PHP - Helpless Js Newb :( Countdown Timer

Hi Guys!

Hoping someone can help me with this. I need to produce a timer which I can embed on a website.
It needs to count down the remaining hours until 7pm during the weekdays, then at the weekends count down until 7pm on Monday.

Any ideas or points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated! I'm a bit of a newbie!

Hey guys.
My question is simple.
I have a time value of the future, in seconds, that I extract from MySQL.
time();
How do I make an interactive countdown timer using it? It should show the numbers ticking away.
I tried Javascript, but it doesn't go with the php time layout.
Can anyone help me here?

Thanks!

Hi again people!

I found this code that codes for a countdown timer.
My problem is, how do I implement it?
I've found similar codes that leave me dazzled as I try to get them to work.

The URL from which I found this is:
http://scripts.franciscocharrua.com/server-side-countdown-clock.php

The code is:

Code: [Select]
function countdown_clock(year, month, day, hour, minute, format)
         {
         //I chose a div as the container for the timer, but
         //it can be an input tag inside a form, or anything
         //who's displayed content can be changed through
         //client-side scripting.
         html_code = '<div id="countdown"></div>';

         document.write(html_code);

         Today = new Date();
         Todays_Year = Today.getFullYear() - 2000;
         Todays_Month = Today.getMonth();

         <?
         $date = getDate();

         $second = $date["seconds"];
         $minute = $date["minutes"];
         $hour = $date["hours"];
         $day = $date["mday"];
         $month = $date["mon"];
         $month_name = $date["month"];
         $year = $date["year"];
         ?>

         //Computes the time difference between the client computer and the server.
         Server_Date = (new Date(<?= $year - 2000 ?>, <?= $month ?>, <?= $day ?>,
                                 <?= $hour ?>, <?= $minute ?>, <?= $second ?>)).getTime();
         Todays_Date = (new Date(Todays_Year, Todays_Month, Today.getDate(),
                                 Today.getHours(), Today.getMinutes(), Today.getSeconds())).getTime();

         countdown(year, month, day, hour, minute, (Todays_Date - Server_Date), format);
         }

function countdown(year, month, day, hour, minute, time_difference, format)
         {
         Today = new Date();
         Todays_Year = Today.getFullYear() - 2000;
         Todays_Month = Today.getMonth();

         //Convert today's date and the target date into miliseconds.

         Todays_Date = (new Date(Todays_Year, Todays_Month, Today.getDate(),
                                 Today.getHours(), Today.getMinutes(), Today.getSeconds())).getTime();
         Target_Date = (new Date(year, month, day, hour, minute, 00)).getTime();

         //Find their difference, and convert that into seconds.
         //Taking into account the time differential between the client computer and the server.
         Time_Left = Math.round((Target_Date - Todays_Date + time_difference) / 1000);

         if(Time_Left < 0)
            Time_Left = 0;

         switch(format)
               {
               case 0:
                    //The simplest way to display the time left.
                    document.all.countdown.innerHTML = Time_Left + ' seconds';
                    break;
               case 1:
                    //More datailed.
                    days = Math.floor(Time_Left / (60 * 60 * 24));
                    Time_Left %= (60 * 60 * 24);
                    hours = Math.floor(Time_Left / (60 * 60));
                    Time_Left %= (60 * 60);
                    minutes = Math.floor(Time_Left / 60);
                    Time_Left %= 60;
                    seconds = Time_Left;

                    dps = 's'; hps = 's'; mps = 's'; sps = 's';
                    //ps is short for plural suffix.
                    if(days == 1) dps ='';
                    if(hours == 1) hps ='';
                    if(minutes == 1) mps ='';
                    if(seconds == 1) sps ='';

                    document.all.countdown.innerHTML = days + ' day' + dps + ' ';
                    document.all.countdown.innerHTML += hours + ' hour' + hps + ' ';
                    document.all.countdown.innerHTML += minutes + ' minute' + mps + ' and ';
                    document.all.countdown.innerHTML += seconds + ' second' + sps;
                    break;
               default:
                    document.all.countdown.innerHTML = Time_Left + ' seconds';
               }

         //Recursive call, keeps the clock ticking.
         setTimeout('countdown(' + year + ',' + month + ',' + day + ',' + hour + ',' + minute + ',' +
                     time_difference + ', ' + format + ');', 1000);
         }
I've tried saving the file as a php file and html file, but to no avail...

