php database front end questions....

_LINUXyoda_

ok..... php4, mysql.....

1)
Created a racing database with race results....
I've got a drop down box that populates with the drivers list from the database... but how do I get it to filter out all the other drivers?

2)
Thinking about creating a gallery database where the database contains searchable data like date, race number ect but I also want it to contain the image file name and to display the image based uppon the file name pulled from the database.

Any help with the above two would be apreciated.

Thanks

:edit
3) some of the championships are (for example) three races, best two results wins. how do I get php to select only the best two points and then add them together then sort by?

big Thanks

Sxooter

You want to do as much in the database in terms of ordering and selectivity that you can.

I'm not sure what you mean, exactly, by your first question, but I'm guessing you mean you have a drop down with all the drivers, and when someone selects one, you want to pull the data for that one driver and display it, right? Pretty simple. Let's say you have an autoinc field, and you create the drop down something like this:

select id,name from racers order by lower(name)

and the output of that builds a select list:

<select name="driverpick">
<option value="3">Fred</option>
<option value="13">Steve</option>
yada yada
</select>

When the form is submitted you build a query with driverpick:

$driverid = xx_escape($_POST['driverpick']);
$query = "select * from racers where id='$driverid'";

For number 2, you'll have to do some basic construction and show us what you have, that's a pretty big order. I'd say tackle number 1 first, then start on 2 and come back when you're stuck or have some questions.

For number 3, you want to do the math IN the database. something like:

select avg(finsh), id from racers group by id order by avg(finish) limit 1;

or something like that.

_LINUXyoda_

Cant have option values..... the drop down box must pull the drivers names from the database otherwise it is pointless me using a database....

I'm trying to make the site as dynamic as possible.....

if anyone wants to take a look.... www.cheshirecatcarclub.vze.com

The driver stats is where Q1 is...... and atm it's getting ripped apart.....

_LINUXyoda_

ok, look at www.cheshirecatcarclub.vze.com and click on driver stats button.

Rally X Championship is the current results displayed just the way I want it.....

Driver History is the Q1.....
ATM, I'm trying to use the form variable as the WHERE DRIVER = in the sql SELECT statement which if you look come back with "Parse error"

below is the code

<?php require_once('../Connections/cccc_db.php'); ?>
<?php
mysql_select_db($database_cccc_db, $cccc_db);
$query_Drivers = "SELECT Driver FROM rallyx ORDER BY Driver ASC";
$Drivers = mysql_query($query_Drivers, $cccc_db) or die(mysql_error());
$row_Drivers = mysql_fetch_assoc($Drivers);
$totalRows_Drivers = mysql_num_rows($Drivers);

$Driver_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = "1";
if (isset($HTTP_POST_VARS['$Drivers'])) {
$Driver_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = (get_magic_quotes_gpc()) ? $HTTP_POST_VARS['$Drivers'] : addslashes($HTTP_POST_VARS['$Drivers']);
}
mysql_select_db($database_cccc_db, $cccc_db);
$query_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = sprintf("SELECT Class, Ccrace1date, Ccrace1points, Ccrace1laps, Ccrace1atl, Ccrace2date, Ccrace2points, Ccrace2laps, Ccrace2atl, Ccrace3date, Ccrace3points, Ccrace3laps, Ccrace3atl FROM rallyx WHERE driver = $Driver_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup)";
$Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = mysql_query($query_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup, $cccc_db) or die(mysql_error());
$row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = mysql_fetch_assoc($Rallyx_cc_driverlookup);
$totalRows_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = mysql_num_rows($Rallyx_cc_driverlookup);
?>
<html>
<head>
<title>Untitled Document</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
</head>

<body>
<p>Driver Race History</p>
<form action="" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data" name="Driver_select_form" id="Driver_select_form">
<p>Please Select a Driver
<select name="select_driver" id="select_driver">
<?php
do {

