[RESOLVED] Adding times

[neljan]

This is really difficult I fear.

I'm using the following code to enable users to submit timetrials:

	if(isset($_POST['submit'])) {

	$racetrack_1_minutes = ($_POST['racetrack_1_minutes']);
            $racetrack_1_seconds = ($_POST['racetrack_1_seconds']);
            $racetrack_1_milliseconds = ($_POST['racetrack_1_milliseconds']);

	$racetrack_2_minutes = ($_POST['racetrack_2_minutes']);
            $racetrack_2_seconds = ($_POST['racetrack_2_seconds']);
            $racetrack_2_milliseconds = ($_POST['racetrack_2_milliseconds']);

	$racetrack_1 = $racetrack_1_minutes.'.'.$racetrack_1_seconds.'.'.racetrack_1_milliseconds;
	$racetrack_2 = $racetrack_2_minutes.'.'.$racetrack_2_seconds.'.'.racetrack_2_milliseconds;

safe_query("
            UPDATE `".PREFIX."timetrials`
						SET 
							racetrack_1='".$racetrack_1."',
							racetrack_2='".$racetrack_2."',
		    			WHERE 
			    			        racerID='".$id."'");
}

This gives me a table entry of #.#.### (minutes.seconds.milliseconds) for each user for 2 different racetracks.

Heres my question...

How can I now add those 2 times ($racetrack_1 and $racetrack_2) giving me a total time, keeping the same format and time rules? is it possible?

Lets say the submitted times are:

racetrack_1 = 1.22.768 (1 minute, 22 seconds and 768 milliseconds)
racetrack_2 = 2.43.654 (2 minutes, 43 seconds and 654 milliseconds)

I would like the total time to be:

4.06.422

Keeping time rules, so if seconds > 59 = 1 minute (remainder = seconds) and if milliseconds > 999 = 1 second (remainder = milliseconds).

I would also need the minutes to add up to hours if they exceed 59 (I actually have 32 racetracks, not 2) so:

49.58.678 + 27.30.284 =

1.17.28.962

I understand that '.' seperators aren't correct for times and it should be:

01:22:56:657

or perhaps...

01'22'45'667"

?

So if thats necessary I can change it.

Thanks very much in advance for your time 😉

[bradgrafelman]

It sounds like you can already explain in words the logic necessary to perform addition on two different "times", so all that's left for you to do is convert those words into PHP syntax and wrap it in a function that you can call. Have you tried doing this already?

Also, a bit off-topic... if you really have 32 racetracks in this code, with a bunch of repeated code, then it sounds like you could greatly benefit from using arrays instead. For example, instead of using HTML form elements named "racetrack_N_minutes" (where N is an integer 1-32 identifying which track), you could simply name each group of fields the same, e.g. "racetrack_minutes[]", "racetrack_seconds[]", etc. (Note that you could also define the index in the HTML if you desired, e.g. "racetrack_minutes[2]" for racetrack #2, etc.).

Then, in the PHP code, $_POST['racetrack_seconds'], etc. would be arrays that you could loop through and perform the necessary logic. In other words, the processing code that handles the racetrack data would only be written once, and you'd execute it in a loop for all of the racetracks.

It also sounds like your DB might benefit from database normalization, but that's yet another topic altogether.

[neljan]

Thanks for your reply Brad.

It sounds like you can already explain in words the logic necessary to perform addition on two different "times", so all that's left for you to do is convert those words into PHP syntax and wrap it in a function that you can call. Have you tried doing this already?

Good idea, but I fear it's beyond my level of php capabilities at this point.

There is a file '_funtions.php' for my site so I'm familiar with the concept (just cant practice it).

Lets see...

