Date....

genista

Hi all,

I have searched and search on this but am having difficulty in finding the info I need.

I have a few join forms, forms to change details, making bookings etc and having created them am now faced with the task of formatting the dates that a user enters.

Being in the UK I want the format to look like this:

24-07-2006

We all know that MySQL will take 0000-00-00.

I have posted the script for one of the join forms below, the functions being called are in an include file, so my question is can I create a function to format date ranges as above and call it from an include?

include ("config.php"); 

// Check user not logged in already:
checkLoggedIn("no");

// page title:
$title="Member Registration Page";

/*
Accepting a <form> submission:
The $submit variable in the $_POST superglobal array will only be set if the user has clicked on the 'submit'
button.  This is a reasonable way to check that the user did in fact submit the form.
*/
if(isset($_POST["submit"])){
    // Info has been submitted, check it:
    // Check login, password and password2 are not empty:
    # field_validator($field_descr, $field_data, $field_type, $min_length="", $max_length="", $field_required=1) {
    field_validator("username", $_POST["username"], "alphanumeric", 4, 15);
    field_validator("password", $_POST["password"], "string", 4, 15);
    field_validator("confirmation password", $_POST["password2"], "string", 4, 15);

// Check that password and password2 match:
if(strcmp($_POST["password"], $_POST["password2"])) {
    // The password and confirmation password didn't match,
    // Add a message to be displayed to the user:
    $messages[]="Your passwords did not match";
}

/*
Checking the login name doesn't already exist in the 'users' table:

The idea here is that if an entry already exists
in the 'users' db table where 'username' equals $username
(ie the login name the user has just provided in the
join form), then we return an error message saying that
that username is already taken and ask the user to 
choose another name.
*/

// build query: line 52
$query="SELECT username FROM users WHERE username='".$_POST["username"]."'";

// Run query:
$result=mysql_query($query, $link) or die("MySQL query $query failed.  Error if any: ".mysql_error());

// If a row exists with that username, issue an error message:
if( ($row=mysql_fetch_array($result)) ){
    $messages[]="Username \"".$_POST["username"]."\" already exists.  Try another.";
}

/*
Creating a new user entry in the users table:

If we got here and no error messages were placed in the $messages array above,
then the $username that the user provided was valid and we can
continue to create an entry in the users table in the mysql db.
We also effectively 'login' the user and then forward them to the members.php
page using the 'header()' function.
*/
if(empty($messages)) {
    // registration ok, get user id and update db with new info:
    newUser($_POST["username"], $_POST["password"], $_POST["first_name"], $_POST["maiden_name"], $_POST["last_name"], $_POST["address_line1"], $_POST["address_line2"], $_POST["town"], $_POST["county"], $_POST["postcode"], $_POST["daytime_phone"], $_POST["evening_phone"]);

    // Log the user in:
    cleanMemberSession($_POST["username"], $_POST["password"]);

    // and then redirect them to the members page:
    header("Location: members.php?".session_name()."=".session_id());

    /*
    Note this script stops executing after the header() function above!
    (the user is forwarded to the members.php page)
    */
}
}
/*
Below here is HTML interposed with PHP.  This HTML is only output if
a. the form hasn't been submitted
b. the form was submitted but errors were detected
*/
?>
<html>
<head>
<title><?php print $title ?></title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<?php doCSS()?>
</head>
<body>
<h1><?php print $title?></h1>
<?php
//Check if $message is set, and output it if it is:
if(!empty($messages)){
    displayErrors($messages);
}
?>
<form action="<?=$_SERVER["PHP_SELF"]?>" method="POST">
<table>
<tr><td>Username:</td><td><input type="text" name="username" 
value="<?php print isset($_POST["username"]) ? $_POST["username"] : "" ;?>" 
maxlength="15"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Password:</td><td><input type="password" name="password" value="" maxlength="15"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Confirm password:</td><td><input type="password" name="password2" value="" maxlength="15"></td></tr>
<tr><td>First Name:</td><td><input type="text" name="first_name" value="" maxlength="25"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Maiden Name:</td><td><input type="text" name="maiden_name" value="" maxlength="25"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Last Name:</td><td><input type="text" name="last_name" value="" maxlength="25"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Address Line 1:</td><td><input type="text" name="address_line1" value="" maxlength="25"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Address Line 2:</td><td><input type="text" name="address_line2" value="" maxlength="25"></td></tr>