Hi,

This is my first post so dont kill me if i did somthing wrong.

Im trying to make a simple php/javascript page that will display the time remaining in each period every day (we have 4 periods per day). I found a nice javascript library from www.hashemian.com and am using the example that he linked to to do multiple countdown timers on one page.

The problem i am having is that the only way i can think of to make it so that it counts down to a dynamic date is to specify that date as a variable and then combine it with the string that specifys the rest of the date/time combo for the target date/time.

The current live version is at smd75jr.com/test/index2.php

The first timer is just a test that im using to make sure i havent completely broken it.
THe second timer is the one im trying to troubleshoot, it is currently set for 11:59 PM EST "today". (see code below)


Any help would be greatly appreciated!!



This is my code:

Code: [Select]
<html>
<head>
<title>Multiple Countdown Clocks</title>
</head>
<body>
<div id="clock1">[clock1]</div>
<div id="clock2">[clock2]</div>
</body>
<script language="JavaScript">


StartCountDown("clock1","06/27/2012 9:33 PM -0400")
StartCountDown("clock2","periodTest")
TodaysDate()



//var today = new Date()
//var todayMonth = today.getMonth() + 1
//var todayDay = today.getDate()
//var todayYear = today.getFullYear()
//var todayDate = (todayMonth + "/" + todayDay + "/" + todayYear)

var periodTest = (todayDate + " 11:59 PM -0400")


var periodA1 = (todayDate + " 8:53 AM -0400")
var periodA2 = (todayDate + " 10:26 AM -0400")
var periodA31 = (todayDate + " 12:32 PM -0400")
var periodLunch1 = (todayDate + " 11:00 AM -0400")
var periodLunch2 = (todayDate + " 12:32 PM -0400")
var periodA32 = (todayDate + " 11:59 AM -0400")
var periodA4 = (todayDate + " 2:05 PM -0400")



//function Periods(todayDate, periodA1, periodA2, periodA31, periodA32, periodA4, periodB1, periodB2, periodB31, periodB32, periodB4, periodLunch1, periodLunch2, periodSchoolStart, periodSchoolEnd)
// {
// var today = new Date()
// var todayMonth = today.getMonth() + 1
// var todayDay = today.getDate()
// var todayYear = today.getFullYear()
// var todayDate = (todayMonth + "/" + todayDay + "/" + todayYear)
//
// var periodA1 = (todayDate + " 21:25 PM -0400")
// }




function TodaysDate(todayDate)
{
var today = new Date()
var todayMonth = today.getMonth() + 1
var todayDay = today.getDate()
var todayYear = today.getFullYear()
var todayDate = (todayMonth + "/" + todayDay + "/" + todayYear)
}

 
  /*
  Author: Robert Hashemian (http://www.hashemian.com/)
  Modified by: Munsifali Rashid (http://www.munit.co.uk/)
  Modified by: Tilesh Khatri
  */
 
  function StartCountDown(myDiv,myTargetDate)
  {
    var dthen = new Date(myTargetDate);
    var dnow = new Date();
    ddiff = new Date(dthen-dnow);
    gsecs = Math.floor(ddiff.valueOf()/1000);
    CountBack(myDiv,gsecs);
  }
 
  function Calcage(secs, num1, num2)
  {
    s = ((Math.floor(secs/num1))%num2).toString();
    if (s.length < 2)
    {
      s = "0" + s;
    }
    return (s);
  }
 
