PHP - Questions About Constants

Hi,

I have a small CMS I coded and developped on my local WAMP server and everything worked fine but when I decided to export everything to my hostgator server I realized that the constants I define in some of my includes are not being defined..

Here is one of the errors I get :
Code: [Select]
Fatal error: require_once() [function.require]: Failed opening required 'LIB_PATHDSdatabase.php' (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/nethox/public_html/photo_gallery/includes/photograph.php on line 2
You can see that LIB_PATH is not defined and even the .DS. is not working..

Here is a sample of the code I made :

Code: [Select]
<?php
// Defining core paths
// Defining them as absolute paths to make sure that require_once works as expected

// DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR is a PHP pre-defined constant
// (will do \ for Windows, / for Unix) 
defined('DS') ? null : define('DS', '/');

defined('SITE_ROOT') ? null : define('SITE_ROOT', 'http://www.lemontree-designs.com'.DS.'photo_gallery');

defined('LIB_PATH') ? null : define('LIB_PATH', SITE_ROOT.'/includes');

defined('LOG_PATH') ? null : define('LOG_PATH', SITE_ROOT.DS.'logs');

defined('PUBLIC_AREA') ? null : define('PUBLIC_AREA', 'http://www.lemontree-designs.com'.DS.'photo_gallery'.DS.'public');

// Load config file first
require_once(LIB_PATH."/config.php");

// Load basic functions next so that everything after can use them
require_once(LIB_PATH.DS."functions.php");

// Load core objects
require_once(LIB_PATH.DS."session.php");
require_once(LIB_PATH.DS."database.php");
require_once(LIB_PATH.DS."pagination.php");
// Load database-related classes
require_once(LIB_PATH.DS."user.php");
require_once(LIB_PATH.DS."photograph.php");
require_once(LIB_PATH.DS."comment.php");

?>
Any help is appreciated!

EDIT : For the sake of debugging, I've changed the defined value of DS to '/' instead of DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR to see if it's what caused an issue..

Does anyone know how to echo a defined constant without using concatenation?

something like

Code: (php) [Select]
<?php
define("CONST", "VALUE");

echo <<<END
Some html and my Const = CONST
END;

?>

This works but I want the var to be const

Code: (php) [Select]
<?php
$CONST = "VALUE";

echo <<<END
Some html and my Const = $CONST
END;

?>

 

Thanks for your replies

I've been working on a registration form and it seems like the better I get at solving more complex issues the smaller issues plague me the most.

I've got the following function:

//process database actions
function process_database($post) {
  global $table;

  //connect to database
  $connect_db = new mysqli(DB_HOST, DB_USERNAME, DB_PASSWORD, DB_NAME);

  //check database connection
  if ($connect_db->connect_error) {
    return false;
  } else {
    if ($stmt = $connect_db->prepare( "INSERT INTO $table (firstname, lastname, username, email, password) VALUES ( ?, ?, ?, ?, ? )" ) ) {
      $stmt->bind_param(NULL, $firstname, $lastname, $username, $email, $password);

      $firstname = $post['firstname'];
      $lastname = $post['lastname'];
      $username = $post['username'];
      $email = $post['email'];
      $password = $post['password'];

      if (!$stmt->execute()) {
        return false;
      }
    } 
  }

  return true;
}

This is in a functions.php file. The issue is in the $connect_db assignment that has the constants from the config.php file in it.

That file looks like this:

<?php
ob_start();
session_start();

$timezone = date_default_timezone_set("America/xxxxxxx");

$whitelist = array('username', 'email', 'email2', 'password', 'password2');
//TODO here I've removed firstname and lastname from the whitelist as they're optional
//may add them back and try to iterate around them in the future

$table = 'users';

define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
define('DB_USERNAME', 'root');
define('DB_PASSWORD', '');
define('DB_NAME', 'means');

$conn = mysqli_connect(DB_HOST, DB_USERNAME, DB_PASSWORD, DB_NAME);

if($conn->connect_errno) {

    printf("Connect Failed: %s\n", $conn->connect_error);
    exit();
    
}

ob_end_flush();
?>

The constants defined in config.php are not being recognized in functions.php. I understand that constants are global and available throughout a script.

I've connected to two files with the following line:

//require config file
require_once($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . '/../config/config.php');

as I have the config/config.php outside htdocs. I know this works because of a db query to check uniqueness of username that works properly.

Why are these constants coming back as undefined in the process_database().function.php? Nothing I've tried works and I've run out of ideas. TIA

Hey guys

Anyone know the correct syntax to put a constant inside a header? this is driving me crazy
with RPATH being my constant

header("Location: ".RPATH."admin/monitor.php");

I am following a book and need help setting up Path Constants.