// sets the function name, idk what ($userID) is for though...
function gettotaltime($userID) {
// fetching data from database tables...
	$ds=mysql_fetch_array(safe_query("SELECT 	LC, MMM, MG, TF, MC, CM, SBX, WGM, DC, KC, MT, GV, DDR, MH, BC, RR, PB, YF, GV2, MR, SL, SGB, DS, WS, DH, BC3, JP, rMC, MC3, PG, DKM, rBC  FROM ".PREFIX."timetrials WHERE userID='".$userID."'"));
// need to split the times for all 32 racetracks into m/s/ms (since #.##.### is not calculable)...
	$LC_minutes = mb_substr($ds['LC'],0,1);
	$LC_seconds = mb_substr($ds['LC'],2,2)
        $LC_milliseconds = mb_substr($ds['LC'],5,3);
(etc, etc, etc)
// get total time (this is where I epically fail more)...
$totalminutes = ($LC_minutes + $other 31 courses_minutes / 60);
$totalseconds = ($LC_seconds + $other 31 courses_seconds / 60);
$totalmilliseconds = ($LC_milliseconds + $other 31 courses_milliseconds / 999);
$totalhours = '';

for each ($totalminutes > 59) $totalhours = $totalhours +1;
for each ($totalseconds > 59) $totalminutes = $totalminutes +1;
for each ($totalmilliseconds > 999) $totalseconds + $totalseconds + 1);

$totaltime = $totalhours'.'$totalminutes'.'totalseconds'.$totalmilliseconds';
}

If you laugh, please tell me (I like to know when I make someone smile!)

😃

[Krik]

I was hoping to give you the instructions you need to take what you had the rest of the way. But after 5 tries to write it out I got lazy and am going to give you the code.

I am better at writing code, so enjoy the freebie on me.

function gettotaltime($userID) {

$total_milliseconds = 0;

$ds_qry = "
	SELECT LC, MMM, MG, TF, MC, CM, SBX, WGM, DC, KC, MT, GV, DDR, MH, BC, RR, PB, YF, GV2, MR, SL, SGB, DS, WS, DH, BC3, JP, rMC, MC3, PG, DKM, rBC  
	FROM ".PREFIX."timetrials 
	WHERE userID='".$userID."'
";

$ds_row = mysql_fetch_array(safe_query($ds_qry));

foreach ($ds_row as $key => $value) {

	$split_value = explode('.', $value);

	$total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
}

$total_seconds = $total_milliseconds / 1000;
list ($sec, $milliseconds) = explode('.', $total_seconds);

$total_minutes = $sec / 60;
list ($min, $seconds) = explode('.', $total_minutes);

if ($min >= 60) {
	$total_hours = $min / 60;
	list($hours, $minutes) = explode('.', $total_hours);
}
else {
	$minutes = $min;
	$hours = '';
}

return $hours . '.' . $minutes . '.' . $seconds . '.' . $milliseconds;

}

Unfortunately just giving away the code has the side effect of people not learning as much. So hopefully you will take some time to try and figure out what I just gave you. I did change some parts of your code that worked just fine, mostly so it would be more readable. So it may take you a bit to figure it out.

[neljan]

Good of you to help me once again Krik 🆒

Ok I added your code to functions.php and called upon it like so:

$totaltime = gettotaltime();

(idk if thats right)

Result:

1.11.423 +
1.19.334 +
1.51.641 +
1.57.475 +
1.24.202 +
2.03.716 +
2.03.447 +
1.58.278 +
1.34.865 +
2.29.983 +
2.24.908 +
2.03.405 +
2.02.682 +
1.29.886 +
2.29.886 +
2.38.509 +
1.19.394 +
1.03.283 +
0.56.749 +
1.48.534 +
2.11.405 +
1.25.605 +
2.10.479 +
2.02.031 +
1.42.847 +
2.14.931 +
2.19.684 +
1.40.711 +
1.22.070 +
2.06.358 +
2.17.341 +
2.41.205 +

=

.0..

