Proper way to design a 'skeleton' script? More...

**cadmiumgreen** · Jun 10, 2005 01:12

hello,

how common is it to use a 'skeleton' script?

A sample skeleton script that I'm using for some of my websites would look like this...

<html>
<head><title>A Website</title>

</head>

<body>




<?php
switch ($_GET['content']) {

case (''):
echo (require 'news/news.php');
break;
case ('news'):
echo (require 'news/news.php');
break;
case ('profiles'):
echo (require 'profiles/profiles.php');
break;
case ('links'):
echo (require 'links/links.php');
break;
case ('help'):
echo (require 'help/help.php');
break;
default:
echo (require 'news/news.php');
break;
}

?>


</html>

I'm not that new to PHP, but I'm not that proficient, moreover, I would like to know the general practice that most PHP developers use when designing a website that generally has the same menus, but the content changes.

For all websites out there, how are these HTML/PHP scripts usually written?
Would PEAR help at all?

Thank You so much for your time,
cadmiumgreen::Byron M.

**BerislavLopac** · Jun 10, 2005 01:17

This is a simple, basic implementation of the Front Controller pattern in PHP.

**kyberfabrikken** · Jun 10, 2005 02:49

A big improvement over your design, would be to seperate controller (the switch-statement) from the view (the html-markup). This could be something like the following ;
index.php

PHP Code:


<?php

switch ($_GET['content']) {

    case 'news':

        include('news/news.php');

        break;

    case 'profiles':

        include('profiles/profiles.php');

        break;

    case 'links':

        include('links/links.php');

        break;

    case 'help':

        include('help/help.php');

        break;

    default:

        include('news/news.php');

        break;

}

?>

news/news.php

PHP Code:


<?php include('common/header.php'); ?>

<h1>news</h1>

...

<?php include('common/footer.php'); ?>

**Dr Livingston** · Jun 10, 2005 05:54

PHP Code:


switch ($_GET['content']) {

    case 'news':

        include('news/news.php');

        break;

    case 'profiles':

        include('profiles/profiles.php');

        break;

    case 'links':

        include('links/links.php');

        break;

    case 'help':

        include('help/help.php');

        break;

    default:

        include('news/news.php');

        break;

}

The Chain of Responsibility (classic Gang of Four) would offer greater freedom in this regard I think? For more on the CoR and an example (or two), do a search for 'Design Patterns Catelog' in this forum, for the thread I started

**Dr Livingston** · Jun 10, 2005 05:55

Here it is...

http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/show...4&postcount=18

Enjoy

**mwmitchell** · Jun 10, 2005 07:10

news/news.php

PHP Code:


<?php include('common/header.php'); ?>

<h1>news</h1>

...

<?php include('common/footer.php'); ?>

This method makes the content page less re-usable. It's bound to the common/header.php and common/footer.php files, which may or may not be OK. Why not just a simple function that contains the logic within the requested page.

index.php

PHP Code:


includeTemplate('header'); // renders the 'common/header.php' file

includeNewsContent($_GET['page']); // handles logic, error checking for content file

includeTemplate('footer'); // same as above...

And those functions would contain the extra data for extentions also, removing repeated code. THis isn't ideal but if I were going to make it simple, I'd probably start off with this and re-factor later to something better if needed. Personally, I usually create a class called StandardPage or something that handles all of that stuff. Then in the requested script (index.php, page.php etc.) I would instantiate it and customize as needed:

PHP Code:


$page =& new Level2Page($_GET['page']);

$page->option('display_date', false);

$page->display();

Level2Page would know how to handle the logic.

- matt

**Dr Livingston** · Jun 10, 2005 07:40

Umm...

For simplicity, what I do is to read in the template file, looking for specific tags, which are replaced with dynamically generated content. So there isn't any PHP at all in the HTML, and this is for simple applications, web sites, etc where there is limited HTML fragments.

What I can't understand is why people have the need for putting PHP in a template file anyways? Why, in this day and age it still goes on I don't know as there isn't any excuse for it. But for what it's worth, PHP is not the only language that suffers from this

Anyways, end of nag (for the moment).

