PHP for navigation

[camperz0]

Hi in my new site I want to use php for nav. I have noticed that many sites have in the status bar when you go over a link main.php?id=reviews. this is a way of doing it so it can be easily updated etc isnt it? I want to do it this way. could you please exoplain the concept to me? How advanced at php would i have to be? also, can i obtain the encasary templates for this for free? thanx for your time

[bad76]

Hi,
the system is based on a simple include() instruction.

When you look an url like this main.php?id=reviews probably main.php has a core like this

include($id.".php");

This way you can store your code like a frame system, but without using the frame.

For example, in main.php, you can store the top banner code, with logo, usefull link, and some other stuff that are the same for all the pages. You can also put in main.php the left row with the menu. You will need only to load the core of the page, the central table that is different for each page.

This give you a nice maintainability (you can modify the menu for all the pages just modifying the menu in main.php...) and is more compatible with browser than frames.

But is not all gold...

First, the cache system: even if the gfx is the same for all the page, probably each page download a new copy.

Second, hacker: this system is very very opened to hacker attack like XSS (I've read some good guide even on astalavista...).

A secure way to do it is a good control of $id var. Any secure way is to lookup the page in an array and to use a numerical id:

 
$lookup[0]="home";
$lookup[]="reviews";
$lookup[]="tool";
...
include($lookup[$id].".php");

And calling it with main.php?id=1

I hope this helps

bye bye

[camperz0]

on the naime collision (www.animecollision.com) they use the id way i mentioned before. is the way you just explained the same way? this sytem is used ona lot of sites so i asume its quite good

[leatherback]

Hi,

The
?id=***
ids nothing more or less then a way of transferring a variable to a page, and yes, is often used to determine which content is displayed in the page which is called. But instead of saying "I want this kind of navigation" you should consider what you want to reach, and what is most efficient to use.

Unless you decide what you want to do with your pages, and have some diea of how complex you system is going to be, the number of updates needed and the amount of information to be displayed, it is a kind of hard to say what technique you should use.
As bad76 pointed out: Using a variable in the url and include a file is a method, but certainly not always perfect or even appropriate. First think about what you are to do, then find the way to do it.

J.

[camperz0]

ok sorry i just dont really know anything about php or how it works. I know that each of my sections will need to be updated at least weekly. i will probably have about 50 of them. apart from that the main or front page will need general updates done everyday. I know about MYSQL databases and is that what u have to combine with php to get this type of nav?

i was really hoping that u could point me towards somewhere i could get this systems template for free or u could show me what to do but i dont expect u to do this as i understand that u may be busy. anyway i just need to know how this system works?