Installer

Yes, you can.

bogu

MySql:
- DATE_FORMAT() OR UNIXTIMESTAMP() here

Php:

genista

Ok, so I am sure the following is on the right lines but I am getting an unexpected t variable error on the function called in the function include:

join form:

date($formdate = $date_ofbirth);

then I have the following in the function include:

function date ($formdate) {

$date1 = $formdate
$date2 = date("Y-m-d",strtotime($date1)); 

}

jansky

date () is a php function , what will happen when you rename your function date say : date_

genista

I have renamed it to my_date and I dont have any errors now, so will test thanks,

genista

Ok so I have tested it and the date of birth that I enter is not getting posted to the database, any ideas from the code posted previously?

genista

Ok, so I have made some adjustments to my code, however it is not posting to the database, I believe it is because the join form is trying to post the date_ofbirth twice (see the sections below in bold)?

include ("config.php"); 

// Check user not logged in already:
checkLoggedIn("no");

// page title:
$title="Member Registration Page";

/*
Accepting a <form> submission:
The $submit variable in the $_POST superglobal array will only be set if the user has clicked on the 'submit'
button.  This is a reasonable way to check that the user did in fact submit the form.
*/
if(isset($_POST["submit"])){
    // Info has been submitted, check it:
    // Check login, password and password2 are not empty:
    # field_validator($field_descr, $field_data, $field_type, $min_length="", $max_length="", $field_required=1) {
    field_validator("username", $_POST["username"], "alphanumeric", 4, 15);
    field_validator("password", $_POST["password"], "string", 4, 15);
    field_validator("confirmation password", $_POST["password2"], "string", 4, 15);

// Check that password and password2 match:
if(strcmp($_POST["password"], $_POST["password2"])) {
    // The password and confirmation password didn't match,
    // Add a message to be displayed to the user:
    $messages[]="Your passwords did not match";
}

/*
Checking the login name doesn't already exist in the 'users' table:

The idea here is that if an entry already exists
in the 'users' db table where 'username' equals $username
(ie the login name the user has just provided in the
join form), then we return an error message saying that
that username is already taken and ask the user to 
choose another name.
*/

// build query: line 52
$query="SELECT username FROM users WHERE username='".$_POST["username"]."'";

// Run query:
$result=mysql_query($query, $link) or die("MySQL query $query failed.  Error if any: ".mysql_error());

// If a row exists with that username, issue an error message:
if( ($row=mysql_fetch_array($result)) ){
    $messages[]="Username \"".$_POST["username"]."\" already exists.  Try another.";
}

[B]$date = my_date($_POST['date_ofbirth']);[/B]



/*
Creating a new user entry in the users table:

If we got here and no error messages were placed in the $messages array above,
then the $username that the user provided was valid and we can
continue to create an entry in the users table in the mysql db.
We also effectively 'login' the user and then forward them to the members.php
page using the 'header()' function.
*/
if(empty($messages)) {
    // registration ok, get user id and update db with new info:
    newUser($_POST["username"], $_POST["password"], $_POST["first_name"], $_POST["maiden_name"], $_POST["last_name"], $_POST["address_line1"], $_POST["address_line2"], $_POST["town"], $_POST["county"], $_POST["postcode"], $_POST["daytime_phone"], $_POST["evening_phone"], $_POST["email_address"], [B]$_POST["date_ofbirth"]);[/B]

    // Log the user in:
    cleanMemberSession($_POST["username"], $_POST["password"]);