**stereofrog** · Jun 10, 2005 07:50

Originally Posted by cadmiumgreen

hello,

how common is it to use a 'skeleton' script?

A sample skeleton script that I'm using for some of my websites would look like this...

[snip]

Generally, try to avoid long spaghetti-style switch statement. In php the same can be expressed much clearer:

PHP Code:


$content = @$_GET['content'];

$handler  = "handle_$content";

if(!function_exists($handler))

   $handler = "handle_default";

$handler();

Now, all you need is to implement "handle_news()" , "handle_links()" etc. Note that adding new feature doesn't require any changes in the code above.

handle_xxx function (aka Controller) typically does some sql stuff (Model) and includes template (View), for example:

PHP Code:


function handle_news() {

   $news = get_all_from_db("SELECT * FROM news");

   include "templates/template_for_news.php";

}

hope that helped

**BerislavLopac** · Jun 10, 2005 07:58

And how about:

PHP Code:


$controller = & new Controller($_GET['content']);

**Captain Proton** · Jun 10, 2005 08:29

For simplicity, what I do is to read in the template file, looking for specific tags, which are replaced with dynamically generated content. So there isn't any PHP at all in the HTML, and this is for simple applications, web sites, etc where there is limited HTML fragments.

What I can't understand is why people have the need for putting PHP in a template file anyways? Why, in this day and age it still goes on I don't know as there isn't any excuse for it. But for what it's worth, PHP is not the only language that suffers from this

Please, no offence, but haven't you paid any attention to all these PHP-is-already-a-template-engine debates?

**DougBTX** · Jun 10, 2005 09:57

Originally Posted by stereofrog

PHP Code:


$handler();

You can replace that with this:

PHP Code:


$layout = "layouts/main.php";

ob_start();

  $handler();

$content_for_layout = ob_get_clean();

include($layout);

With the main template:

HTML Code:

<html>
<body>
<?php echo $content_for_layout ?>
</body>
</html>

And the news template:

HTML Code:

<h1>news</h1>
...

Note that the template can define variables too, so if it wanted a specific layout file it could set $layout itself. (Or call a function to set that if you want a little more abstraction.)

Douglas

The code so far:

index.php

PHP Code:


<?php



function handle_default() {

  handle_news();

}



function handle_news() {

   $news = get_all_from_db("SELECT * FROM news");

   include "templates/news.php";

} 



function handle_profiles() {

} 

function handle_links() {

} 

function handle_help() {

} 



$content = @$_GET['content'];

$handler  = "handle_$content";

if(!function_exists($handler)) {

   $handler = "handle_default";

}



$layout = "layouts/global.php";

ob_start();

  $handler();

$content_for_layout = ob_get_clean();

include($layout);



?>

layouts/global.php

HTML Code:

<html>
<head><title>A Website <?php echo $page_title ?></title>
<!-- other junk and css goes here -->
</head>

<body>
<!-- header -->

<!-- body -->
<?php echo $content_for_layout ?>

<!-- footer -->

</body>
</html>

templates/news.php

HTML Code:

<?php $page_title = 'News' ?>
<h1>news</h1>
...

**DougBTX** · Jun 10, 2005 10:00

Originally Posted by Dr Livingston

Why, in this day and age it still goes on I don't know as there isn't any excuse for it.

PHP = template language + fuction library (+ some OO in PHP5)

**Dr Livingston** · Jun 10, 2005 10:08

Yep but there is such a thing as layering, and separating those layers. It is surprising and disappointing to realise that there are developers out there, who use OO and design patterns every other day, and still put PHP in HTML.

but haven't you paid any attention to all these PHP-is-already-a-template-engine debates?

No offence taken, I sure have read all about PHP being a templating engine, but regardless of using either a prodecural or OO approach, to me it just doesn't fit well, to have PHP in HTML.