Here is the script I need to adjust...

// Constants
define('BASE_URI', '/path/to/Web/parent/folder/');
define('BASE_URL', 'www.example.com');
define('MYSQL', '/path/to/mysql.inc.php');

Since I am working in NetBeans, I do not have access above my Project Folder which serves as my "Web Root".

So if my Project Folder is called "MyProjectFolder", and I want both BASE_URI and BASE_URL to point to that directory on my laptop, what should I put?

I'm thinking something like this...

// Constants
define('BASE_URI', '/');
define('BASE_URL', '/');
define('MYSQL', '/includes/mysql.inc.php');




TomTees

Can you echo class constants?
This does not work for me.

echo “here is a class constant: self::CLASS_CONSTANT”; // using double quotes

Instead I *must* concatenate it:

echo ‘here is a class constant: ‘ . self::CLASS_CONSTANT;

But of course I do not have to do this with a normal variable, which will echo a variable fine:

echo “my name is $name_variable”;

Am I doing something wrong or is this normal behavior?
Edited by E_Leeder, 30 October 2014 - 11:04 AM.

I sometime pass configuration settings as an associate array... 

public function __construct(JsonValidatorMethods $methods, array $options) {
    foreach($options as $option) {
        //validate whether valid and if so set $this->$option.  Options not provided will default to their private $strictMode=true value
    }
}
$validator=new JsonValidator($methods, ['sanitize'=>true, 'strictMode'=>true, 'setDefault'=>false]);

And other times pass them as individual arguments...

public function __construct(JsonValidatorMethods $methods, bool $sanitize=false, bool $strictMode=false, bool $setDefault=true) {}
$validator=new JsonValidator($methods, true, true, false);

I have a class which I was doing the later and also which I wish to allow them to be first set in the constructor but also specified when calling some of the public methods.  It became a pain to pass all the individual flags to each private method, so I thought I would give bitmask constants a try as shown below.

I recognize that this approach only allows booleans to be passed, but I am okay with this.  The part I am not sure about is how best have default values.  For instance, maybe the default is $this->options=0b0110, 0b1100 is passed to the constructor, and 0b1 (aka 0b0001) is passed is passed to the public method.  The high three bits in 0b0001 just are not provided, but how can I not interpret them as explicitly false?

Also, a little off topic, but am I implementing this bitmask approach correctly, and any strong options whether one of these three approaches or some totally other approach is best?

Thanks

class JsonValidator
{
    //Use provided options
    const SANITIZE      =   0b0001;   //Whether to sanitize (i.e. 'false' is changed to false)
    const STRICTMODE    =   0b0010;   //Currently only enfources that boolean is true/false (instead of 1/0 or "true"/"false")
    const SETDEFAULT    =   0b0100;   //If true, type double and value "nan" will be converted to 0, etc.

    private $methods, $options;

    static public function create(int $options=0):self {
        return new self(new JsonValidatorMethods, $options);
    }

    static public function getOption(array $options):int {
        $o=0;
        foreach($options as $option) {
            if(!defined("self::$option")){
                throw new JsonValidatorErrorException((is_string($option)?$option:'given constant').' is not valid');
            }
            $o=$o|constant("self::$option");
        }
        return $o;
    }

    public function __construct(JsonValidatorMethods $methods, int $options=0) {
        $this->methods=$methods;
        $this->options=$options;
    }

    public function validate(array $input, array $rules, int $options=0){

        $options=$options|$this->options;

        if($options & self::SANITIZE) {
            $value=$this->sanitize($input, $rules, $options);
        }
    }

    private function sanitize(array $input, array $rules, int $options=0){}
}

$validator=new JsonValidator($methods, JsonValidator::SANITIZE|JsonValidator::SETDEFAULT);

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by NotionCommotion
Nevermind => Maybe I should start my constants with high bit set such as const SANITIZE     =  0b1000;

I have defined my database connection data as constants in a separate file for security reasons.  How can I simply access the data stored in those constants.  I have to call the file to get the value of the constants.  If I inadvertently call the file twice in a script  using an include or require statement, I get an error that I am trying to define the constants again.  Can I somehow just call the constants without including the file where they are defined?

