PHP Script to Order Include files by name?

tumerboy

I'm making a small portfolio site. What I'd like is to be able to make a separate include file for each new page that the main page will link to. They can simply be numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. I then want a PHP script that can read through those filenames and include them in inverse order.

Essentially, as a new page was added, I could just dump the next numbered include file into the folder, and the PHP page would update and put that include at the top.

Does this make any sense to anyone? Is it possible? I know how to include files and do some basic PHP work, but nothing on this scale. and I don't know how to read through the files in a folder.

Thanks in advance.
-Nick

kkobashi

<?php

// globalinc.php

function MyIncludeFiles($gIncludeFiles) {
   foreach $gIncludeFiles as $file {
      include_once($file);
   }
}
?>

Here's a general idea:

This needs to be included in all modules that are supposed to include your files and it should be loaded at the top of the module.

Sample.php

// include the function
include_once(globalinc.php);

// Stuff a string array ON THE FLY through some algorithm of the 
// files you want to include (you have to have them anyway, right?!)
// I'll leave the specifics up to you
// Here I just stuff it as an example
$gInc = array("file1.inc", "file2.inc", "file3.inc");

// Now call the function to include_once() each file specified in the list above
MyIncludeFiles($gIncludeFiles);

// At this point, all include files have been inserted into this script

tumerboy

ok, but I still have to specify each file in the script right? I was hoping for something that would look through the contents of a directory, order the files, and include each one automatically, each time the page is loaded. That way instead of having to update the PHP file each time, I can just throw a new include file into the given folder and the PHP will take care of the rest.

Or is that what this does and I just don't understand?

kkobashi

Yep, of course you need to specify the filenames in the script or generate them on the fly according to the algorithm you base it on... It appears to me that you want the list generated on the fly and based on existing files in a folder?

If so, then you need to investigate how to walk a directory folder, right? I'm sure there are scripts out there to do this.

$gInc = array("file1.inc", "file2.inc", "file3.inc");

In the code above, you would replace your algorithm function (lets call it FillIncludeFileList):

function FillIncludeFileList($baseDir) {

// walk directory tree and generate an array of filenames
// this part is up to you to decide

return($arrayOfIncludeFilenames);

}

$gInc = FillIncludeFileList("/mySite/folderwheretheincfilesreside");

Again, everything discussed so far is a general solution to the problem to give you an idea of how to approach it. For specifics about how to generate a directory tree, go http://us3.php.net/dir and look at msh at onliners dot dk post.

Hope this helps!

tumerboy

Cool thanks, I'll do some more investigating.