How to Generate php Pages upon Submission

SportinStyle

I was wondering how to generate a new html/php page upon submission of a form, and to automatically use a defined template and just input the database information automatically, then make its own file name and save onto the server. (ie: how a forum/blog would work to make a new page for a new post/blog entry, etc)

Basically, if anyone has a link to a good tutorial that would better help me understand this, that would be great.

Thanks in advance!

dagon

forums\blogs a lot of sites don't do it that way, they don't save a new file on the server they create the page on the fly using a template and loading in the data from the db as needed.

Krik

automatically

Sorry had to laugh at the number of times that is in there. While a page looks to make something automatically I can guarantee those 1000's of lines of code were not made automatically. Users may think it is magic but we know better.

Something tells me you are looking to make your own site using templates.

In basic all you are doing is making a rough frame work of HTML. Then in the various areas you wish to display content you use if's and includes to bring in variables and code that will display within the predefined areas the output of said variables and code.

then make its own file name and save onto the server

Really you do not want to make a new files for each entire page you just want new files for each small segement of the page that may need to change based on when the user performs an event on (click, mouse over, ect). Reason being is a good site may have 20, 30, or even 100 possible variations on how the data could be diplayed. If you suddenly think that X element is not neded you have to go through all 20, 30, 100 pages and delete it verses just deleting it in 1 place.

So in basic how I usually handle it is, one file has the basic HTML framework it has another file that I "include' at the top of it that when a link is clicked it will determine what and were other pages should be diplayed with in that HTML framework.

As for a good place to go I guess look into the basics of building a site using php. The concept I desribe above is so basic in web design today that it gets over looked in the tutorial world yet they will assume that is how your site is layed out.

Magfersile

I think what you're looking for is pagination. I'm no expert on it, but there are tons of articles out there on this topic.

Try seaching PHP Builder for pagination and if that doesn't help, try this link:

http://www.sitepoint.com/article/perfect-php-pagination

SportinStyle

Sorry if I came off sounding rather new on the subject, but in all honesty I have used php in my web design for a few years now, just very very minimally, as you can tell. 🙂

I didn't know each page was made by hand, in that regard.

Perhaps you just told me the answer to this, but if it clarifys anything, what I was referring to was how to automatically generate code that will read something like yoursite.com/tutorials/test.php?id=0239484 and that link would bring you to a page that pulls the database content in a different way as if it was infact a new page.

I hope that helps.

Thanks for replying guys!

(I think the guy who said make the website on the fly using templates was the closest)

Krik

That is more or less what I was describiing.

index.php?page=home&sub=2

You can go on for a quite a ways adding &key=value to the url. And depending on the values you can dictate a change to any one one part of the site. And it is real easy to retrieve the values. Take "home" for example in my url above, you would retrieve its value with $_GET['page'].

Do be carefull with this though it has a known security risk in that code can be pluged in and used to hijack your site. To avoid that it is best to have any values passed via the url checked against something like an array that has a list of valid pages/entries. I accutally check against a database so that at the same time I can check if the user has permission to view that content.

I noticed in your example you used an id number if it is a user id it is best passed with in the $_SESSION[] super global.