Get variable from query string

PHP
1

Hi there,
im trying to have a form show up when user clicks “add joke”. I need the variable to be retrieved from the url query string. I cant get the form to show up. I think its either an issue with the GET function at the top or the link down at the bottom. Please help!


<?php
  // If the user wants to add a joke
  
    $_GET['addjoke'] = $addjoke;

  if (isset($addjoke)):
?>

<FORM ACTION="<?php echo($PHP_SELF); ?>" METHOD=POST>
<P>Type your joke here:<BR>
<TEXTAREA NAME="joketext" ROWS=10 COLS=40 WRAP>
</TEXTAREA><BR>
<INPUT TYPE=SUBMIT NAME="submitjoke" VALUE="SUBMIT">
</FORM>

<?php
  else:

    // Connect to the database server
    $dbcnx = @mysql_connect("servername", "username", "password");
    if (!$dbcnx) {
      echo( "<P>Unable to connect to the " .
            "database server at this time.</P>" );
      exit();
    }

    // Select the jokes database
    if (! @mysql_select_db("jhodara2") ) {
      echo( "<P>Unable to locate the joke " .
            "database at this time.</P>" );
      exit();
    }

    // If a joke has been submitted,
    // add it to the database.
	
	$joketext = $_POST['joketext']; 
$submitjoke = $_POST['submitjoke']; 
	
    if ("SUBMIT" == $submitjoke) {
      $sql = "INSERT INTO jokes SET " .
             "JokeText='$joketext', " .
             "JokeDate=CURDATE()";
      if (mysql_query($sql)) {
        echo("<P>Your joke has been added.</P>");
      } else {
        echo("<P>Error adding submitted joke: " .
             mysql_error() . "</P>");
      }
    }
  
    echo("<P> Here are all the jokes " .
         "in our database: </P>");
  
    // Request the text of all the jokes
    $result = mysql_query(
              "SELECT JokeText FROM jokes");
    if (!$result) {
      echo("<P>Error performing query: " .
           mysql_error() . "</P>");
      exit();
    }
  
    // Display the text of each joke in a paragraph
    while ( $row = mysql_fetch_array($result) ) {
      echo("<P>" . $row["JokeText"] . "</P>");
    }
  
    // When clicked, this link will load this page
    // with the joke submission form displayed.
    echo("<P><A HREF='$PHP_SELF?addjoke=1'>Add a Joke!</A></P>");
  
  endif;
  
?>

see the problem live at http://www.freewaycreative.com/insert2.php

2

while you’re waiting for someone to help you debug your code, this could be a good time to hone your debugging skills.

what I would normally do in a situation like this is

  1. start at the top of the script as specified in your form’s action attribute and add

echo 'got here'; die();

  1. run your form to check if it gets to your php script

  2. then move the above echo/die down, line by line if you have to, and add appropriate echo statements to display values of variables and then run the form again each time you move the echos.

  3. as part of 3) insert the echos in each part of conditional blocks (IF blocks) to check your code logic is correct

keep doing this until your echos show something is not right. then back track your code to fix the error.

  1. keep repeating 3) and 4) until you get to the end of your script and it works ok.

if you have a debugger, then debugguing will be easier as you can set break points and check values of variables which is essentially what the above steps are doing.

think of debugging as character building.