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Posted by Erwin Moller on 01/18/07 09:47
christopherpriest@yahoo.com wrote:
> I have taken over a php web site. Once you login you are given six menu
> choices. Each option is or can be independant of the others. They each
> modify the same database but in different ways.
>
> On clicking the menu buttons the program calls php functions to do the
> action. Thus the user stays inside a large program.
>
> I was expecting the menu to provide links rather than function calls.
> 1) Is there a reason to stay inside a large program through function
> calls rather than linking to separate pages?
Hi,
Well, maybe the original programmer uses some framework?
Or (s)he just liked that approach.
Or maybe in that particular situation it made some sense?
Hard to say without diving into the project.
I can only say my personal taste is always to create seperate pages, simply
because that keeps one script focussed on the task at hand, and keeps the
script small, thus less errorphrone.
I often do use a common functions file, which is included in all the
seperate scripts.
>
> 2) Am I correct that providing a <a href=... link would isolate the
> functionality and call a new program?
Well, it just calls whatever you put into the href.
This can be the same script all the time with different values in the
GET/URL, like:
<a href="bigscript.php?action=modifyTBLUSER">edit users</a>
<a href="bigscript.php?action=modifyTBLHISTORY">edit history</a>
<a href="bigscript.php?action=modifyTBLARTICLES">edit articles</a>
In that example all is handled by 'one program' (bigscript.php).
By the way: I think it is more common to just refer to scripts instead of
programs.
For example: A program is the PHP interpreter (or Firefox browser, or Gimp,
etc.), and bigscript.php is a script (just a file) that gets read and
interpreted/executed by the PHP-executable (program).
>
> The current program is spagettii code and somewhat buggy. There are
> side effects that depend on what function was called before. I am
> hoping that passing the hidden input parameters is all the connectivity
> I need.
Well, if the code is a mess, you better start eating through it and make it
more structured. That way you will probably be more able to find the bugs.
Just my 2 cent.
Regards,
Erwin Moller
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