[RESOLVED] how to change to next id row after a minute, I have the rest

Ethan22

Hello the code below pulls however many images urls, and images titles that I want from a mysql database and in order already. How do I do this instead so that it changes to the next id row after 30 seconds instead? So that it changes to the next id row after 30 seconds? All this other took me too long to figure out so would be appreciated. :queasy: Thanks a lot.

I have this following pulling from a database fine named them so you could know what these do. This is all working like it is. Just needed help with it about the above question:

$getrowsinorder = mysql_real_escape_string('id');
$selectthesecolumns = "SELECT imageurl, imagetitle, FROM `images` WHERE `id` >= $getrowsinorder ORDER BY `id` LIMIT 1"; 
$pullcolumns = mysql_query($selectthesecolumns) OR die('Error pulling a database column: ' . mysql_error());  

while ($column = mysql_fetch_array($pullcolumns)){  

echo "<p><a href='$column[imageurl]' >$column[url]</a><span>$column[imagetitle]</span></p>";
}

Ethan22

while ($column = mysql_fetch_array($pullcolumns)){echo "<p>
<a href='$column[imageurl]'><img title='$column[imagetitle]'></a></p>";}
I meant for the echo.

Ethan22

This is why I don't need a cookie for this but thanks anyway. This will be changing on my own webpage when the page is still open for people viewing my page. So I just need it changing after so many seconds when people have my page still open.

dagon

for a start it will have to be done with some javascript

Ethan22

Thanks a lot for peaking in Dagon. I don't want to get into all that yet, I know that is a lot more complicated. For now I'm just going to put a <META HTTP-EQUIV="refresh" CONTENT="30"> at the top of my web page source, set for 30 seconds to get this working until I have more time for the javascript later. Thing is even though the page is refreshing I don't know how to get it to show the next one after the next refresh goes off at 30 seconds.

So I'm trying to tell this code to pick the next database row after every page refresh, I added.

I added this

$columntimer = date("s")%count($pullcolumns);

to this:

$getrowsinorder = mysql_real_escape_string('id'); 
$selectthesecolumns = "SELECT imageurl, imagetitle, FROM `images` WHERE `id` >= $getrowsinorder ORDER BY `id` LIMIT 1"; 
$pullcolumns = mysql_query($selectthesecolumns) OR die('Error pulling a database column: ' . mysql_error());   

while ($column = mysql_fetch_array($pullcolumns)){$columntimer = date("s")%count($pullcolumns); 
echo "<p>
<a href='$columntimer[imageurl]'><img title='$columntimer[imagetitle]'></a></p>";}

but nothing is showing anymore when I did this:

$columntimer = date("s")%count($pullcolumns);

I know my error is in this new I added. Getting pretty close but not quite, can anyone please help see where my error is? Thanks.
Just trying to get it to show the next row database item, when the next 30 second page refresh goes off. Thank you.

Ethan22

Or it can be <META HTTP-EQUIV="refresh" CONTENT="60">
$columntimer = date("i")%count($pullcolumns);
If you like that better for a minute

Ethan22

Is there any way to do it this way, without having to have a php cookie?

dagon

store the id in a session, on every load (reload) increment the value and use it for the query

Ethan22

In other words can this remember the next row to show when the next page refresh happens, without any php cookie?

Ethan22

So sounds like you're saying I will have to have a cookie for this to work. Thanks a lot for letting me know. Does anyone think I won't need it?

So- for that then. I heard regular cookies are better than session cookies especially for databases. Because databases sometimes timeout in browsers, they don't always load or log in right or stack and cookies help avoid those things. Do several programmers here think that's true before I start on storing the ids?

dagon

"regular cookies are better than session cookies"

sessions and cookes are different things, cookies are stored on the clients machine, sessions on the host machine, to propagate a session on the client machine the session id may be stored in a cookie or the url.

Ethan22

Thanks. I heard that cookies were better than sessions when pulling from databases for those reasons, and other. Several please let me know if you think that is incorrect.

I was wondering why something like this following does pull imagefiles every minute without a stored id in a cookie, when it sounds like pulling form database does not? When they are both on the server, uploaded images, and database data.
Can someone please tell me why that is? Why you don't need a cookie for pulling from uploaded image files but you do pulling data from a database? Thank you.

bradgrafelman

Ethan22;10980453 wrote:
In other words can this remember the next row to show when the next page refresh happens, without any php cookie?

Sure... you could do something like this:

Add the 'id' of the image somewhere in the HTML you output. A simple way would be to add it in the query string of the image URL, e.g. you'd have something like:
```
<img src="http://mysite.com/path/to/the_image.jpg?id=123">
```
Don't refresh the page; use Javascript to grab the 'id' out of the URL for the currently displayed image.
Again using Javascript, assign a new URL to the 'src' attribute of the image with the 'id' value increased by 1.