I then tried it without calling it as a function like so:

    $total_milliseconds = 0;

$ds_qry = "
    SELECT LC, MMM, MG, TF, MC, CM, SBX, WGM, DC, KC, MT, GV, DDR, MH, BC, RR, PB, YF, GV2, MR, SL, SGB, DS, WS, DH, BC3, JP, rMC, MC3, PG, DKM, rBC  
    FROM ".PREFIX."timetrials
    WHERE userID='".$userID."'
";

$ds_row = mysql_fetch_array(safe_query($ds_qry));

foreach ($ds_row as $key => $value) {

    $split_value = explode('.', $value);

    $total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
}

$total_seconds = $total_milliseconds / 1000;
list ($sec, $milliseconds) = explode('.', $total_seconds);

$total_minutes = $sec / 60;
list ($min, $seconds) = explode('.', $total_minutes);

if ($min >= 60) {
    $total_hours = $min / 60;
    list($hours, $minutes) = explode('.', $total_hours);
}
else {
    $minutes = $min;
    $hours = '';
}

$totaltime = $hours . '.' . $minutes . '.' . $seconds . '.' . $milliseconds;

Result:

2..866666667.534

I think the actual result should be:

1.00.32.267

EDIT

Yes, I've noticed how you (and Brad) first propose an approach towards a solution in view of encouraging me to figure out the solution for myself, then if I struggle, you'll give me some code with some explanations (wonderful).

I cant thank you both enough for what you do here. Not only do you help but you're also encouraging me to learn (and I have, and it feels great!).

<3

[Krik]

I must have made a mistake in one of the math formulas. When you don't have the numbers its a bit tricky.

I'll try to walk you through what I gave you and maybe you can find the math error.

The "foreach" does 2 things first it splits each columns value at the period(.) it then takes the first value (minutes) and converts it to second and adds it to the second value (seconds) and converts that to milliseconds and adds that to the last value. I then ads that to value of "$total_milliseconds".

To test if "$total_milliseconds" is incrementing up each time through the loop you could do a echo after the "$total_milliseconds" but in side the loop.

After the loop is finished you then take the final value and divide it to make seconds, taking the decimal value as millisecond. You then take the seconds value divide that to make minutes, taking the decimal value as seconds. Then divide the minutes value to make hours taking the decimal value as minutes.

After that is done you take each time value and place it in a string.

The math for converting them all back into a recognizable time string is wrong. I thought it was when I typed it up by now I am certain of it. Try echoing the "list" values in the line right after each "list" this may show what the results of the math are allowing you to adjust it accordingly.

Also I know PHP has some time functions that work with milliseconds maybe look through the manuals [man]datetime[/man] section it may shed some light on how to do the math. I am certain someone there will have an example of some crazy way they had to calculate milliseconds.

I will try to check back later to see if I can find the error.

[neljan]

It's making me crazy.

idk if it helps you to help me but heres what it's chucking out:

Looks like the problem may be in the seconds.

[johanafm]

I don't know what actually went wrong, but in my opinion it's a lot easier to not convert from/to strings, and this does the trick

function msToReadableTime($ms) {
	$sec = (int) ($ms / 1000);
	$ms = $ms % 1000;

$min = (int) ($sec / 60);
$sec = $sec % 60;

$h = (int) ($min / 60);
$min = $min % 60;

return $h . '.' . $min . '.' . $sec . '.' . $ms;
}

If you ever have input data containing hours, you will also get a errors due to parsing here: Hours considered as minutes, minutes as seconds, seconds as ms, and ms disregarded

// $total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
# This is easier for me to read, but it does the same thing as the above. Parenthesis could actually be removed completely if you prefer.
	$total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds +
                ($split_value[0] * 60000) + ($split_value[1] * 1000) + $split_value[2];

[neljan]

Thanks for your help Johan 🙂

So how would I use your code? (sorry)

I tried...

