[Resolved] flat fil database woes

spinsane

Ok,

I have a flat file database with 2 variables in it:

gasprices.txt:

gasprice,$1.735

dieselprice,$0.998

I need to display this information on a page:

Displaypage.php

<html><head><title>WorkDamnitt</title></head>
<body>
<form name="form1" method="post" action="">
<p>
<input type="text" name="gasprice">
This is where the gas prices should be shown</p>
<p>
<input type="text" name="dieselprice">
This is where the diesel prices should be shown</p>
</form>
</body>

</html>

Then i need a page to edit gasprices.txt, not a full blown editor just to change the prices of each from a form. Anyone with a little time on their hands who can code this or can tell me where there is a good tutorial on how to do just this please let me know.

devinemke

is that all to that text file, just those 2 lines? if so here's a simplified example (no real error checking):

$flat_file = 'gasprices.txt';

if (!isset($_POST['submit']))
{
	$file = file($flat_file);
	foreach ($file as $value)
	{
		$value = explode(',', trim($value));
		$$value[0] = $value[1];
	}

echo '
<form action="" method="POST">
gasprice: <input type="text" name="gasprice" value="' . $gasprice . '"><br>
dieselprice: <input type="text" name="dieselprice" value="' . $dieselprice . '"><br>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="submit">
</form>
';
}

if (isset($_POST['submit']))
{
	$string = 'gasprice,' . $_POST['gasprice'] . "\r\n" . 'dieselprice,' . $_POST['dieselprice'];

$handle = fopen($flat_file, 'w');
$fwrite = fwrite ($handle, $string);
fclose ($handle);

if ($fwrite) {echo $fwrite . ' bytes of data successfully written to ' . $flat_file;}
else {echo 'FAIL';}
}

i would strongly suggest a few things:

use a database instead of a text file
if you must use a text file, don't store any formatting in the data (like the $ sign). treat those prices strictly as integers
re-read #1

spinsane

Thank You Much

Cheap Hosting No Use good Technology like sql.
Damn Cheap Hosting!!!😃

monipony

Hi there, I have a similar situation. I'm stuck with a hosting service for the company I work for (it's the free hosting that comes with our internet connection). They refuse to install mySQL on their servers for their customers to use because, and I quote, "we're a low overhead ISP and don't want to do those things - they're a lot of work." So, after I recovered from wanting to reach through the phone and strangle that "tech support" person, I realized that I am still stuck with using a flat-file database for my website.

So, here's my problem. It's similar to what the person at the start of this thread brought-up, except I will have more items to fill into the page.

I will have a flat-file database with the following categories, separated by a |

Number | Type | Title | Photo | Description

with about 150 or so different items listed, including links to photos.

Now, I realize it's going to be a headache to get this to work with PHP and a flat-file database, but I have no other options right now, and I'm tired of doing separate html files for every item - especially if something has to change on all of the pages.

What I would like to do is have a page with tables that the information from the flat-file database would be populated into, so it would be setup as follows:

Type

Title

Photo

Description

The "number" field would be for me to specify to the script which item I want to have displayed in the tables on the page, and would not display.

Is there anyone who can help me with this? I am desperate! I purchased $70 worth of PHP books, have been scouring the internet for days, and still haven't found an answer.

Thanks in advance for any help you give me.

Monica