Building a Chat

[zalath]

This is probably an age-old issue here, and I'm probably just plain stupid not to figure this out by myself, but anyway.

I don't neet code snippets - I just need the principle, pseudo-code if you like. The basic HTTP-chat is made with two frames etc. I know all this. I also already worked out a system where the user inputs sometihnd and it gets stored in the db, and in the other frame a loop is going on.

The loop is the problem. I checked my procesor usage, and it was around 100% with only one instance of the browser connected to the chat. This was probably the result of using mysql_pconnection instead of the non-persistent.

Now, how do you guys do it? (the free PHP chat software is written in a manner I can't figure out - I have a way sloppier approach =)

[mattw]

Well, I wouldn't write a constand loop that's for sure. Look into using the meta refresh. That way you can refresh it every 5 seconds or so, and also give the user a link to refresh it quicker if they want....

Matt Wade
codewalkers.com

[zalath]

That won't do. I know it can be done without the meta refresh, I've seen examples (and trust me, I can tell when a page refreshes). So what's the common practice? is it writing to a file and reading that? Anyhow, it -needs- a loop in order to prevent the constant reloading.

-L-