    $total_milliseconds = 0;

$ds_qry = "
    SELECT LC, MMM, MG, TF, MC, CM, SBX, WGM, DC, KC, MT, GV, DDR, MH, BC, RR, PB, YF, GV2, MR, SL, SGB, DS, WS, DH, BC3, JP, rMC, MC3, PG, DKM, rBC  
    FROM ".PREFIX."timetrials
    WHERE userID='".$userID."'
";

$ds_row = mysql_fetch_array(safe_query($ds_qry));

foreach ($ds_row as $key => $value) {
    $split_value = explode('.', $value);
    $total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
}

$total_seconds = $total_milliseconds / 1000;
list ($sec, $milliseconds) = explode('.', $total_seconds);

$total_minutes = $sec / 60;
list ($min, $seconds) = explode('.', $total_minutes);

if ($min >= 60) {
    $total_hours = $min / 60;
    list($hours, $minutes) = explode('.', $total_hours);
}
else {
    $minutes = $min;
    $hours = '';
}

function msToReadableTime($ms) {
    $sec = (int) ($ms / 1000);
    $ms = $ms % 1000;

$min = (int) ($sec / 60);
$sec = $sec % 60;

$h = (int) ($min / 60);
$min = $min % 60;

return $h . '.' . $min . '.' . $sec . '.' . $ms;
}

$totaltime = msToReadableTime();

Which gave me 0.0.0.0

Thanks again

[neljan]

humble bump :o

[johanafm]

neljan;10963128 wrote:

Thanks for your help Johan 🙂

So how would I use your code? (sorry)

        $total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
    }

# This is the old conversion method from ms to h:m:s:ms
/*
    $total_seconds = $total_milliseconds / 1000;
    list ($sec, $milliseconds) = explode('.', $total_seconds);

$total_minutes = $sec / 60;
list ($min, $seconds) = explode('.', $total_minutes);

if ($min >= 60) {
    $total_hours = $min / 60;
    list($hours, $minutes) = explode('.', $total_hours);
}
else {
    $minutes = $min;
    $hours = '';
}
*/

# You must use the total milliseconds as argument, else the function has nothing to work with.
/*
    $totaltime = msToReadableTime();
*/
	$totaltime = msToReadableTime($totalMilliseconds);

And of course, you do not need to have the ms => h.m.i.s conversion wrapped in a function if you only use it in this one place.

[neljan]

Tried:

    $total_milliseconds = 0;

$ds_qry = "
    SELECT LC, MMM, MG, TF, MC, CM, SBX, WGM, DC, KC, MT, GV, DDR, MH, BC, RR, PB, YF, GV2, MR, SL, SGB, DS, WS, DH, BC3, JP, rMC, MC3, PG, DKM, rBC  
    FROM ".PREFIX."timetrials
    WHERE userID='".$userID."'
";

$ds_row = mysql_fetch_array(safe_query($ds_qry));

foreach ($ds_row as $key => $value) {
    $split_value = explode('.', $value);
    $total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
}

$totaltime = msToReadableTime($totalMilliseconds);

With function:

function msToReadableTime($ms) {
    $sec = (int) ($ms / 1000);
    $ms = $ms % 1000;

$min = (int) ($sec / 60);
$sec = $sec % 60;

$h = (int) ($min / 60);
$min = $min % 60;

return $h . '.' . $min . '.' . $sec . '.' . $ms;
}

Result = 0.0.0.0

Also tried:

$totaltime = msToReadableTime($total_milliseconds);

$totaltime = msToReadableTime($ms);

And w/o function:

    $total_milliseconds = 0;

$ds_qry = "
    SELECT LC, MMM, MG, TF, MC, CM, SBX, WGM, DC, KC, MT, GV, DDR, MH, BC, RR, PB, YF, GV2, MR, SL, SGB, DS, WS, DH, BC3, JP, rMC, MC3, PG, DKM, rBC  
    FROM ".PREFIX."timetrials
    WHERE userID='".$userID."'
";