?>
<option value="<?php echo $row_Drivers['Driver']?>"><?php echo $row_Drivers['Driver']?></option>
<?php
} while ($row_Drivers = mysql_fetch_assoc($Drivers));
$rows = mysql_num_rows($Drivers);
if($rows > 0) {
mysql_data_seek($Drivers, 0);
$row_Drivers = mysql_fetch_assoc($Drivers);
}
?>
</select>
</p>
</form>
<p> </p>
<table border="1">
<tr>
<td width="60"> <div align="center">
<p><strong><font size="-2">Class</font></strong></p>
</div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center">
<p><strong><font size="-2">Race 1</font></strong><strong><font size="-2">
Date</font></strong></p>
</div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 1 Points</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 1 Laps</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 1 AVE Lap
Time </font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 2 Date</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 2 Points</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 2 Laps</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 2 AVE Lap
Time </font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 3 Date</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 3 Points</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 3 Laps</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><font size="-2"><strong>Race 3 AVE Lap
Time </strong></font></div></td>
</tr>
<?php do { ?>
<tr>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Class']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace1date']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace1points']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace1laps']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace1atl']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace2date']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace2points']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace2laps']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace2atl']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace3date']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace3points']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace3laps']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace3atl']; ?></font></div></td>
</tr>
<?php } while ($row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = mysql_fetch_assoc($Rallyx_cc_driverlookup)); ?>
</table>
<p> </p></body>
</html>
<?php
mysql_free_result($Drivers);

mysql_free_result($Rallyx_cc_driverlookup);
?>

Sxooter

Sure you can use values, you just build the select boxes dynamically. Use code like this, but adapt it to your database.:

http://www.phpbuilder.com/snippet/download.php?type=snippet&id=834

_LINUXyoda_

wait a min, what the %s doing in the select statement....
ok.... WTF?

I should point out that I'm cheating a bit.... I'm using dreamweaver and also manually editing the code so that I can learn the code syntax.....

I'm reasonably firmiliar with SQL queries and i've don programming befor, but php isstill unfirmiliar to me..... but I'm getting their.......

:edit
found a good website, it's a php command reference site (now why didn't I think of that earlyer 😕 ) so, tomarrow afternoon I'll start hammering around that site.... in the mean time, any help will be appreciated....

Sxooter

It's just using sprintf formatting. Take a look through the code snippet library and see what's there. Lots of good stuff to learn from, and at least three or four examples of how to make dynamic select boxes.

What I do is create the basic form / page in something like dream weaver, then I grab it and start adding PHP code to make it all dynamic. I.e. dream weaver shouldn't be used to create what will be in the select boxes et. al., only that there IS a select box. Let PHP do all that.

_LINUXyoda_

it might just be me, BUT, their doesn't seem to be enough explaination in the 'manuals' 😕

any ways..... here is the lines that are giving me 'parse error'

$query_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = sprintf('<SELECT Class, Ccrace1date, Ccrace1points, Ccrace1laps, Ccrace1atl, Ccrace2date, Ccrace2points, Ccrace2laps, Ccrace2atl, Ccrace3date, Ccrace3points, Ccrace3laps, Ccrace3atl FROM rallyx WHERE driver = %1\$s>', $select_driver);
$Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = mysql_query($query_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup, $cccc_db) or die(mysql_error());
$row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = mysql_fetch_assoc($Rallyx_cc_driverlookup);
$totalRows_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = mysql_num_rows($Rallyx_cc_driverlookup);

Any chance someone could kindly point out why?

Thanks

sanam

First of all you are reading wrong value for $_Post
$HTTP_POST_VARS['$Drivers']

You should be reading "select_driver" which is name used in your select statement.

if (isset($HTTP_POST_VARS['select_driver'])) {
$Driver_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = (get_magic_quotes_gpc()) ? $HTTP_POST_VARS['select_driver'] : addslashes($HTTP_POST_VARS['select_driver']);
}

$query_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = " SELECT Class, Ccrace1date, Ccrace1points, Ccrace1laps, Ccrace1atl,"
." Ccrace2date, Ccrace2points, Ccrace2laps, Ccrace2atl, Ccrace3date, "
." Ccrace3points, Ccrace3laps, Ccrace3atl FROM rallyx WHERE driver ='". $Driver_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup."'";

_LINUXyoda_

WHOOO!
Thanks Sanam,

ok, so now it doesn't come up with an error, BUT....

It doesn't refresh the tabls when I select a driver.....

Do I need to enclose the table in an ISSET statement?

:edit

I enclosed the table in an isset statement and now it doesn't show at all 😕

heres my code for the table so far....
ISSET value at the top....

