousands) of files? As a solution, let's look at externalizing the code that makes the connection and importing it instead. [Continue reading]
Rethinking the Structure of My Templates
Over the past few years I've been working on an initiative which shares a single template over several websites. The overall process has gone fairly well, but my standard process for building templates in PHP isn't holding so well. The number of files could use some pruning and there have been issues with variables and helper functions not being available when needed. Plus, it would be nice to have a common place where overall website setting could be changed to affect all pages. So it's time to rethink my template-building process. [Continue reading]
How to Avoid Conflicting Variable Names
On occasion, variables in PHP may conflict. This is easy to avoid when all the code appears in a single file. What happens when code is scattered throughout the website? Maybe there are variables tucked away in a template file which is brought in with a PHP include. How do you avoid conflicting variables within a file that's used by many other pages on the website? [Continue reading]
Remove Test Code Quickly with a Simple Dreamweaver Search
Adding test code throughout your scripts may be necessary for troubleshooting or adding new features, but how do you go about removing the code? In a previous post, a few techniques for locating the blocks of test code were discussed, but the code still needs to manually removed. Instead, let's tap into Dreamweaver's search for HTML tag feature. [Continue reading]
Minimizing MySQL Queries with the implode() Function
After seeing the many warnings that MySQL queries shouldn't be executed within loops, I finally broke down and figured out an alternate solution for the majority of queries where I use loops. Most times, a loop feels necessary when one database table contains the core information and another has multiple entries of supporting information. Instead of going for the typically loop, let's look at using the implode() function. [Continue reading]
Building the Where Clause for MySQL Dynamically
There are a number of ways to dynamically build the WHERE clause for a MySQL query. You could, for example, run several if() statements in the middle of a query. Or one could tap into the power of the implode() function. [Continue reading]
Going Live with Incomplete Code; Is It Okay?
Even though it isn't required, should code be left incomplete? For example, the last property/value pair in a CSS declaration doesn't need a semi-colon. The code validates and functions normally. So why worry about that last character? [Continue reading]
Sorting Complicated Lists with PHP When A Database Isn’t Necessary
Websites commonly have content that's sorted in some fashion. For larger projects, utilizing a database may be optimal. But what about those smaller projects? When displaying a short list of advisory board members, for example, I typically go straight to HTML and my grand knowledge of the ABCs. That may work in the short run, but eventually mistakes happen. We can minimize the risk by leveraging PHP for sorting complicated lists. [Continue reading]
Making It Easy to Locate and Remove Test Code
When troubleshooting, sometimes it's necessary to add code to test various features. The problem is that the code may accidentally be left in when going live. Removing the extra code as you go may work in most situations. Or maybe you just know where the test code is located and removing it doesn't seem like a problem. However, what happens if you're pulled away from the task by some other emergency or deadline? Over time, the test code you were so familiar with may not be as obvious. Instead of depending on memory, here are some options for making test code stand out. [Continue reading]
