Posted by Curtis on 02/17/07 06:35

Erwin Moller wrote:
> Richard wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>>> Can the include path
>>>> just be set once for a single session?
>>> Yes, if you want. Store the path in the $_SESSION.
>>> I don't see the advantage, but I don't know your application of
>>> course.
>> to avoid the meed to call to set the include path in every file which
>> needs to include files. Am I confusing myself? Must the include path be
>> set in an ini file which is included in every page which makes use of
>> such includes?
>
> Well, you can set the includepath in php.ini, but that has the problem that
> (on most hostingsenvironments) your php.ini settings are used in every site
> that uses PHP. Not really neat.
>
> That is why I set them explicitly for each project in a simple includefile.
>
> And I expect (very personal opinion) that your ARE confusing yourself by
> making the included scripts session dependent.
> If you design carefully you can simply include the functions you need
> everywhere, and just call them when needed.
> How I see it: You are fixing a speedproblem that isn't even there, as far as
> I can judge of course.
>
> As I mentioned in my former posting: almost all speedproblems with PHP are
> databaserelated, and that is not PHP's fault. :-)
>
> But maybe I misjudge, and you have a a dozen of includefiles of 5 megabyte.
> Then it makes sense to be more picky, but if they stay under 100K, I
> wouldn't worry too much...
>
>>> or in every file which references
>>>> includes?
>>> I do not understand that question. :-/
>> Hopefully clearer above :/
>>
>>> Can you recommend a web resource which covers this type of
>>>> stuff?
>>> All the above, which was just published on this great resource:
>>> comp.lang.php.
>>> ;-)
>>>
>>> On a sidenote: If you feel comfortable with OO, you can also design your
>>> application with objects. This leads to a very different kind of
>>> programming, but also let you design in a neat way. It is a matter of
>>> taste what you prefer. Personally I like both. :P
>> I will move to objects but am just getting a feel for php first and its
>> libraries etc.
>
> Good. No need to dive into objects yet.
> Anything an object can do, you can write in another way and approach it in
> the good old procedural way: with functions and normal logic.
> If you are comfortable with procedural PHP, maybe then switch.
> You actually don't need Objects in PHP, they just make your life easier once
> you know them. :-)
>
>
>>> Hope that helps.
>> It has been a GREAT help, thanks.
>
> Glad to hear that. :-)
>
> Good luck.
>
> Regards,
> Erwin Moller
>
>>> Regards,
>>> Erwin Moller
>>>
>>>
>> --
>

Great advice, Erwin.

Concerning using OOP, it is oftentimes easier to maintain more finely
tuned control on a large scale. In PHP 5, you can also specify
visibility keywords, as well as several other OOP features.

As an alternative to using PHP's include path, you could use Apache's
httpd.conf to create an aliased directory for includes. I don't
believe one can do this through .htaccess, though.

If you alias your includes directory, you can access it from anywhere
in the same way:

require_once '/aliasedDir/foobar.php';

Notice the initial / preceding the aliased directory, as that's important.

--
Curtis

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