$ds_row = mysql_fetch_array(safe_query($ds_qry));

foreach ($ds_row as $key => $value) {
    $split_value = explode('.', $value);
    $total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
}

$sec = (int) ($ms / 1000);
$ms = $ms % 1000;

$min = (int) ($sec / 60);
$sec = $sec % 60;

$h = (int) ($min / 60);
$min = $min % 60;

$totaltime = $h . '.' . $min . '.' . $sec . '.' . $ms;

0.0.0.0

😕

[johanafm]

neljan;10963628 wrote:

Tried:

    $total_milliseconds = 0;
        $total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
    }

$totaltime = msToReadableTime($totalMilliseconds);

[/code]

Yes, it should indeed fail. You need to keep your variable names exact. $totalMilliseconds is not the same as $total_milliseconds or $TOTAL_milliseconds. The above code should make it clear which you need to use.

[johanafm]

Please use php tags instead of code tags. Color is pretty.

neljan;10963628 wrote:

        $total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
    }

$sec = (int) ($ms / 1000);	// what is $ms?
$ms = $ms % 1000;

$min = (int) ($sec / 60);
$sec = $sec % 60;

$h = (int) ($min / 60);
$min = $min % 60;

$totaltime = $h . '.' . $min . '.' . $sec . '.' . $ms;

[/code]

And same with this approach. $ms means nothing initially. But it does towards the end.

Do you have error reporting turned on? You should get notices when using undefined variables, even though the code will execute. For example consider this script, which is no snippet, but a complete script

<?php
$sum = $i +10;
echo $sum . '<br/>';
echo sum;
?>

output

Notice: Undefined variable: i in /Volumes/Data/Webbutveckling/dev.qruiser.com/blog.qruiser.com/a_test.php on line 23
10

Notice: Use of undefined constant sum - assumed 'sum' in /Volumes/Data/Webbutveckling/dev.qruiser.com/blog.qruiser.com/a_test.php on line 26
sum

You get one notice for $i which is undefined, but $sum will still be 10, since $i will be replaced by 0 in this case.
Then you get a notice for undefined constant sum. "Assumed 'sum'" means that undefined constants are replaced by a string containing their own name.
So, while the code executes and produces output, it may still not do what it should.
Notice is deemed less severe than warning and error, but it doesn't mean it's ok to leave them. Sometimes it is, but I still believe it's bad practice to do so.

[neljan]

johanafm;10963692 wrote:

Yes, it should indeed fail. You need to keep your variable names exact. $totalMilliseconds is not the same as $total_milliseconds or $TOTAL_milliseconds.

Sorry, but it was you who put $totalMilliseconds initially.

johanafm;10963692 wrote:

Do you have error reporting turned on? You should get notices when using undefined variables, even though the code will execute.

How would I check to see if it's on?

I see this in _settings.php:

// -- ERROR REPORTING -- //

define('DEBUG', "ON");
error_reporting(0); // 0 = public mode, E_ALL = development-mode

I should change it to 'E_ALL' ?

I'm confused as to what code I should be using now. Think it's this:

    $total_milliseconds = 0;

$ds_qry = "
    SELECT LC, MMM, MG, TF, MC, CM, SBX, WGM, DC, KC, MT, GV, DDR, MH, BC, RR, PB, YF, GV2, MR, SL, SGB, DS, WS, DH, BC3, JP, rMC, MC3, PG, DKM, rBC  
    FROM ".PREFIX."timetrials
    WHERE userID='".$userID."'
";

$ds_row = mysql_fetch_array(safe_query($ds_qry));

foreach ($ds_row as $key => $value) {
    $split_value = explode('.', $value);
    $total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
}

$sec = (int) ($ms / 1000);
$ms = $ms % 1000;

$min = (int) ($sec / 60);
$sec = $sec % 60;

$h = (int) ($min / 60);
$min = $min % 60;

$totaltime = $h . '.' . $min . '.' . $sec . '.' . $ms;

(just want to confirm that thats right before continuing).