You say this: "I don't want to get into all that yet, I know that is a lot more complicated," and yet what I'm describing is just a few lines of Javascript (heck, I could probably combine it into a one-liner if I tried hard enough). What you're describing is the use of cookies and modifications to the PHP code.

Ethan22;10980454 wrote:
So sounds like you're saying I will have to have a cookie for this to work. Thanks a lot for letting me know. Does anyone think I won't need it?

You only need to use a cookie if you refuse to use a client-side scripting language (such as Javascript) to handle client-side behavior.

Therefore, no, I don't "think" you won't need it... I know you won't need it (well, if you change your mind, that is). 😉

Ethan22;10980454 wrote:
So- for that then. I heard regular cookies are better than session cookies especially for databases.

A cookie is a cookie. There are no such things as "(PHP) session cookies" - there are just PHP sessions which propagate the session's ID via a cookie.

In addition, one isn't inherently "better" than the other... both have different characteristics and are best fits for different scenarios. Saying one is "better" than the other is like saying a hammer is better than a pencil (which might be true if you're building a doghouse yet far from the truth if you're writing a haiku).

The use of a database has no bearing on how the cookies are handled, either - the two topics are orthogonal to each other.

Ethan22;10980454 wrote:
Because databases sometimes timeout in browsers, they don't always load or log in right or stack and cookies help avoid those things.

Er... none of that made any sense at all, to be honest.

Ethan22

Thank you a lot for more frank opinion it is really appreciated. Programmers seem to have real varied opinions because several told me before sessions have more timeout problems than regular cookies so usually I go with cookies. I guess the other you said is because javascript makes my head spin trying to write it and php is easier for me even with it's difficulty. Can you tell me why javascript helps with something like this? Since the database is in the server, javascript can't make it go any faster than php anyway can it? A bit confused on why javascript can execute things faster than php, when the database is on the server.

Ethan22

I'll try like you said it would just help a lot to know why I'm doing it, why is javascript good with something like this? Can I do something with the database item faster with it, than I could with all of it in php only?

Ethan22

Or is there another important reason instead of only php, to use javascript with it. I'm confused about that would help to know why some of you like using javascript with the database.

bradgrafelman

Ethan22;10980460 wrote:
several told me before sessions have more timeout problems than regular cookies

A session will only "timeout" in the sense that PHP's session garbage collector (GC for short) is normally used to delete unused session files on occasion. The "used" aspect is determined by a configuration value (e.g. a file has to be older than "x" seconds to be considered unused), as is how often the GC is randomly executed (given in the form of a fraction where you supply the numerator and divisor, e.g. the GC will run roughly "x/y" percent of the time, where "x" and "y" are both configurable). Anytime the session is opened, however, the file's access/modified time is updated.

In other words, if I disabled GC completely and passed the session id in the URL (versus using a cookie), I could give you a session that would last indefinitely - even if you switched browsers (but copied the URL) or computers entirely.

So no, sessions don't have any more "timeout" problems other than ones that you configure.

Ethan22;10980460 wrote:
I guess the other you said is because javascript makes my head spin trying to write it and php is easier for me even with it's difficulty.

Ah, well then consider this a (very small) chance to improve your Javascript knowledge.

Ethan22;10980460 wrote:
Can you tell me why javascript helps with something like this?

If I told you there were two categories of languages at hand - server-side languages and client-side languages, and I asked you which one would be best for manipulating client-side behavior, which one would you pick?

In other words, yes, I could explain why Javascript "helps" with this, but isn't the answer obvious? 😉

Ethan22;10980460 wrote:
Since the database is in the server, javascript can't make it go any faster than php anyway can it? A bit confused on why javascript can execute things faster than php, when the database is on the server.

Again, the database has nothing to do with this. I'm suggesting you use Javascript to reload a single image, whereas you're trying to go about the route of setting cookies and refreshing an entire page just to change the source of one element on that page.

Ethan22

Again, the database has nothing to do with this. I'm suggesting you use Javascript to reload a single image, whereas you're trying to go about the route of setting cookies and refreshing an entire page just to change the source of one element on that page.

Ok I'm doing my best to follow you're fantastic real appreciated tips. If you could please be a little more specific on this part, because you didn't explain enough what you mean. I need to know what I'm doing for me to be able to try to write anything. I'm not trying to reload an image. I'm trying to go from one database row to the next database row, after so many seconds. Can you please tell me a little more clearly some tips on how to do that? Sounds like using javascript is best by several of you for that last part. Thanks a lot for all your great advice.

Ethan22

O n how to do the last part I'm having trouble with I mean. Thank you.