multiple variable displayed...how can it look better?

[sgtpepper]

I have a variable called $display. This variable spits out a three digit letter/number combo which I can than specify a specific variabel for, listed like this:

if(($display) == 'E16') {
$extvar16 = "Cement";
}
if(($display) == 'E17') {
$extvar17 = "Metal";
}
if(($display) == 'F01') {
$roofvar1 = "Shingle";
}
if(($display) == 'F02') {
$roofvar2 = "Fiberglass";
}
etc.

I than call these variables on a page like this:

print strtolower($roofvar1);
print strtolower($roofvar2);
print strtolower($roofvar3);
print strtolower($roofvar4);
etc.

Based on weather the query result has the three digital number the result gets printed or not.

Now, the problem listing it like
print strtolower($roofvar1);
print strtolower($roofvar2);
print strtolower($roofvar3);
print strtolower($roofvar4);

Basically mean my output looks like:

resultforroofvar1resultforroofvar2resultforroofvar3resultforroofvar4

Not pretty....

So, I have been placing spaces and commas like this,

if(($display) == 'F02') {
$roofvar2 = "Fiberglass, ";

So now it looks more like this....
resultforroofvar1, resultforroofvar2, resultforroofvar3, resultforroofvar4

Now, the problem is....if only one variable gets displayed it shows

resultforroofvar1,

Again, not pretty with the unneeded ,

So, how would you approach this better?

It would be really neat-o if I could ultimately have this:

resultforroofvar1, resultforroofvar2, resultforroofvar3, and resultforroofvar4.

[eoghain]

Put all of your results into an array and do this:

$stuff = array();

switch($display) {
   case 'E16':
      $stuff[] = "Cement";
      break;
   case 'E17':
      $stuff[] = "Metal"; 
      break;
   case 'F01':
      $stuff[] = "Shingle"; 
      break;
   case 'F02':
      $stuff[] = "Fiberglass";
      break;
} 

$sep = "";
foreach ($stuff as $value) {
   print $sep . strtolower($value);
   $sep = ", ";
}

That will build you a comma separated string with commas only appearing between 2 values.

[sgtpepper]

Ok, I got the code below....but it displays like this
refrigerator washer dryer disposal dishwasher electric stove window treat

No commas....

What could I have done wrong?

$appliances = array(); 

switch($display) { 
   case 'P01': 
      $appliances[] = "Security System"; 
      break; 
   case 'P02': 
      $appliances[] = "Refrigerator";  

      break; 
   case 'P03': 
      $appliances[] = "Washer";  

      break; 
   case 'P04': 
      $appliances[] = "Dryer"; 
      break;
   case 'P05': 
      $appliances[] = "Disposal"; 
      break; 
   case 'P06': 
      $appliances[] = "Dishwasher"; 
      break; 
   case 'P07': 
      $appliances[] = "Electric Stove";  

      break; 
   case 'P08': 
      $appliances[] = "Gas Stove";  

      break; 
   case 'P09': 
      $appliances[] = "Central Air"; 
      break;
   case 'P10': 
      $appliances[] = "Microwave"; 
      break; 
   case 'P11': 
      $appliances[] = "Central Vaccum"; 
      break; 
   case 'P12': 
      $appliances[] = "Trash Compactor";  

      break; 
   case 'P13': 
      $appliances[] = "Sattelite Dish";  

      break; 
   case 'P15': 
      $appliances[] = "Window Treat"; 
      break;
   case 'P16': 
      $appliances[] = "Wood Stove"; 
      break; 
   case 'P17': 
      $appliances[] = "Air Conditione"; 
      break; 
   case 'P18': 
      $appliances[] = "Smoke Det";  

      break; 
   case 'P19': 
      $appliances[] = "Antenna";  

      break; 
   case 'P20': 
      $appliances[] = "Mini Frig"; 
      break;
   case 'P21': 
      $appliances[] = "Freezer"; 
      break; 
   case 'P22': 
      $appliances[] = "Gas Heater"; 
      break;
   case 'P23': 
      $appliances[] = "Kitchen Island"; 
      break; 
}  

$sep = ""; 
foreach ($appliances as $value) { 
   print $sep . strtolower($value); 
   $sep = ", "; 
}

[eoghain]

That is a direct copy of your code?

Is there more stuff surrounding this code? Like maybe a loop that fills the $display variable?

My guess is that you are looping over something that is populating the $display variable if that is what you are doing the creation of the $appliances variable has to be done before that loop, and the printout has to be done after that loop.

If this doesn't make any sence post all of your code and I'll look at it.

[sgtpepper]

Thank you....the code is attached. It was too long to post.