  function CountBack(myDiv, secs)
  {
    var DisplayStr;
    var DisplayFormat = "%%D%% Days %%H%%:%%M%%:%%S%%";
    DisplayStr = DisplayFormat.replace(/%%D%%/g, Calcage(secs,86400,100000));
    DisplayStr = DisplayStr.replace(/%%H%%/g, Calcage(secs,3600,24));
    DisplayStr = DisplayStr.replace(/%%M%%/g, Calcage(secs,60,60));
    DisplayStr = DisplayStr.replace(/%%S%%/g, Calcage(secs,1,60));
    if(secs > 0)
    {
      document.getElementById(myDiv).innerHTML = DisplayStr;
      setTimeout("CountBack('" + myDiv + "'," + (secs-1) + ");", 990);
    }
    else
    {
      document.getElementById(myDiv).innerHTML = "Period Over";
    }
  }

</script>
</html>

Hey all!
In the code in question I echo out individual records of data from MySQL successfully. For each record there is a number which is used as a var in the javascript that does the count-down-timer part.
However when I view the resulting page the timer works dynamically only with the first record. With the rest, the timer is static.

Code: [Select]
<?
$result0 = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM table WHERE field='$value'");
while ($riw0 = mysql_fetch_assoc($result0)) {
$seconds1 = $riw0['seconds'] ;
//// echo out data and set variable for the number of seconds to count down
?>

<script language="JavaScript">
var countDownInterval=<?=$seconds1?>;
var c_reloadwidth=200
</script>
<ilayer id="c_reload" width=&{c_reloadwidth}; ><layer id="c_reload2" width=&{c_reloadwidth}; left=0 top=0></layer></ilayer>
<script>
var countDownTime=countDownInterval+1;
function countDown(){
countDownTime--;
if (countDownTime <=0){
countDownTime=countDownInterval;
clearTimeout(counter)
window.location.href="military3.php" //Redirection URL
return
}
var mins = Math.floor(countDownTime/60)
var secs = countDownTime-(mins*60)
if (document.all) //if IE 4+
document.all.countDownText.innerText = mins+" minutes "+secs+ " ";
else if (document.getElementById) //else if NS6+
document.getElementById("countDownText").innerHTML=mins+" minutes "+secs+ " "
else if (document.layers){
document.c_reload.document.c_reload2.document.write('Soldiers will be ready in... <span id="countDownText">'+countDownTime+' </span> seconds')
document.c_reload.document.c_reload2.document.close()
}
counter=setTimeout("countDown()", 1000);
}

function startit(){
if (document.all||document.getElementById)
document.write('Soldiers will be ready in <span id="countDownText">'+countDownTime+' </span> seconds')
countDown()
}

if (document.all||document.getElementById)
startit()
else
window.onload=startit
</script>
<? } ?>

I tried replacing the javascript vars with PHP echoes for unique variables, but then no timer shows up, even static.
So could anyone advice me on how I could use this code to apply for all MySQL records?

Thanks in advance,
Thauwa

P.S. If I am unclear with my quandary, do let me know. Thank you.

I need to rewrite this php statement
Code: [Select]
<img src="<?php bloginfo('template_directory'); ?>/images/mainimage.jpg" title="" alt="" />
When I try to do this
Code: [Select]
<?php echo '<img src="<?php bloginfo('template_directory'); ?>/images/mainimage.jpg" title="" alt="" />' ; ?>It does not work, because I guess I've open and closed a php code inside php.

How do I properly write this statement?

Thanks
Ben

Hey i am doing a login and blog system i have done the login and reg part but i am having troubles with the adding post. Basically at the moment my user can make a post and they can anyone can  view it, but i need to the user only be able to create there own prv post and that when anybody else logs in they cant  make a post under it. Does anyone have any ideas?

this is my code for the posts


<?php
session_start();

include('db_connect.php');
?>
Welcome to the fear blog          <a href="logout.php">log out</a><hr/>
<?php
$sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM posts ORDER BY id ");
while($row = mysql_fetch_array($sql)){
   $title = $row['title'];
   $content = $row['content'];
   $category = $row['category'];
?>