<?php
if (isset($HTTP_POST_VARS['Select_driver'])) {
?>
<table border="1">
<tr>
<td width="60"> <div align="center">
<p><strong><font size="-2">Class</font></strong></p>
</div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center">
<p><strong><font size="-2">Race 1</font></strong><strong><font size="-2">
Date</font></strong></p>
</div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 1 Points</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 1 Laps</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 1 AVE Lap
Time </font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 2 Date</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 2 Points</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 2 Laps</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 2 AVE Lap
Time </font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 3 Date</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 3 Points</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><strong><font size="-2">Race 3 Laps</font></strong></div></td>
<td width="60"> <div align="center"><font size="-2"><strong>Race 3 AVE Lap
Time </strong></font></div></td>
</tr>
<?php do { ?>
<tr>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Class']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace1date']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace1points']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace1laps']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace1atl']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace2date']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace2points']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace2laps']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace2atl']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace3date']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace3points']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace3laps']; ?></font></div></td>
<td width="60">
<div align="center"><font size="-3"><?php echo $row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup['Ccrace3atl']; ?></font></div></td>
</tr>
<?php } while ($row_Rallyx_cc_driverlookup = mysql_fetch_assoc($Rallyx_cc_driverlookup)); ?>
</table>
</body>
</html>
<?php
mysql_free_result($Drivers);

mysql_free_result($Rallyx_cc_driverlookup);
}
?>

If someone whould please help....

uodeltasig

If I understand what you are trying to do correctly you are just trying to populate dropdown menus then based on the selected dropdown you want to query the corresponding driver info...

If this is what you want then you want to get selectedIndex of the dropmenu and get the corresponding MySQL KEY to populate the tables.

So first grab the drivers names and their mysql Key into an array in php the convert it to javascript:
$driverArray = mysqlquery......;
$javaArray = "[" . explode(",", $driverArray ) . "]";

the javaArray should contain touples of drivers and their corresponding mysql key...

example:
{[0]->("dale E.", 1), [1]-> ("Roy M", 2).....}

then loop through the driver array to populate the dropdown:
for(i=0; i < javaArray.length; i++){
//split the name and the corresponding mysql KEY up
var vals = events.split(",");
//now input that into a new dropdown menu item 1st field is for the name, second is for the id
document.FORMNAME.DROPDOWNNAME.options = new Option(vals[0], vals[1]);
}

Now all you have to do is have a button (don't need one but it makes it easy for you) to say "Submit" and just have it say onClickme="updateDriver"

//Get the selected index of the dropdown and populate the results
function updateDriver(){
index = document.FORMNAME.DROPDOWNNAME.selectedIndex;
var id= FORMNAME.DROPDOWNNAME.options[index].value;
}

id will produce the MySQL KEY just query that to the database...

Watch out for syntax errors I didn't check the solution, but now you can search PHP.net and google for the rest of the results and you will get exactly what you need... if you need clarifying I'll see what I can do...

There is a slight bug in the way I split the array up by "," you might want to take the array you get from mysql and use a '|' as a delimeter or something that you know won't be input. Again everything you need is here, just use it as a googling start place to fill up the gaps

_LINUXyoda_

no offence, but when did we change from PHP to java?

ok, I might have a solution though I've not yet looked into it or tried to code it....

The use of urlencode and urldecode, create a frame set, have the results query and display tables in a diferent frame that only gets loaded when you click a link.... and the driver select info is passed via the URL ......

am I talking crazy crap or would that work?

_LINUXyoda_

ok, I'm missing something here....
working on the frameset as above at http://www.cheshirecatcarclub.vze.com/test/index.html

however it doesn't seem to be properly encoding the variable properly and comes back with the URL address cccc.freeunixhost.com/test/display.php=Kevin+Barlow

Also, the drop down box is not updating the variable when a driver is selected.

Below is the code for the entire selection page.