    // and then redirect them to the members page:
    header("Location: members.php?".session_name()."=".session_id());

    /*
    Note this script stops executing after the header() function above!
    (the user is forwarded to the members.php page)
    */
}
}
/*
Below here is HTML interposed with PHP.  This HTML is only output if
a. the form hasn't been submitted
b. the form was submitted but errors were detected
*/
?>
<html>
<head>
<title><?php print $title ?></title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<?php doCSS()?>
</head>
<body>
<h1><?php print $title?></h1>
<?php
//Check if $message is set, and output it if it is:
if(!empty($messages)){
    displayErrors($messages);
}
?>
<form action="<?=$_SERVER["PHP_SELF"]?>" method="POST">
<table>
<tr><td>Username:</td><td><input type="text" name="username" 
value="<?php print isset($_POST["username"]) ? $_POST["username"] : "" ;?>" 
maxlength="15"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Password:</td><td><input type="password" name="password" value="" maxlength="15"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Confirm password:</td><td><input type="password" name="password2" value="" maxlength="15"></td></tr>
<tr><td>First Name:</td><td><input type="text" name="first_name" value="" maxlength="25"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Maiden Name:</td><td><input type="text" name="maiden_name" value="" maxlength="25"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Last Name:</td><td><input type="text" name="last_name" value="" maxlength="25"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Address Line 1:</td><td><input type="text" name="address_line1" value="" maxlength="25"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Address Line 2:</td><td><input type="text" name="address_line2" value="" maxlength="25"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Town:</td><td><input type="text" name="town" value="" maxlength="25"></td></tr>
etc, etc

The functions above are called from a functions file, the function for my_date is as follows:

function my_date ($formdate) {

$date1 = $formdate;
$date2 = date("Y-m-d",strtotime($date1)); 

return $date2;

}

Thanks

genista

Ok so here I am with the latest update to my saga:

I have a function defined like so:

function my_date ($formdate) {

$date1 = $formdate;
$date2 = date("Y-m-d",strtotime($date1)); 

return $date2;

}

Then in my join form I have:

$date = my_date($_POST['date_ofbirth']);
newUser($_POST["username"], $_POST["password"], $_POST["first_name"], $_POST["maiden_name"], $_POST["last_name"], $_POST["address_line1"], $_POST["address_line2"], $_POST["town"], $_POST["county"], $_POST["postcode"], $_POST["daytime_phone"], $_POST["evening_phone"], $_POST["email_address"], $_POST["details"], $date);

The problem is that it is posting the $date into the details column as highlighted above, and also todays date comes out like 2033-12-23. If I leave date_ofbirth empty I get an error like so: "strtotime(): Called with empty time parameter".
All I want to do is have a function that allows mt o turn fields in a form from a UK date into the relevant format in the database.

Thanks,

Any ideas?

tsinka

Hi,

first of all do you have some error checking code to ensure that people enter the date in the form dd-mm-yyyy or that they enter the date of birth at all (is it a required field) ?

strtotime expects the date info to be in format yyyy-mm-dd so you need to rearrange the posted date parts prior to using strtotime.

Example:

<?PHP
function my_date($formdate) {
  $strDate = '';

  if (preg_match('§^(\d{2})-(\d{2})-(\d{4})$§', $formdate, $arrParts)) {
    $intTS = strtotime($arrParts[3].'-'.$arrParts[2].'-'.$arrParts[1]);
    $strDate = ($intTS == -1) ? '' : date('Y-m-d', $intTS);
  }

  return $strDate;
} 

$strDate = my_date($_POST['date_ofbirth']);

if ($strDate == '') {
  // date error
}

?>

I used $strDate instead of $date because date is the name of a PHP function and I wouldn't use PHP internal function or variable names as variable names in my own code.

Thomas

Installer

This is why dates shouldn't be input in text. Use, e.g., select boxes; then it's trivial to arrange day, month, year however you need them and you won't have to jump through so many validation, parsing, and formatting hoops.