Passing Variables via URL-Two Questions

Anon

Hello,

I'm very new to PHP, so hopefully I'm not rehashing too much here.

I have a database that basically contains a set of links. Right now, I have different static HTML pages for different subcategories. I was thinking that maybe the best way to change things, now that I'm running a mySQL database using PHP for constructing dynamic pages, is to pass a variable, via a URL, to request a page based on the SubCategory, like this :

dbtest2.php3?SubCat=General+Resources

This works, and does what I want to it. But I have two questions :

Should I continue to stick with a single page for each SubCategory, and modify the script in each page for the new SubCategory, or should I have a single script that passes a variable as I mentioned above?
I have a category called "Tackle/Lures." How would I pass that? What do I do with the "/" in the SubCat name?

Thanks!

Mark

Anon

Ï won't touch the deisng question but as far as passing variable this is how you would do it -

SubCat=Tackle%2FLures

My suggestion for further reference i have a simple form of text fields set up by GET method that i use to test strings and see how they are passed in the url.

Anon

By far, I believe that the answer to question 1 is yes. If you need to make any minor modifications to the system, you can do it in one file, and it keeps the entire thing much simpler. As for the second question, try passing your category names through the urlencode() function, so:

$var = urlencode('tackle/lures');

Would give a string that is safe to use in the url. Look it up at:

http://www.php.net/urlencode

Hope that helps!

Chris King

Anon

Thanks for everyones replies to date. Interestingly enough, doing it as :

dbtest2.php3?SubCat=Tackles/Lures

actually works! Is there a compelling reason to not do it this way? Would it blow up in some instance that I'm not thinking about?

Thanks,

Mark

Anon

Would it blow up in some instance that I'm not thinking about?

Yes, if the value contains a space. According to the http spec, spaces are not allowed, though (big surprise) MSIE does seem to accept them in some cases. Better be safe and use urlencode().