Condition checking.

unreal128

I have a PHP script that loads in a library of PHP auth functions. One of the auth functions I created tells the main script if authorization of a user failed or not. What is the best way to test this condition? By passing a global variable whose prescense can be tested for to see if the function passed or not? Unfortunately I am unable to test the function with an if statement (eg. if (!authUser($user)) ) because it involves mySQL calls and PHP won't allow any calls after HTML markup has started.

Weedpacket

Huh? You should know how your program works - no-one here has even seen it so how are we supposed to tell you how to use it?

And

I am unable to test the function with an if statement ... because it involves mySQL calls and PHP won't allow any calls after HTML markup has started.

That's just silly. Of course it allows MySQL calls after HTML markup has started.

unreal128

I am not speaking so much of the script I wrote but rather the best practices for verifying if a function failed or passed later on. What I am currently doing is using the $user variable to determine if the user has been authorized. This value is initially unset irregardless and then created depending on if the function fails or passes. So...

require(blah.inc.php);   // contains authCookie();

unset($user);

authCookie();

if (isset($user)) {
    // write HTML for authorized users
} else {
    // write HTML for un-authorized users
}

Concerning mySQL calls during markup, the reason I know this is because it was preventing one of my earlier projects from actually making changes to the database. I finally found the rule on php.net and it started to work as soon as I pushed back all the calls to before the markup declarations. If you can show me a piece of code that makes a mySQL connection and query after markup has been printed, please do. I will actually be alot happier since it has hampered some of my design ideas.

bike5

You can do any of the database queries anywhere in the code. You can't do any php that is sent in the headers after output is sent to the screen.

Weedpacket

unreal128 wrote:
If you can show me a piece of code that makes a mySQL connection and query after markup has been printed, please do. I will actually be alot happier since it has hampered some of my design ideas.

There's Example 1 on the [man]mysql[/man] manual page. Like bike5 said, headers can't be sent after content - because they have to be at the head of the response.

unreal128

Thanks for both of your help in clarifying this for me. Can you show me a chunk of code that demonstrates how not to do it?

Weedpacket

i need someone to write a database script for me i will pay $25

That won't work.

justsomeone

unreal128 wrote:
I am not speaking so much of the script I wrote but rather the best practices for verifying if a function failed or passed later on. (...)
require(blah.inc.php);   // contains authCookie();

unset($user);

authCookie();

if (isset($user)) {
    // write HTML for authorized users
} else {
    // write HTML for un-authorized users
}

One simple way would be store the result in a variable.

require(blah.inc.php);   // contains authCookie();

unset($user);

authCookie();

$userOK = isset($user);

if ($userOK) {
    // write HTML for authorized users
} else {
    // write HTML for un-authorized users
}

You can now use $userOK anywhere you like in the page. It's more efficient than repeatedly calling the same function.

As I'm sure you've heard by now, you can include database calls at the start, middle or end of your scripts. There's no trick, no magic, no special code to show. if you have a tag-enclosed PHP snippet in your HTML, you can move it anywhere within that html.

Like the others here, the only possible confusion I can think of is the "header" function which becomes redundant if you attempt to call it after you have begun sending html content, as it has to preceed it. If you really, really need to, you can get around this using content buffering, but if that's your only reason for content buffering, you should revisit your design.