For example, just what are the overheads of replacing <bodycontentwouldgohere /> with the pregenerated HTML from elsewhere? None, basically

Like, there must be about 101 different ways you could implement this sort of functionality?!

**DougBTX** · Jun 10, 2005 10:11

So you're saying PHP is a bad language for the template layer? Even though that is what it was built for?

The first line of a PHP file starts with <?php, not #!, because of this.

Douglas

**Viflux** · Jun 10, 2005 10:14

Originally Posted by Dr Livingston

Yep but there is such a thing as layering, and separating those layers. It is surprising and disappointing to realise that there are developers out there, who use OO and design patterns every other day, and still put PHP in HTML.

It's just shocking

Why is

Code:

<html>
  <head>
    <title>
      {CUSTOM_TITLE_TAG_HOLDER}
    </title>
  </head>
</html>

better than

Code:

<html>
  <head>
    <title>
      <?php echo $title; ?>
    </title>
  </head>
</html>

Dr. I think you get too hung up on taking things literally and sometimes fail to see the implied meaning of statements.

Seperation isn't elimination, it's simplification.

**Dr Livingston** · Jun 10, 2005 10:15

Nothing wrong with

Code:

<?php ... ?>

but something wrong with this on the other hand,

Code:

<html>...<?php ... ?> </html>

PHP is a buitiful language, so lets not degrade it with something as simplistic as HTML

(Can just imagine the response I'm going to get now...)

**DougBTX** · Jun 10, 2005 10:17

Originally Posted by Dr Livingston

PHP is a buitiful language

That sums it up

**Dr Livingston** · Jun 10, 2005 10:21

There are a few loves in my life,

1) PHP,
2) The other (better?) half,
3) My Car,
4) Some beer in the refrigerator

So, that sums it up, yes

**McGruff** · Jun 10, 2005 10:46

Originally Posted by Dr Livingston

What I can't understand is why people have the need for putting PHP in a template file anyways?

It's called presentation logic. There's nothing wrong with it. It's what php was originally designed for. Presentation logic in a template file does not break layering.

**BerislavLopac** · Jun 10, 2005 11:19

Originally Posted by Viflux

Why is

Code:

<html>
  <head>
    <title>
      {CUSTOM_TITLE_TAG_HOLDER}
    </title>
  </head>
</html>

better than

Code:

<html>
  <head>
    <title>
      <?php echo $title; ?>
    </title>
  </head>
</html>

Because a) it's faster, and b) you don't have to invent a whole new language to use it (whether as simple as {} or as complex as Smarty).

**arborint** · Jun 10, 2005 11:21

I think we have been through this before. There is nothing wrong with using PHP in templates unless you can't or don't want to trust the template designers. Because there is a difference between:

{CUSTOM_TITLE_TAG_HOLDER}

and:

<?php readfile('/etc/passwd'); ?>

**BerislavLopac** · Jun 10, 2005 11:21

Originally Posted by Dr Livingston

Yep but there is such a thing as layering, and separating those layers. It is surprising and disappointing to realise that there are developers out there, who use OO and design patterns every other day, and still put PHP in HTML.

PHP syntax is not the same thing as PHP logic. You need to include SOME syntax into a template, right? Why invent a completely new one when we already have a perfectly good one?

**Viflux** · Jun 10, 2005 11:57

Originally Posted by BerislavLopac

Because a) it's faster, and b) you don't have to invent a whole new language to use it (whether as simple as {} or as complex as Smarty).

Re-read what you quoted

**arborint** · Jun 10, 2005 13:18

Because a) it's faster,

As I recall, an extract and include is actually slower than a file read and str_replace in most cases.

you don't have to invent a whole new language to use it (whether as simple as {} or as complex as Smarty).

Certainly there is no prohibition against creating domain specific languages? People much smarter than me use and recommend them all the time.

**Dr Livingston** · Jun 10, 2005 14:28

Presentation logic in a template file does not break layering.

That is true in some (most?) cases, but now that we have such a thing as the ViewHelper pattern, why not just separate out the presentation logic anyways?

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