Simulating the browser back button

Anon

I am trying to simulate my browser's (IE 5.5) back button. I pulled this snippet of code from the forum from awhile ago:

(Note: attach your own image to the above)

This works fine. It does indeed take the user back to the previous page when the image is clicked. But all the information for that previous page is lost.

Is there anyway to preserve this information using the above construction? I cannot use sessions in PHP 3.0.

Maloni suggest prefixing all of your variables with "\" but this only works when you form action is as : ACTION=\"$PHP_SELF\"

vincentpeace

Can't you use JavaScript? Most browsers will preserve form entries with:
<a href="javascript: history.go(-1);">back</a>

Anon

I wish I could, but I'm not even sure what Javascript is. Is that some poor cousin of Java, just like VB script is Visual Basic's poor cousin?

I came out of a VC++ & VB world and only use PHP for my web development. I tried Perl, but dumped that turkey fast. And Python looked about as geeky.

Microsoft is bragging the VB.web (VB 7.0?) will make Java obsolete in two years anyway. I'm not sure. But when "Microsquish" talks, I listen.

'Course that's all irrelevant -- unless you're on an NT box, which most people can't afford and most of the world doesn't run on.

Anon

Thanks, Vincent

Your suggestion works just fine. Now at least we know that IE 5.5 supports that particular action.

And now all I have to do is investigate Javascript and all that. Looks like another Mt. to climb, but this one could be very useful, just like PHP was/is !

If Javascript is as nifty as it looks, I hope Microsoft is only bragging.

jc94062

JS is simple, I used it as a stepping stone for a week or two before I got into PHP (I had HTML, Basic, and ASIC experience only)

Personally due to its nature and the fact that in general it annoys me I avoid it like the plague where possible though :-)

If its possible (ie doesn't have to interact directly instantly, it can be a submit or something, use PHP, its faster, generates less, more understandable errors, and its more powerful and a LOT easier to write and debug :-) )

Anon

In your opinion, how does Java "script" compare to Java? I know virtually nothing of either.

I already know (as a regular VB developer) that VB "script" sucks compared to Visual Basic.

Seems to me like Java script is a scaled down model of the language, allowing light weight people to think they are actually in the world of programming.

vincentpeace

This a very common misconception. JavaScript and Java have absolutely nothing to do with each other. Java is an OO programming language from Sun microsystems, while JavaScript is a (sort of OO) scripting language from Nutscrape. In fact JS was originally going to be called something like LiveScript, and was only changed for marketing reasons. Unfortunately the plan worked a bit too well, and most people seem to think that JS is Java for dummies.

Anon

That being the case, do you recommend using Javascript then? If it's something from Netscape, I'm surprised that IE even recognizes it, considering how these two browsers are at war with each other.

I was not kidding when I said that Microsquish plans on making Java obsolete with its next release of Visual Basic. A friend of mine has a letter from a high official at MS stating so.

Does this sound possible to you? And what do you think the future of Java is? I'd like to know before I set off on another long journey into the night, learning another technology, only to discover down the road that it's already obsolete.

Also, I'm finding that PHP is barely making a ripple out there. Almost no one has even heard of it. Any yet it looks like a fantastic scripting language to me. I tell my programming friends that PHP is the answer to DHTML, without all the headaches of programming for each and every browser. Some are taking a look. Others are skeptical.

I also wonder why Netscape wasn't sued by Sun Micro, et. al, for trademark infringment, i.e., including the name "Java" in its product.

jc94062

Javascript != Java
Java, imho, is useless, as it doesn't do a lot, cept sit in webpages and take ages to load, as far a being a programming language theres not a lot it'll do, while I can easily get a job programming PHP (I have an offer) theres not exactly a calling for Java programmers, only reason I've looked into it is that 95% of Uni courses want it, why the don't all use C++ I don't understand.

As for limited use of PHP? While they may be true, back in November it was this wonderful mystical thing and <? echo "Helloworld"; ?> meant nothing to me, but now, once you look, its very widespread.

www.battlestats.com is a good example, the run a gaming service, stats and the like, they transfer 1.2gb of data a day...

www.treasuretrivia.com is a good one, also PHP/MySQL based, they had 150k of users in a night after a TV broadcast.

www.plantetarion.com, if you haven't heard of this, I don't know where you've been, currently around 140k users, run by 5-6 people...

Theres lots, using mIRC... irc.mcs.net and /join #php, quite a few people in there.