[eoghain]

Ok first things first. Why are you doing this ugly comparison in your code? Why not either add another field, or table to your database to handle this for you?

If you had a table that mapped codes to thier human readable strings your could remove all of that if($display)== crap and have some nice looking code.

<?php
   include("head.html");

   $username="xxx";
   $password="xxx";
   $database="xx";

   mysql_pconnect(localhost,$username,$password);
   @mysql_select_db($database) or die( "Unable to select database");

   $query="SELECT * FROM residential WHERE Id like '$Id'";

   $result=mysql_query($query) or die (mysql_error());
   $num=mysql_numrows($result);

   if(mysql_numrows($result) == '0') {
      echo "Sorry, no results were found...";
   } else {
      // display results here
   }

   while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) { 
      $split_features = "$row[features]";
      $i = 0;

  $sep = "";
  for ($i = 0; $i <= strlen($split_features); $i += 3) {
     $currCode = substr($split_features,$i ,3);
     $codeList = $sep . '"' . $currCode . '"';
     $sep = ", "
  }

  $query2 = "SELECT code, name
               FROM features
              WHERE code in (" . $codeList . ")";

  $result2=mysql_query($query2) or die (mysql_error());

  $sep = ""
  while ($row2 = mysql_fetch_array($result2)) {
     print $sep . strtolower($row2["name"]);  
     $sep = ", ";
  }
   }
?>

I made some changes to your code.

First I made your for loop use the length of $split_features to determine how many features might exist. If you rely on 85 being the number you will get a very bad surprise when there are more or less.

Second there is no reason to for your second query it does nothing. Also it makes no sence to query the same table 85 times when a single well formed query will do the work better and faster (I'm assuming that there is a field called name that holds the human readable string of the code in that table, it should be there so if it isn't add it). So what I've done is adjust your logic to build a new query that gets all of the values for each row in the residential query.

Just so you know all your if(($display) code is doing is replicating a database, and since you already have a database you should be taking advantage of it.

[sgtpepper]

Thank you for the above post. I am still learning PHP so thanks for the help with the ugly code.

I will try the above and let you know how things work out.

Thanks again!

[sgtpepper]

Please forgive me for such a basic question but, I have the above code in place and am getting no errors. However, the only thing I see is the head.html

What do I need to do to display the features?

[sgtpepper]

My current code looks like this:

<?php 
   include("head.html"); 

   $username="xxx"; 
   $password="xxx"; 
   $database="xxx"; 

   mysql_pconnect(localhost,$username,$password); 
   @mysql_select_db($database) or die( "Unable to select database"); 

   $query="SELECT * FROM residential WHERE Id like '$Id'"; 

   $result=mysql_query($query) or die (mysql_error()); 
   $num=mysql_numrows($result); 

   if(mysql_numrows($result) == '0') { 
      echo "Sorry, no results were found..."; 
   } else { 
      // display results here 
   } 

   while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {  

      $split_features = "$row[features]"; 
      $i = 0; 

  $sep = ""; 
  for ($i = 0; $i <= strlen($split_features); $i += 3) { 
     $currCode = substr($split_features,$i ,3); 
     $codeList = $sep . '"' . $currCode . '"'; 
     $sep = ", "; 
  } 

  $query2 = "SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in (' . $codeList . ')"; 

  $result2=mysql_query($query2) or die (mysql_error()); 

  $sep = "";
  while ($row2 = mysql_fetch_array($result2)) { 
     print $sep . strtolower($row2["long_name"]);   
     $sep = ", "; 
  } 
   } 
?>

The features table has two columns....one for code(contains three digit code) and one called long_name (contains human readable text).

With the above code all I get is the head.html file. nothing else.

When I try to get data from the first query by adding

<? echo $row['town']; ?>

To the end of the above code....nothing displays. How can I display the results for the code and other fields in the first query?

[eoghain]

Well it's time to start adding debug code. Put in print statements at various key points in your code to let you know what is going on and what isn't.