<?php require_once('../Connections/cccc_db.php');?>
<?php
mysql_select_db($database_cccc_db, $cccc_db);
$query_driverlist = "SELECT Driver Name FROM driversprofiles ORDER BY Driver Name ASC";
$driverlist = mysql_query($query_driverlist, $cccc_db) or die(mysql_error());
$row_driverlist = mysql_fetch_assoc($driverlist);
$totalRows_driverlist = mysql_num_rows($driverlist);
$select_driver = "Kevin Barlow" ?>
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<title>Untitled Document</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
</head>

<body>
<form action="display.php" method="post" enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" name="driver_select_form" target="display" id="driver_select_form">
<p>
<select name="$select_driver" id="$select_driver">
<?php
do {

?>
<option value="<?php echo $row_driverlist['Driver Name']?>"><?php echo $row_driverlist['Driver Name']?></option>
<?php
} while ($row_driverlist = mysql_fetch_assoc($driverlist));
$rows = mysql_num_rows($driverlist);
if($rows > 0) {
mysql_data_seek($driverlist, 0);
$row_driverlist = mysql_fetch_assoc($driverlist);
}
?>
</select>
<?php echo '<a href="display.php=', urlencode($select_driver), '" target="display" >update</a>'; ?>
</p>
</form>
</body>
</html>
<?php
mysql_free_result($driverlist);
?>

:edit
I threw in a default value for $select_driver since the drop down box wasn't putting one in......

_LINUXyoda_

ok, I solved the urlencode problem, I placed "?$select_driver" in the url name befor the =

now, any idea why the drop down box isn't working?

_LINUXyoda_

never mind, I found it
I didn't change the form method from POST to GET.....

My bad

so, thats Items 1 and 2 on my list done,

The page is currently at http://www.cheshirecatcarclub.vze.com/test/index.html

Thanks for the help so far guys.....

Any thaughts on number 3?

uodeltasig

Well technically it's JavaScript (JS) not Java which would be a JavaSever Page (JSP) and the reason you would want to 'change' to JS is because it will allow the client to do the work instead of the server. That's why JavaScript is a client side lang. and PHP is a sever side lang.

In your example, the pure PHP solution works because you don't have sub-categories or header / footer's to display. But imagine down the line you find yourself wanting to divide your drivers into sub's of 'Driver group 1', 'Driver group 2', etc...

Now your stuck with reposting the data to the page, or even worst yet having to have different pages all together to display the information. Now especially if you have footer / header graphics your wasting bandwidth that you don't have to because of the refresh. For the average user this is too complicated but it seems like you have some coding background / hosting it yourself so you might appreciate the extra kb's as they start to add up.

Also, I adviced you on converting to JavaScript so down the line when you go "man I wish I could extend this to do..." you can simply add another dropdown menu, and extend the JS function to simply pull additional categories into the menu without refreshing the page.

Few other things that might help...
1. If you want to get get rid of the "View" button use JS (i swear it's not that bad) to grab the SelectedIndex onChange="javascript...."

Using frames is generally a bad idea and it's looked down upon post 98" web design. IFrames which are more or less functionally the same are surprisingly widely accepted read this , but if you really want you could play around with div's innerhtml feature, and PHP's include page to do the same thing.

Not that I'm a huge fan or advocate for JS, it's just in certain cases it does make sense. JS JS JS

_LINUXyoda_

I prefere server side... that way, anyne viewing from a NON microsoft OS does not have to make sure they have their langs installed.....

As for sub groups, I can't think of a simgle instance where I'd need it.... but even so, it'd be a simple case of adding an extra column to the database and on the SQL queeries in the PHP just add the new columb name, sort details (If necessary) and display info (if necessary)

Also, I can't see why people hate frames so much..... I've done some pritty impressive webpages with frames.... unfortunatly, non of them exist anymore....

Reposting data????? no, it's all pulled from a central MYSQL database using SQL queries.....

uodeltasig

It's obvious that your solution works for you, but others googling around might run into this discussion so I thought maybe providing some links to the reasons / ways to populate the dropdown menu and some other things that you mentioned.

What not Frames:
As I mentioned around 98" people started to realize that frames where bad... because as you mentioned people want their websites to be able to view in "a NON microsoft OS..." Here is a website from 97" talking about it , and a few ...others here or just google it.

and a short note, I work for a web / multimedia development firm and every talk / conference we have attended they say never to use frames but Iframes are acceptable for compatibility. Straight forward, frames are inconsistant and iframes are not.
Along those lines, you shouldn't use tables either instead you should use div tags to position your information according the the W3C, which is someone you should listen to if you want your content to work on the next and previous generation browsers. I usually cheat and position everything with div, but have small tables within DIVs to organize content which seems to be an accepted solution.

MySQL->PHP->Javascript:
Here is an example of exactly what I was talking about and is generally consistant with what I code for standard projects. You will find that this a pretty standard solution and you will find a lot of other ideas here

Reposting data?????

