Dumbest Question of the Day!

[Anon]

I have a php filled with dozens of if/then, else, and else if statements.

At the top of my page is the if/then statement I'm having trouble with. It goes like this: If such n' such is FALSE, then skip all the junk on my page and go to the bottom. But, I can't get it to, "skip."

<?php
$ref = getenv(HTTP_REFERER);
if(ereg("[part_of_url_to_match]",$ref))

{
loop through the dozens, and I mean dozens of if/then statments on my page
}

else
{
HERE is where I want to skip to!
}
?>

But the problem is, I have so many loops, if/then statements, and curly braces on my page, that surrounding my entire page in "{" and "}" seems to "confuse" php.

Is there an easier way? Something like "go to $flag" or something.

But wait.... I know you might be thinking:

"Well, just REVERSE my first if/then statement with an "!" like this: if(!ereg("[part_of_url_to_match]",$ref))"

But, I am trying to do it the other way to learn the, "principle" behind it.

[Anon]

Have you looked at the break statement?

Also, maybe you need to replace all those "if else" statements with a switch construction. It can be a lot easier to debug and maintain.

Using a goto is so FORTRANish.

[tappy]

instead of having
if ONE = true

do all of this stuff...

if ONE != true (is not) <-- instead of else

[Anon]

So... how do you use "break?"

Or are you going to make me read the manual?

:-)

[Anon]

Reading the manual is always a good idea.

As the manual says: "break ends execution of the current for, foreach while, do..while or switch structure."

If you're not familiar and comfortable with each of those control structures, get comfortable before proceeding with PHP.

If you are unable to keep your brackets, parentheses, and quotation marks straight by practicing sound indentation and formatting principles, get a decent programmer's text editor that colorizes the PHP code. There are dozens for Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms.

[Anon]

It would take me longer to show you how to use a break statement in your situation than if you just RTFM!

If you don't read the manual (and this topic is fully covered in other basic programming texts also) then what else can I say? You'll be right back on here, looking for quick fixes without really understanding what the process involves. I hope you at least appreciate the fact that we've pointed you in the right direction. That alone could save you much time & tears.

And hey, unless you are Einstein, programming is a bitch, not to mention a lot of hard mental work! You gotta pay your dues, man.