--Kenoli

Well hello there, I want to create a script that writes a few PHP constants to a file called config.php. It does not work however, with the way I wrote it as below:

Code: [Select]
$configdata = "<?php
//Configuration File

\define("DBHOST", $dbhost);             //DB Hostname
\define("DBUSER", $dbuser);             //DB Username
\define("DBPASS", $dbpass);             //DB Password
\define("DBNAME", $dbname);             //Your database name
\define("DOMAIN", $domain);             //Your domain name (No http, www or . )
\define("SCRIPTPATH", $scriptpath);     //The folder you installed this script in
\define("PREFIX", $prefix);
?>";

$file = fopen('../inc/config.php', 'w');
fwrite($file, $configdata);
fclose($file);

I am getting this error 'syntax error, unexpected T_STRING in ...', and I have no idea how to fix it. Strangely the below codes using PHP variables work flawlessly:

Code: [Select]
$configdata = "<?php
//Configuration File

\$dbhost = '{$dbhost}';       //DB Hostname
\$dbuser = '{$dbuser}'; //DB User
\$dbpass = '{$dbpass}'; //DB Password
\$dbname = '{$dbname}';     //Your database name
\$domain = '{$domain}';     //Your domain name (No http, www or . )
\$scriptpath = '{$scriptpath}'; //The folder you installed this script in
\$prefix = '{$prefix}';    

?>";

//Write the config.php file...

$file = fopen('../inc/config.php', 'w');
fwrite($file, $configdata);
fclose($file);


This confuses me, all I did was to change the string to output from a list of variables to a list of constants, and it gives weird errors that I have absolutely no idea how to fix. Can anyone please lemme know what I did wrong? Thanks.

What is the best practice for using site-wide constants in a class?

E.g. COMPANY_NAME is set in a config file and used on many pages. How would it be best to use this in a class. I'm guessing just calling COMPANY_NAME anywhere in the class would not be considered best practice.

Thanks.

Hello everyone, I have been doing web developing for a little while and just recently decided to make the leap to developing standalone applications.  I started learning C++ and JAVA for this purpose, but quickly learned that PHP can also be used to this end, and since I am quite familiar with PHP, I thought it would make sense to start with PHP GTK.  But before I jump right in, I have a few questions that I would greatly appreciate some answers for:

Does PHP have any significant advantages/disadvantages over lower level languages such as C++ ?  I would imagine that PHP being originally designed for web programming would be less suited for stand alones.

I'm a little confused as to whether the GTK is a graphical user interphase software, the likes of QT and Netbeans,  or is it a markup language like HTML, where the widgets are generated with text commands?  Please I need a little clarification on that.  Also are there any other tools that need to be downloaded to get started besides the GTK?

Finally, am I supposed to learn OOP PHP to get going or is traditional procedural PHP sufficient?


Answers to any or all of the above questions and any other advice would be highly appreciated.

Thanks.

I've been coding PHP for some time and would consider myself to be at an intermediate level. I can write code to do what I need but it's probably not the best way to do it. I rarely see any code that I am not able to read, understand, or follow. I've created modifications for everything from vBulletin, WordPress, Kayako Support Suit, Magento, and more.

However, I've never really built a strong understanding around OOP. For example, let say you have the following classes:
_main
  -  db
  -  admin
  -  -  modules
  -  -  -  dashboard

How would you share the db connection with the dashboard class? I've been trying to read up on Dependency Injections and Singletons but I haven't found an article that has explained it on a level that I can understand. I get a feeling that most people who use OOP in PHP have a background in Java or C++ and are much more familiar with everything.

Could someone please explain this to me in simple terms or link me to an extremely well explained article that I'd be able to understand without a background in computer science?
Thanks

Hi. I'll like to ask few questions about PHP, as I think they are related to it.   I've came across some webpages, what I've spotted is that a webpage displays content but each "page" has different argument and there is no filename. For example: "http://www.website.com/?home" is home-like webpage, by changing "/?home" to "/?anotherpage" land me on some other webpage on their website and so on. My question is how is it done? Is it done from PHP? Another question I wanted to ask is.. I went on InvisionPower.Board forum (such as this PHP Freaks  ). How to force "folders" to be displayed as "files"? For example: "http://forums.phpfre...ks-on-facebook/" which links to a thread.   Thanks in advance 

Howdy,

I am new to SEO. Could you please help me? 

1. I like to post programming tutorials to both my website & various programming forums. Is that going to screw up my website's ranking in Google?

2. My editor of my history website who sometimes posts essays there also posts them in some history forums. Is that bad for SEO?

3. I made a Facebook page for my history website. It says there "Promote your page" basically you pay $5 for around 100 likes. Has anyone tried that? Does it work? Because $5 seems like little money for additional 100 likes which will increase the traffic considerably.

Thank you so much for the help!