Thanks again.

[johanafm]

neljan;10964201 wrote:

Sorry, but it was you who put $totalMilliseconds initially.

Sorry about confusing you.

neljan;10964201 wrote:

How would I check to see if it's on?
error_reporting(0); // 0 = public mode, E_ALL = development-mode[/code]
I should change it to 'E_ALL' ?

Iirc, E_ALL does not include E_WARNING. But you could just set it to -1 to include all existing errors and warnings (which will even include new error types if they're added in the future).
However, if you have a separate development environgment, you might want to check php.ini as well. If error reporting is turned off there and you turn it back on in your php script, you will not see critical errors like parse errors, since the code turning error reporting back on will never be executed.

neljan;10964201 wrote:

I'm confused as to what code I should be using now. Think it's this:

        $total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
    }

$sec = (int) ($ms / 1000);
$ms = $ms % 1000;

Just check what variables have and have not been defined yourself. Just because something is called $ms doesn't mean it contains milliseconds.

	# $total_milliseconds was defined as 0 above, which is why you can use it
	# on the right hand side of the = sign.
        $total_milliseconds = $total_milliseconds + (((($split_value[0] * 60) + $split_value[1]) * 1000) + $split_value[2]);
    }

# $ms has not been defined before this point. This should generate a warning
# but still execute since PHP will initialize $ms to 0
# $total_milliseconds exists though, and contains the total time in milliseconds.
/* What this does: assign the integer value (always truncated, i.e. rounded
        down) from the division to variable $sec */
$sec = (int) ($total_milliseconds / 1000);
# $ms still has not been defined
/* What this does: assign the value of $total_milliseconds modulo 1000 to $ms
        Modulo is the same as the remainder of integer division (for positive division
        results) */
$ms = $total_milliseconds % 1000;

# $sec is fine to use, it was defined above
$min = (int) ($sec / 60);
$sec = $sec % 60;

# etc...
$h = (int) ($min / 60);
$min = $min % 60;

# Here, $ms should be used, since it not has been defined, and only contains
# the millisecond part of the time, while $total_milliseconds contains the whole
# time in milliseconds.
$totaltime = $h . '.' . $min . '.' . $sec . '.' . $ms; 

[bradgrafelman]

johanafm wrote:

Iirc, E_ALL does not include E_WARNING.

It does include E_WARNING (otherwise 'ALL' wouldn't be a very good description :p) though it doesn't include E_STRICT.

Also, a note about this code comment:

error_reporting(0); // 0 = public mode, E_ALL = development-mode

I strongly disagree with that; IMHO, error_reporting should always be set to E_ALL (or even E_ALL | E_STRICT) in both production and development environments. The only difference between the two environments would be that in the former you'd enable log_errors while in the latter you'd enable display_errors.

[johanafm]

bradgrafelman;10964275 wrote:

It does include E_WARNING (otherwise 'ALL' wouldn't be a very good description :p) though it doesn't include E_STRICT.

Ah, right, it's the E_STRICT that's missing from E_ALL (which still makes it a poor description). In my opinion, E_STRICT should also be included.

[neljan]

I changed it to E_ALL and got:

Notice: Undefined variable: ms in /.../.../profile.php on line 702
Notice: Undefined variable: ms in /.../.../profile.php on line 703

that would be:

$sec = (int) ($ms / 1000);
$ms = $ms % 1000;

EDIT

I just noticed in post #16 that you changed back to:

$sec = (int) ($total_milliseconds / 1000);
$ms = $total_milliseconds % 1000;

From

$sec = (int) ($ms / 1000);
$ms = $ms % 1000;

(which you previously gave me)

Can you please verify that I'm using the correct code:

http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showpost.php?p=10964201&postcount=15

Very confused 😕

[neljan]

Finally it works! 😃

Thank you so much Krik, Brad and johanafm <3

😉