<div id="post">
<div id="wrapper">

<div id="title"> <label>Title</label> <?php echo $title; ?> </div>   

<div id="category"><label>category</label> <?php echo $category; ?> </div>


<div id="content"> <label>Content</label><?php echo $content; ?> </div>
</div>

<?php
}
?>


    <div id="contents">
   <form action="post.php" method="post">
  <label> Title:</label><input type="text" name="title" /><br/>
 <label> Category:</label><input type="text" name="category" /><br />
<label> Content:</label><textarea name="content"></textarea><br/>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Post"/>

 
   </form>
   </div>
   </div>
</div>
</div>

Hi, preg_match isn't working the way I feel it should.

The idea, when i finally get this script working, is to echo an order form back to the client (so they can see what they've ordered). At the moment I'm just trying to get the product description for each ordered product.

$aryOrder:
prodCode[6722] with a value of (for instance) 2
prodCode[6724] with a value of (for instance) 1
etc
(only ordered products present in the array)

prodDB.txt
6722 Hydrocolloid Blister Care
6724 Toe Spreader
etc
All products present in text file (prode code Description)

BUT I get an echo with no matches for any ordered product (or any prod for that matter) i.e.
no match: 6724, 6724 TOE SPREADER
when clearly, the product code (6724 $aryItem) is present in the text file line ($line_of_text).

I just don't get it!

foreach($aryOrder as $aryItem => $qty) {
     $file_handle = fopen("prodDB.txt", "r");
     while (!feof($file_handle)) {
      $line_of_text = fgets($file_handle);
      if (preg_match($aryItem, $line_of_text))
        {
         echo "Matched! $aryItem, $line_of_text QTY: $qty <br>";
         }
       else
        {
       echo "no match: $aryItem, $line_of_text <br>";
       }
       }
      fclose($file_handle);               
       }

I'm completely new to PHP, trying to work it out from the manual, so I've probably made a very basic mistake, and may even be going about this in entirely the wrong way.
Any help much appreciated,
Steve

Hey guys havent coded in a while and im stumped. Ive checked google but to no avail lol

i wanna include my config file and have an IF statement to run/include another file IE...

<?php
     include("config/config.php");
          If File(Not Exist);
               include("install/config.php");
?>

If someone can put me back on track it would be greatly epreciated

Hi All,

Im modifying someone elses PHP code (survey tool) (and i havent done PHP for years) Basically the code exports to an external csv file to a file called export.csv
However everytime i get it to export, it creates copies. ie it will export to export(2).csv and export(3).csv.

How can i make it so that it exports and overwritesa/ammed the existing export.csv file?

I had a look at the code and i believe this code below is doing the exporting but not sure

code doing the export ( i think)

Code: [Select]
<?php

include('classes/main.class.php');
include('classes/special_results.class.php');

$survey = new UCCASS_Special_Results;

echo $survey->results_csv(@$_REQUEST['sid'],$_REQUEST['export_type']);

?>
The class that it uses to export

Code: [Select]
<?php

//======================================================
// Copyright (C) 2004 John W. Holmes, All Rights Reserved
//
// This file is part of the Unit Command Climate
// Assessment and Survey System (UCCASS)
//
// UCCASS is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
// modify it under the terms of the Affero General Public License as
// published by Affero, Inc.; either version 1 of the License, or
// (at your option) any later version.
//
// http://www.affero.org/oagpl.html
//
// UCCASS is distributed in the hope that it will be
// useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty
// of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
// Affero General Public License for more details.
//======================================================

class UCCASS_Special_Results extends UCCASS_Main
{
    function UCCASS_Special_Results()
    {
        $this->load_configuration();

