[prog] php and if/else statements

[Jacinta Richardson]

On Mon, 22 Dec 2003, wolf wrote:

>    <?php do { ?>
>    <tr> </tr>
>   <td><?php echo $row_Term_Number['term_number'];?></td>
>      <td> <?php echo $row_Term_Number['term'];?>&nbsp;<?php echo 
> $row_Term_Number['year'];?></td>
> 
>    <?php } while ($row_Term_Number = mysql_fetch_assoc($Term_Number)); ?>

G'day Wolf,

I can't help but cringe when I see code like that.  I fully understand
embedding php within html but I feel that code like that rarely does more
than confuse the issue.  So, for starters, here is the code rewritten in a
more readable manner:

<?php 
        do {
                echo "<tr></tr>\n"; # Check that you mean to close this table
                                    # this table row straight after opening it
                echo "<td>";  

                echo $row_Term_Number['term_number'];
                echo "</td>\n";
                echo "<td>";
                echo $row_Term_Number['term'];
                echo "&nbsp;";
                echo $row_Term_Number['year'];
                echo "</td>\n";
                                  # I think you mean to have </tr> here

        } while ($row_Term_Number = mysql_fetch_assoc($Term_Number));
?>

The spacing in the html source will be different with this code, but you
can change that easily enough (but you probably won't care unless you're
fanatical).  Anyway, your idea for how to use an if/else in here to get
it to work the way you want it to was correct.  Now that we've got the
code in a more manageable form, this should be easy:

<?php
        do {
                echo "<tr>\n";  # I've taken out the close tr.
                echo "<td>"; 

                        # Handle the case where term_number is 0.
                if ($row_Term_Number['term_number'] == 0) {
                        echo "&nbsp;</td>\n";
                        echo "<td>TC/EC</td>\n";
                }
                else {
                        echo $row_Term_Number['term_number'];
                        echo "</td>\n";
                        echo "<td>";
                        echo $row_Term_Number['term'];
                        echo "&nbsp;";
                        echo $row_Term_Number['year'];
                        echo "</td>\n";
                }

                echo "</tr>\n"; # closing the table row

        } while ($row_Term_Number = mysql_fetch_assoc($Term_Number));
?>

> ground.  Does any one have any ideas on how this
> might actually work? Or is it not possible to change it over ?  As 
> always, thank you : )

Things are almost always possible.

> <?php
> if ($row_Term_Number['term_number'] == 0) {
>   echo "<td>" "&nbsp;" "</td>" "<td>" TC/EC "</td>"

To join strings together like you're trying to do here try any of the
following:
1.      echo "<td>" . "&nbsp;". "</td>". "<td>". "TC/EC". "</td>";
                (where the . joins the strings together.  Notice that we
                have to put TC/EC in quotes as well)

2.      echo "<td>&nbsp;</td><td>TC/EC</td>";
                (where we put everything into one string)

3.      if ($row_Term_Number['term_number'] == 0) {?>
                <td>&nbsp;</td><td>TC/EC</td>
        <?php ...
                (where we use php's embeddedness to pass the quoting
                over to php (but doesn't it look ugly?))

>   } else  { ?>
> 
> <tr> </tr>
>   <td><?php echo $row_Term_Number['term_number'];?></td>
>      <td> <?php echo $row_Term_Number['term'];?>&nbsp;<?php echo 
> $row_Term_Number['year'];?></td>
>    <?php } while ($row_Term_Number = mysql_fetch_assoc($Term_Number)); ?>

You don't clode the open curly brace from your else here.  You must do
this.  You could do it like this:

        } else  { ?>
        <tr> </tr>
        <td><?php echo $row_Term_Number['term_number'];?></td>
        <td><?php echo $row_Term_Number['term'];?>&nbsp;
            <?php echo $row_Term_Number['year'];?></td>
        <?php }         # End else statement
        } while ($row_Term_Number = mysql_fetch_assoc($Term_Number));?>

All in all I think that once php code gets even moderately complicated
the correct thing is to move it all into one code block printing out
your html.

I hope this helps,

        Jacinta

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