When your submitting your category your using the POST command, which refreshes the website, and then requeries your MySQL server based on your display.php code

<form action="display.php" method="post"

just to clear that up... instead you could just load it once and let the client do the work. It's reasonable to consider text browsers might not be able to run JS, even though it's highly unlikely, you're correct, just like you can't assume they will display frames the same on their browser. However, you'll find that most browsers come with javascript enabled and installed by default on multiple platforms (linux= firefox->default, Mac=Firefox, safari,IE->default, Windows=IE->firefox, IE->default) however frames can change as much as 10 - 15px using the same Mac OS IE 5, just because of various oddieties that go along with Mac IE.
Nevertheless either is a risk and depends on your target audience.

So it's just my 2 cents and food for thought when conquering your next project....

_LINUXyoda_

just to clear that up... instead you could just load it once and let the client do the work. It's reasonable to consider text browsers might not be able to run JS, even though it's highly unlikely, you're correct, just like you can't assume they will display frames the same on their browser. However, you'll find that most browsers come with javascript enabled and installed by default on multiple platforms (linux= firefox->default, Mac=Firefox, safari,IE->default, Windows=IE->firefox, IE->default) however frames can change as much as 10 - 15px using the same Mac OS IE 5, just because of various oddieties that go along with Mac IE.

For table modification or display
ok, two PHP frames loaded....
First is the driver select, mysql query that selects ONLY the drivers and orders them alphabetically.
Form method in GET mode....
selected entry passed onto second frame via URL encoding.
Second frame reads the URL encoded data and runs one or more queery to select row in various tables that match the driver selected....
all the queery data stays server side and only sent back to browser in STD text, as if it were HTML, therefor the client never gets sent the PHP scripts nor the mysql query which must save bandwidth over a remore search.....

Also, arn't HTML frames std HTML and thus any 'bugs'/'probles' therefor the result of a crappy browser?

BTW, WTF is firefox.... I never have used that for linux..... I use MOZILLA for both linux and windows.

If it wasn't for games I'd use nothing but linux.....

uodeltasig

Second frame reads the URL encoded data and runs one or more queery to select row in various tables that match the driver selected....

Like I said what you're doing is fine, but there are ways to optimize it if it ever gets bigger... columns etc. And like I said before Iframes is a better approach.
so instead of having
<frame> header</frame>
<frame>content</frame>
<frame>footer</frame>

you would have
<html>
header
<iframe src="display.php?1"></iframe>
footer
</html>

You'll notice this is industry standard... cleaner, less code overall and more compatibility and control over user. For example, you can specify the length and width of the iframe exactly, where in frames I can resize it and break your design, or even worse the browser resizes it...

Also, arn't HTML frames std HTML and thus any 'bugs'/'probles' therefor the result of a crappy browser?

Unfortunately, every browser is "crappy" because almost no two browser will look exactly the same when it comes to frames. Doesn't matter for your site as much, but when you start doing bigger ones, and your buddy pulls it up on his mac and the graphics and text are all off by 15 - 20 pixels which breaks the whole design, then you'll wish you went with a standard approach... Here is more about the frame problems ... the general rule is instead of spending half your time checking different platforms / browsers / version, just use standards compliant code, validate it using w3c, and check to ensure, but if it validates your 90% the way there and you can safe yourself hours of debugging + hair pulling...

BTW, WTF is firefox.... I never have used that for linux..... I use MOZILLA for both linux and windows.

Come on man, when is the last time you have visted www.mozilla.org ? The whole front webpage is nothing but Firefox download NoW!!!

" Firefox 0.9 is the award winning preview of Mozilla's next generation browser. Firefox empowers you to browse faster, more safely, and more efficiently than with any other browser."
It's exactly Mozilla but just the browser... they use firefox as their latest and greatest and then port the implementation over to their Mozilla suite.

And I use it on Gentoo Linux, Sun Unix Sparc and Windows XP.

Concerned that you shouldn't be using bleeding edge webbrowsers... not the case, in fact CERT the internet security group tells you to run Firefox over IE, and even Microsoft security executives use Firefox over IE because they know it's safer, more standards compliant (read: CSS1 and CSS2).

So I think that I've googled enough for you, try checking it out on your own. I guarentee that if you continue producing websites that you will eventually run into an issue that you wish you would have taken this route, trust me I learned the hard way.