help with functions

captainhook

I am trying to setup a function that pulls a list of links within each directory to the side of my page. I have it setup and working to pull the list when each different directory is opened up, my problem is i can not figure out how to have the list of links not display when the index.php is open. I only want the list to display when any page within a directory is open excluding the index page for each.

The reason, my index pages have that list already, so having it display twice on the same page is completely redundant. So i want this list to only be displayed for the individual pages and not for the index.

I am a newb at php and it seems like it would be so easy to do by just listing each page individually and just leaving the array for my index pages blank.. but that apparently does not work.

Here is the code I found and am using. How do i tell the code to not list my links for the index page but for each individual page when they are clicked into?

code:

function getLinks($directory) {
global $links;
switch ($directory) {

case '/helpers':
  $links = array("Mary"=>"/helpers/mary","Tom"=>"/helpers/tom","Luke"=>"/helpers/luke");
break;

case '/faq':
  $links = array("extra"=>"/faq/extra","second"=>"/faq/second");
break;

case '/contact':
  $links = array("Contact Form"=>"/contact/contact");
break;

}
return $links;
}[/COLOR]

end code.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

tron00

Is your index.php file in the web root directory?

If it is

function getLinks($directory) {
global $links;
if($_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] !== "index.php") {
switch ($directory) {

case '/helpers':
$links = array("Mary"=>"/helpers/mary","Tom"=>"/helpers/tom","Luke"=>"/helpers/luke");
break;

case '/faq':
$links = array("extra"=>"/faq/extra","second"=>"/faq/second");
break;

case '/contact':
$links = array("Contact Form"=>"/contact/contact");
break;
}
}
return $links;
}

If it is not in the root directory, such as
some_directory/index.php, then you will need to use $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] !== "some_directory/index.php"

laserlight

Actually, I would suggest that you do something like this:

function getLinks($directory) {
    switch ($directory) {
    case '/helpers':
        return array("Mary" => "/helpers/mary",
                     "Tom" => "/helpers/tom",
                     "Luke" => "/helpers/luke");
        break;
    case '/faq':
        return array("extra" => "/faq/extra",
                     "second" => "/faq/second");
        break;
    case '/contact':
        return array("Contact Form" => "/contact/contact");
        break;
    default:
        return array();
    }
}

Then you perform the check of $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] in the caller, and only if the current page is not an index page do you assign the return value of getLinks() to $links.

halojoy

Hello there!

You can also be consistent in what quotes you put around your strings.
Either use single quotes 'string', like i do, wherever i do not specfically need double "string".
Or use double quotes thorughout script.

To remark another detail, ( I usually do not mark words 😉 )
you can preferably for clean code use
switch() :
case :
case :
default :
endswitch;

Also works with IF
if($this) :
do some
else :
do other
endif;

This is how I would do it.
I have cleaned up this code for clarity.

function getLinks ( $directory ) 
{

switch ( $directory ) :

case '/helpers' :
    return array( 'Mary' => '/helpers/mary',
                         'Tom' => '/helpers/tom',
                         'Luke' => '/helpers/luke' );
    break;

case '/faq' :
    return array( 'extra' => '/faq/extra',
                           'second' => '/faq/second' );
    break;

case '/contact' :
    return array( 'Contact Form' => '/contact/contact" );
    break;

default :
    return array();

endswitch;

}

sidenote:
Regarding using TRUE or 1 and FALSE and 0
this is not much more than a matter of habbit.
Many good programmers use 1 for true and 0 for false.
As long as you know the few issues that can arise
.. both ways are generally accepted, frequently seen and will work.

halojoy

laserlight

you can preferably for clean code use
switch() :
case :
case :
default :
endswitch;

That is rubbish. I may have started out by first learning the alternative syntax for control structures, but the truth is that the alternative syntax for control structures is rarely used in PHP. What is preferable for clean code is clear and consistent formatting, not the use of the alternative syntax.

Many good programmers use 1 for true and 0 for false.

Because those programmers are constained by programming languages that do not explicitly have boolean types, e.g., C before the 1999 edition of the C Standard.

captainhook

Thank you all for the replies.

I have been unsuccessful getting it to work. I am thinking it may be due to the structure of the directories and index files. They are built as such:

index.php (main directory)

/helpers directory/
index.php
mary.php
tom.php
luke.php

/faq directory/
index.php
extra.php
second.php

/contact directory/
index.php
contact.php

/functions directory/
functions.php

So each set of pages really has its own directory with index file. They do not share the same index or are even located in a single direcotory. I am not sure if that is what is causing the code to fail. I just get a global error trying to access the entire site stating there is a php code error and none of the site is displayed.

I am wondering if maybe this portion of the coding in my functions.php file needs to be adjusted.

As the code stands now it works for pulling my links up for each directory. Again, I am just needing them to not be displayed for the individual index pages within those directories.

Thank you again for the responses. Any further help is greatly appreciated. I am clearly stumped.