<?php  

   include("head.html");  

   $username="xxx";  

   $password="xxx";  

   $database="xxx";  

   mysql_pconnect(localhost,$username,$password);  

   @mysql_select_db($database) or die( "Unable to select database");  

   $query="SELECT * FROM residential WHERE Id like '$Id'";  

// debug
print "Running Query: " . $query;

   $result=mysql_query($query) or die (mysql_error());  

   $num=mysql_numrows($result);  

// debug
print "Rows found: " . $num;

   if($num == '0') {  

      echo "Sorry, no results were found...";  

   } else {  

      // display results here 
   }  

   while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {   

      $split_features = "$row[features]";  

      $i = 0;  

// debug
print "Getting names for features: " . $split_features;

  $sep = "";  
  for ($i = 0; $i <= strlen($split_features); $i += 3) {  
     $currCode = substr($split_features,$i ,3);  
     $codeList = $sep . '"' . $currCode . '"';  
     $sep = ", ";  
  }  

  $query2 = "SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in (' . $codeList . ')";  

//debug
print "Running query: " . $query2;

  $result2=mysql_query($query2) or die (mysql_error());  

//debug
print "Rows found: " . mysql_numrows($result2);

  $sep = ""; 
  while ($row2 = mysql_fetch_array($result2)) {  
     print $sep . strtolower($row2["long_name"]);    
     $sep = ", ";  
  }  
   }  

?> 

As for displaying data from your first query you need to be sure you do that inside the first while statement that is the only place where $row exists so when you try to access $row outside of that code block you get nothing. Also when you add debug strings it's always a good idea to add text describing what you are outputting that way you will see if something isn't outputting any data.

Another thing to check is that the values that you get when you split $split_features are exactly like the values in your database, no case differences.

[sgtpepper]

Thank you for the tips.

The results look like this:

Running Query: SELECT * FROM residential WHERE Id like '896343'Rows found: 1 Getting names for features: A04B03B05C04C06C07D01E10F01G01G04H01I01J04R02O01L02M02K02S02N01N05N11N14P02P03P04P06P07P16Q06Q10Q11U05U09V01V02V03V04W09 Running query: SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in (' . , "" . ')Rows found: 0

So, it looks like a problem with the long_name piece of the code?!?!?

[kevinsequeira]

$codeList = $sep . '"' . $currCode . '"';

change to

$codeList .= $sep.$currCode;

reg
kevin

[sgtpepper]

Making progress....

Now I see

Running Query: SELECT * FROM residential WHERE Id like '896343'Rows found: 1Getting names for features: A04B03B05C04C06C07D01E10F01G01G04H01I01J04R02O01L02M02K02S02N01N05N11N14P02P03P04P06P07P16Q06Q10Q11U05U09V01V02V03V04W09Running query: SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in (' . A04, B03, B05, C04, C06, C07, D01, E10, F01, G01, G04, H01, I01, J04, R02, O01, L02, M02, K02, S02, N01, N05, N11, N14, P02, P03, P04, P06, P07, P16, Q06, Q10, Q11, U05, U09, V01, V02, V03, V04, W09, . ')Rows found: 0

But, it is not showing the long_name....should it be?

[kevinsequeira]

change

$query2 = "SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in (' . $codeList . ')";

to

$query2 = "SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in ( ". $codeList. ")";  

reg
kevin

[sgtpepper]

Yes, originally you had the query like that....but it gave me the following:

Running Query: SELECT * FROM residential WHERE Id like '896343'Rows found: 1Getting names for features: A04B03B05C04C06C07D01E10F01G01G04H01I01J04R02O01L02M02K02S02N01N05N11N14P02P03P04P06P07P16Q06Q10Q11U05U09V01V02V03V04W09Running query: SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in ( A04, B03, B05, C04, C06, C07, D01, E10, F01, G01, G04, H01, I01, J04, R02, O01, L02, M02, K02, S02, N01, N05, N11, N14, P02, P03, P04, P06, P07, P16, Q06, Q10, Q11, U05, U09, V01, V02, V03, V04, W09, )You have an error in your SQL syntax near ')' at line 1

Changing ( ". $codeList. ")"; to ( '. $codeList. ')";

Got rid of the syntax error.

Thanks for the help.

[eoghain]

You guys are missing it.

When using an IN clause with string values each individual value needs to be wrapped in quotes. That is why the original code for building the code list was built the way it was:

      $sep = "";   

      for ($i = 0; $i <= strlen($split_features); $i += 3) {   

         $currCode = substr($split_features,$i ,3);   

         $codeList = $sep . '"' . $currCode . '"';   

         $sep = ", ";   

      }   

This should generate a listing like so:

"A04", "A05", "A06"

When that list is used in the query:

$query2 = "SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in (". $codeList . ")";   

You should get a query that looks like so:

SELECT code, long_name
FROM features
WHERE code in ("A04", "A05", "A06")

That is a correct query for checking a varchar value in your database against a list of values.

[sgtpepper]

Thanks for the great description.