        //Increase time limit of script to 2 minutes to ensure
        //very large results can be shown or exported
        set_time_limit(120);
    }

    function results_table($sid)
    {
        $sid = (int)$sid;

        if(!$this->_CheckAccess($sid,RESULTS_PRIV,"results_table.php?sid=$sid"))
        {
            switch($this->_getAccessControl($sid))
            {
                case AC_INVITATION:
                    return $this->showInvite('results_table.php',array('sid'=>$sid));
                break;
                case AC_USERNAMEPASSWORD:
                default:
                    return $this->showLogin('results_table.php',array('sid'=>$sid));
                break;
            }
        }

        $data = array();
        $qid = array();
        $survey = array();

        $survey['sid'] = $sid;

        $query = "SELECT q.qid, q.question, s.name, s.user_text_mode, s.survey_text_mode, s.date_format
                  FROM {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}questions q, {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}surveys s
                  WHERE q.sid = $sid and s.sid = q.sid ORDER BY q.page, q.oid";
        $rs = $this->db->Execute($query);
        if($rs === FALSE)
        { $this->error('Error in query: ' . $this->db->ErrorMsg()); return; }

        $questions = array();
        if($r = $rs->FetchRow($rs))
        {
            $survey_text_mode = $r['survey_text_mode'];
            $user_text_mode = $r['user_text_mode'];
            $date_format = $r['date_format'];
            $survey['name'] = $this->SfStr->getSafeString($r['name'],$survey_text_mode);

            do{
                $data['questions'][] = $this->SfStr->getSafeString($r['question'],$survey_text_mode);
                $qid[$r['qid']] = $r['qid'];
            }while($r = $rs->FetchRow($rs));
        }
        else
        { $this->error('No questions for this survey.'); return; }

        if(isset($_SESSION['filter_text'][$sid]) && isset($_SESSION['filter'][$sid]) && strlen($_SESSION['filter_text'][$sid])>0)
        { $this->smarty->assign_by_ref('filter_text',$_SESSION['filter_text'][$sid]); }
        else
        { $_SESSION['filter'][$sid] = ''; }

        $query = "SELECT GREATEST(rt.qid, r.qid) AS qid, GREATEST(rt.sequence, r.sequence) AS seq,
                  GREATEST(rt.entered,r.entered) AS entered,
                  q.question, av.value, rt.answer FROM {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}questions q LEFT JOIN {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}results
                  r ON q.qid = r.qid LEFT JOIN {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}results_text rt ON q.qid = rt.qid LEFT JOIN
                  {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}answer_values av ON r.avid = av.avid WHERE q.sid = $sid {$_SESSION['filter'][$sid]}
                  ORDER BY seq, q.page, q.oid";

        $rs = $this->db->Execute($query);
        if($rs === FALSE)
        { $this->error('Error in query: ' . $this->db->ErrorMsg()); return; }

        $seq = '';
        $x = -1;
        while($r = $rs->FetchRow($rs))
        {
            if(!empty($r['qid']))
            {
                if($seq != $r['seq'])
                {
                    $x++;
                    $seq = $r['seq'];
                    $answers[$x]['date'] = date($date_format,$r['entered']);
                }
                if(isset($answers[$x][$r['qid']]))
                { $answers[$x][$r['qid']] .= MULTI_ANSWER_SEPERATOR . $this->SfStr->getSafeString($r['value'] . $r['answer'],$user_text_mode); }
                else
                { $answers[$x][$r['qid']] = $this->SfStr->getSafeString($r['value'] . $r['answer'],$user_text_mode); }
            }
            $last_date = date($date_format,$r['entered']);
        }
        $answers[$x]['date'] = $last_date;

        $xvals = array_keys($answers);

        foreach($xvals as $x)
        {
            foreach($qid as $qid_value)
            {
                if(isset($answers[$x][$qid_value]))
                { $data['answers'][$x][] = $answers[$x][$qid_value]; }
                else
                { $data['answers'][$x][] = '&nbsp;'; }
            }
            $data['answers'][$x][] = $answers[$x]['date'];
        }

        $this->smarty->assign_by_ref('data',$data);
        $this->smarty->assign_by_ref('survey',$survey);
        return $this->smarty->fetch($this->template.'/results_table.tpl');
    }

    function results_csv($sid, $export_type=EXPORT_CSV_TEXT)
    {
        $sid = (int)$sid;


