PHP Template "Switch" Help Needed...

cgoodness

I'm trying to build a template that dynamically adds menus based on the URL for example:

http://www.foofoo.com/index.php?page=Foo&menu=RightMenu

would resulte in the main content of the page being "Foo.php" and the menu would be "rightmenu.php".

I'm new to PHP, but have found some basic templating code that words well for my purposes, however, I can't seem to get it to work with two "switch" variables, I keep getting a parse error:

Here's the code:

<?php switch ($page) {
case "News": include ('admin/news/scripts/php-news.php'); break;
case "ContactUs": include ('contactus.php'); break;
case "Newsletters": include ('admin/newsletters/view_newsletter.php'); break;
case "ThankYou": include ('thankyou.php'); break;
case "Mail": include ('mail.php'); break;
case "Recommend": include ('recommend.php'); break;
default: include ('home.php'); } ?>

</td>
<td>

<?php switch ($menu) {
case "Knives": include ('menuknives.php'); break;
default: include ('rightmenu.php); } ?>
</td></tr></table>

Any help understanding the switch/case thing would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again, you guys rock.

Rodney_H_

<?php 
// if PAGE is set in q-string:
if(isset($_GET['page'])) {

$page = trim($_GET['page']); // now you can use it.

switch ($page) {
	case "News": include ('admin/news/scripts/php-news.php'); break;
	case "ContactUs": include ('contactus.php'); break;
	case "Newsletters": include ('admin/newsletters/view_newsletter.php'); break;
	case "ThankYou": include ('thankyou.php'); break;
	case "Mail": include ('mail.php'); break;
	case "Recommend": include ('recommend.php'); break;
	default: include ('home.php'); break;
} // .switch
} // .if
?>
</td>
<td>
<?php
// if MENU is set in q-string
if(isset($_GET['menu'])) {

$menu = trim($_GET['menu']);

switch ($menu) {
	case "Knives": include ('menuknives.php'); break;
	default: include ('rightmenu.php'); break;
} // .switch
} // .if
?>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

cgoodness

That you are the MAN!!! That was the answer and so simple, yet completely beyond my skills. Thanks for the help. Just a quick question, do you see any security issues with this type of template? I keep seeing logs of people trying wierd things to these types of pages.

Thanks again.

Rodney_H_

Well, that is of course an important concern. As long as you are defining what are acceptable files to include (either as you are doing in a switch with a default set OR in an array) you are, in my opininion, doing it correctly. However, I would invite others here for their feedback as well..