Number of Posts via Viewing New Posts

JamesRP

Hello folks! 🙂

I have a question. I'd like to display the number of posts next to the "View New Posts" on an Invision Power Board (IP😎. For example, if you visit any IPB you'll see the "View New Posts" on the login bar (you MUST be logged in though).

Anyway. What I'm wondering is how exactly can I use PHP to display the actual number (i.e. 110, 12, etc.) of new posts besides this link? With PHP in general. Thank you all so much! 🙂

JamesRP.

devinemke

i don't know that particular message board app but i'm sure the data is stored in a database and it's simply doing a COUNT query:

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table WHERE date >= 'some_date'

JamesRP

Originally posted by devinemke
i don't know that particular message board app but i'm sure the data is stored in a database and it's simply doing a COUNT query:
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table WHERE date >= 'some_date'
[/B]

Um can you please explain it more?
By using that MySQL code will it only do it once? I want to display the number of new posts ALL the time. Not just once. And I'm actually trying not to do it with MySQL but with PHP? Thanks a lot for the help though. Anymore info would be great. 😃

JamesRP.

devinemke

Originally posted by JamesRP
By using that MySQL code will it only do it once? I want to display the number of new posts ALL the time. Not just once.

what do you mean "all the time". if you run the query on every page request then it will be displayed "all the time".

Originally posted by JamesRP
And I'm actually trying not to do it with MySQL but with PHP?

the data is stored in a database. you must use database queries to extract the data.

JamesRP

Originally posted by devinemke
what do you mean "all the time". if you run the query on every page request then it will be displayed "all the time".

the data is stored in a database. you must use database queries to extract the data.

When I say all the time I mean all the time. 😃 Like I want it to be auto-updated the next day. Say one day we have 100 new posts I'd like it to display that beside the link in brackets or something than the next day say we had 102 new posts I'd like it to display that count. If I use the SQL code you posted it won't allow me enough customization--Like adding "brackets" around the new post #. And I was hoping to do this in PHP. But thanks a lot for your help. I don't suppose you can help me with it in PHP? :bemused:

JamesRP.

devinemke

i don't think you quite grasp the basics here of dynamic web content. consider this:

<?php
echo 'the current date/time is ' . date('Y-m-d H:i:s');
?>

this displays the current server date/time and does so "all the time" meaning whatever minute/hour/day/week/month/ you run this code it will always show the correct current date/time. it changes every second and is therefore: dymanic.

now consider this:

<?php
$result = mysql_query('SELECT COUNT(*) FROM messages WHERE date_added = CURDATE()');
echo 'the total number of messages posted today is ' . mysql_result($result, 0);
?>

this query to a message board database showing daily new posts is the same thing: dynamic. it does not need to be updated manually, it will always show that day's new posts "all the time". make sense?

as far as your question about "customization": you need to understand the basics of server-side code vs. client-side code.
client-side code (like HTML, CSS, javascript) control the actual layout of your web pages and allow you to "customize" as you see fit. server-side code (PHP, ASP, JSP) is basically a tool for controlling what/how/when all of the client-side code is spit out to the client.

hope this helps