        $retval = '';

        if(!$this->_CheckAccess($sid,RESULTS_PRIV,"results_csv.php?sid=$sid"))
        {
            switch($this->_getAccessControl($sid))
            {
                case AC_INVITATION:
                    return $this->showInvite('results_csv.php',array('sid'=>$sid));
                break;
                case AC_USERNAMEPASSWORD:
                default:
                    return $this->showLogin('results_csv.php',array('sid'=>$sid));
                break;
            }
        }

        header("Content-Type: text/plain; charset={$this->CONF['charset']}");
        header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=Export.csv");

        $query = "SELECT q.qid, q.question, s.date_format
                  FROM {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}questions q, {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}surveys s
                  WHERE q.sid = $sid and s.sid = q.sid ORDER BY q.page, q.oid";
        $rs = $this->db->Execute($query);
        if($rs === FALSE)
        { $this->error('Error in query: ' . $this->db->ErrorMsg()); return; }

        $questions = array();
        if($r = $rs->FetchRow($rs))
        {
            $date_format = $r['date_format'];
            do{
                $questions[$r['qid']] = $r['question'];
            }while($r = $rs->FetchRow($rs));
        }
        else
        { $this->error('No questions for this survey'); return; }

        if(isset($_SESSION['filter_text'][$sid]) && isset($_SESSION['filter'][$sid]) && strlen($_SESSION['filter_text'][$sid])>0)
        { $this->smarty->assign_by_ref('filter_text',$_SESSION['filter_text'][$sid]); }
        else
        { $_SESSION['filter'][$sid] = ''; }


        $query = "SELECT GREATEST(rt.qid, r.qid) AS qid, GREATEST(rt.sequence, r.sequence) AS seq,
                  GREATEST(rt.entered, r.entered) AS entered,
                  q.question, av.value, av.numeric_value, rt.answer FROM {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}questions q LEFT JOIN {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}results
                  r ON q.qid = r.qid LEFT JOIN {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}results_text rt ON q.qid = rt.qid LEFT JOIN
                  {$this->CONF['db_tbl_prefix']}answer_values av ON r.avid = av.avid WHERE q.sid = $sid {$_SESSION['filter'][$sid]}
                  ORDER BY seq, q.page, q.oid";

        $rs = $this->db->Execute($query);
        if($rs === FALSE)
        { $this->error('Error in query: ' . $this->db->ErrorMsg()); return; }

        $seq = '';
        $x = 0;
        while($r = $rs->FetchRow($rs))
        {
            if(!empty($r['qid']))
            {
                if($seq != $r['seq'])
                {
                    $x++;
                    $seq = $r['seq'];
                    $answers[$x]['date'] = date($date_format,$r['entered']);
                }

                switch($export_type)
                {
                    case EXPORT_CSV_NUMERIC:
                        if(empty($r['answer']))
                        { $value = $r['numeric_value']; }
                        else
                        { $value = $r['answer']; }
                    break;

                    case EXPORT_CSV_TEXT:
                    default:
                        if(empty($r['answer']))
                        { $value = $r['value']; }
                        else
                        { $value = $r['answer']; }
                    break;
                }

                if(isset($answers[$x][$r['qid']]))
                { $answers[$x][$r['qid']] .= MULTI_ANSWER_SEPERATOR . $value; }
                else
                { $answers[$x][$r['qid']] = $value; }
            }
            $last_date = date($date_format,$r['entered']);
        }
        $answers[$x]['date'] = $last_date;

        $line = '';
        foreach($questions as $question)
        { $line .= "\"" . str_replace('"','""',$question) . "\","; }
        $retval .= $line . "Datetime\n";

        $xvals = array_keys($answers);

        foreach($xvals as $x)
        {
            $line = '';
            foreach($questions as $qid=>$question)
            {
                if(isset($answers[$x][$qid]))
                {
                    if(is_numeric($answers[$x][$qid]))
                    { $line .= "{$answers[$x][$qid]},"; }
                    else
                    { $line .= "\"" . str_replace('"','""',$answers[$x][$qid]) . "\","; }
                }
                else
                { $line .= ","; }
            }
            $retval .= $line . '"' . $answers[$x]['date'] . "\"\n";
        }

        return $retval;
    }
}

?>

Hi - I'm using SESSION variables to keep track of customers who come onto the site to order stuff. For example $_SESSION['customerid'] all the incoming customers.


