Here is a tutorial.Small one though..
The first step is to simply lay out the class in a file named 'simpleCMS.php' so we have a road map to work with.
PHP Code:
<?php
class simpleCMS {
var $host;
var $username;
var $password;
var $table;
public function display_public() {
}
public function display_admin() {
}
public function write() {
}
public function connect() {
}
private function buildDB() {
}
}
?>
As you can see, we're creating one class with four variables and five methods. I've opted to use PHP's object-oriented approach because it makes for cleaner code in large projects, and, in my opinion, it's just good practice.
The Variables
In this case, all four variables are for connecting to the database: $host, $username, $password, and $table provide a path and access to our database on the server. For now, we'll leave those empty and move on to our database, which is constructed by the method buildDB().
Build the Database
PHP Code:
private function buildDB() {
$sql = <<<MySQL_QUERY
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS testDB (
title VARCHAR(150),
bodytext TEXT,
created VARCHAR(100)
)
MySQL_QUERY;
return mysql_query($sql);
}
This function runs a MySQL command that checks the database to see if testDB exists. If so, it simply passes along a notification of success; if not, it creates our table and assigns three columns to hold data.
Connect to the Database
PHP Code:
public function connect() {
mysql_connect($this->host,$this->username,$this->password) or die("Could not connect. " . mysql_error());
mysql_select_db($this->table) or die("Could not select database. " . mysql_error());
return $this->buildDB();
}
We call mysql_connect() to hook into our database, and then mysql_select_db() to make sure we save our data in the right place. Both of these functions are accompanied by the die() command, which essentially says, "in the event that this function fails, stop execution of this script and display a message."
Our connect() function connects to the database and gets us pointed in the right direction, then runs our buildDB() function. Remember the grammatically awkward "IF NOT EXISTS" part of our MySQL command? Because we're going to run this function every time the page is loaded, we have to make sure we're not overwriting our database with every function call, and that's exactly what that phrase requires.
Build the Form
PHP Code:
public function display_admin() {
return <<<ADMIN_FORM
<form action="{$_SERVER['PHP_SELF']}" method="post">
<label for="title">Title:</label>
<input name="title" id="title" type="text" maxlength="150" />
<label for="bodytext">Body Text:</label>
<textarea name="bodytext" id="bodytext"></textarea>
<input type="submit" value="Create This Entry!" />
</form>
ADMIN_FORM;
}
Again, this is a very simple function. When called, it simply returns the HTML markup to create our form. You'll notice, however, in the action attribute of the form element, that I've used the variable $_SERVER['PHP_SELF']. This is, essentially, a shortcut that references the file you're currently using (in our case, it's display.php). This is useful if you'll be reusing your code across a site and don't necessarily want to rewrite this function for each page.
I'm also going to take a second right now to talk about the method I'm using to return the HTML. It's a format used in PHP called HEREDOC syntax, and I love it.
The primary advantage of HEREDOC is that it allows you to include formatting in your output. This is extraordinarily useful for folks like me who take issue with cluttered source code. You can read more about HEREDOC syntax and its ilk in the PHP manual.
Next steps later...
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Originally Posted by vv.bbcc19