The issue is when I use quotes I get the following error

Running Query: SELECT * FROM residential WHERE Id like '896343'Rows found: 1Getting names for features: A04B03B05C04C06C07D01E10F01G01G04H01I01J04R02O01L02M02K02S02N01N05N11N14P02P03P04P06P07P16Q06Q10Q11U05U09V01V02V03V04W09Running query: SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in (A04, B03, B05, C04, C06, C07, D01, E10, F01, G01, G04, H01, I01, J04, R02, O01, L02, M02, K02, S02, N01, N05, N11, N14, P02, P03, P04, P06, P07, P16, Q06, Q10, Q11, U05, U09, V01, V02, V03, V04, W09, )You have an error in your SQL syntax near ')' at line 1

[eoghain]

Where are you using quotes? Your query:

SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in (A04, B03, B05, C04, C06, C07, D01, E10, F01, G01, G04, H01, I01, J04, R02, O01, L02, M02, K02, S02, N01, N05, N11, N14, P02, P03, P04, P06, P07, P16, Q06, Q10, Q11, U05, U09, V01, V02, V03, V04, W09, )

Doesn't show any quotes around the codes in the code list. Your query should look like this (formatted for easy reading):

SELECT code, long_name
  FROM features
 WHERE code in ("A04", "B03", "B05", "C04", "C06", "C07", "D01",
                "E10", "F01", "G01", "G04", "H01", "I01", "J04",
                "R02", "O01", "L02", "M02", "K02", "S02", "N01",
                "N05", "N11", "N14", "P02", "P03", "P04", "P06",
                "P07", "P16", "Q06", "Q10", "Q11", "U05", "U09",
                "V01", "V02", "V03", "V04", "W09")

Also your query has a trailing , after W09. You need to change your for loop to fix this.

$sep = "";    

      for ($i = 0; $i < strlen($split_features); $i += 3) {    

         $currCode = substr($split_features,$i ,3);    

         $codeList = $sep . '"' . $currCode . '"';    

         $sep = ", ";    

      }

You only want to check up to the length of the string, not including the entire length. This is because we are starting at 0 and not at 1. This has to do with the fact that the numbers we are working with are offsets not character positions and offsets always start at 0.

[sgtpepper]

Thank you all for all your help. Here is what I currently have....and I am not sure how this is helping.

The code is

<?php   

   include("head.html");   

   $username="xxx";   

   $password="xxx";   

   $database="xxx";   

   mysql_pconnect(localhost,$username,$password);   

   @mysql_select_db($database) or die( "Unable to select database");   

   $query="SELECT * FROM residential WHERE Id like '$Id'";   

// debug 
print "Running Query: " . $query; 

   $result=mysql_query($query) or die (mysql_error());   

   $num=mysql_numrows($result);   

// debug 
print "Rows found: " . $num; 

   if($num == '0') {   

      echo "Sorry, no results were found...";   

   } else {   

      // display results here 
   }   

   while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {    

      $split_features = "$row[features]";   

      $i = 0;   

// debug 
print "Getting names for features: " . $split_features; 

$sep = "";     

      for ($i = 0; $i < strlen($split_features); $i += 3) {     

         $currCode = substr($split_features,$i ,3);     

         $codeList = $sep . '"' . $currCode . '"';     

         $sep = "";     

      }

$query2 = "SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in (". $codeList . ")";

//debug 
print "Running query: " . $query2; 

  $result2=mysql_query($query2) or die (mysql_error());   

//debug 
print "Rows found: " . mysql_numrows($result2); 

$sep = "";     

      for ($i = 0; $i < strlen($split_features); $i += 3) {     

         $currCode = substr($split_features,$i ,3);     

         $codeList = $sep . '"' . $currCode . '"';     

         $sep = ", ";     

      }
   }   

?>

And the results are the following:

Running Query: SELECT * FROM residential WHERE Id like '896343'Rows found: 1Getting names for features: A04B03B05C04C06C07D01E10F01G01G04H01I01J04R02O01L02M02K02S02N01N05N11N14P02P03P04P06P07P16Q06Q10Q11U05U09V01V02V03V04W09Running query: SELECT code, long_name FROM features WHERE code in ("W09")Rows found: 1

So, I still dont see the long_name for the code.

[eoghain]

Almost there you are missing only 1 tiny liltle . to make everything work. In you code to generate your $codeList you aren't concatenating every new feature into the list you are just overwriting the list.

$sep = "";      

      for ($i = 0; $i < strlen($split_features); $i += 3) {      

         $currCode = substr($split_features,$i ,3);      

         $codeList .= $sep . '"' . $currCode . '"';      

         $sep = "";      

      } 

Looks like this was my bad I didn't have it in my first example of this code for you. But that's why you test these things out.

In case you can't see it this is the line that needs to be changed:
$codeList = $sep . '"' . $currCode . '"';
to this
$codeList .= $sep . '"' . $currCode . '"';