I also use SESSION variables with a different value for the managers to look at and keep track of customer data. eg :  $_SESSION['customer']['firstname']

I am expecting many customers and managers to be simultaneously using the site.   

QUESTION: Do I need to increment the SESSION variable in some way in order to avoid that a session gets overwritten,  or will my SESSION variables keep track and keep everything separated by dint of the fact that they contain different values ?

so far my testing shows that things are working correctly, but I can only test with 3 / 4 virtual users in different browser windows .

Hi - wondering if someone can give a little guidance:

Why doesn't this trim the whitespace out of the string postzip?

trim(strtoupper(((isset($_POST["postzip"]))?$_POST["postzip"]:"")))

Thanks

The following query or while loop is only increasing the ArticleID variable every 3rd time the script is run, I've narrowed it down to the following code snippet. Can you spot a problem with this, I'm in my first week of PHP and MySQL and I can't see any problem with it.

Any help would be mighty appreciated by this idiot 

Code snippet:
---
$result = mysql_query("SELECT ArticleID FROM test_top ORDER BY ArticleID ASC LIMIT 1") or die(mysql_error()); 
   while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
   {
   $ArticleID=$row['ArticleID'];
   }
$ArticleID=intval($ArticleID);
$ArticleID++;
---

A couple months back, I asked on a gaming forum if anyone knew of a website that would track your *Steam Wishlist and email you when one of your wishlist games went on sale.
No one at the time knew of a **solution, so I decided to buy "PHP, MySQL and Javascript" and try to roll my own.

I managed to get the basics working.

After the basics,  I started thinking about fun stuff I could do with the data I collected from Steam regarding the games that go on sale regularly.
The first part of my code file_get_content's the ***sale page(s) of games, and sucks out the games name, regular price, sale price, and the games homepage URL on Steam. 
This is enough to accomplish my basic task.

The second part is where I need help, and that's getting more details on the game.

The additional details I want to get about the game include its Publisher and Developer, and to get that detail I need to go to the games homepage URL I previously got from the global sale page.

The issue is this:  Some games have an age-restriction limitation, and you have to fill out a date form before entering the games homepage.
An example of one of those pages would be: http://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/1250/

I want to be able to POST a legal age to the above URL, and then (this is where I'm hazy) "re-load" the same URL, authorized by my previous POST.
Is that possible?


* Steam is a digital download service for computer games.
** Subsequently, there was another website found.  But I was well into developing my solution and having fun.
*** Example: http://store.steampowered.com/search/?specials=1

I'm trying the fetch some geocode data from mapquest. Google doesn't like me right now. I keep running into the query_limit. So I want to set a back up that will go into production when I get that error from the big G.

I have my api key and I can put the string in a var.
Code: [Select]
$geocode = file_get_contents($url)

I selected json as the output and when I echo $geocode... here is the first portion of the string....(I want lat & lng)

Code: [Select]
renderOptions({"results":[{"locations":[{"latLng":{"lng":-112.35984,"lat":34.58752},.....
Now for the life of me, I can't do anything with it.
I've tried json_decode() with the true argument there and not.
Code: [Select]
$output = json_decode($geocode, true);
$output = json_decode($geocode);
vardump($output) is NULL.

So, I thought, well maybe I don't need to decode it, but I can't figure out how to parse it.

I'm lost. This admittedly is my first attempt as trying to work with a jason object, but jeesh, it doesn't seem like it should be that hard.
Can someone start me in the right direction?