Posted by William Gill on 06/26/07 15:51

David Gillen wrote:
> William Gill said:
>> OK this may seem stupid, but I use this template for my php/html forms
>> so that processing and form are in the same document.
>>
>> <?php if (array_key_exists('_submit_check',$_POST)) {
>>
>> php code to process form data and html to display a message
>> to the user goes here.
>> ...
>> ...
>>
>> <?php } else { ?> // close if block, open else block
>>
>> html and form go here.
>> <form action="<?php echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF']; ?>" method="post">
>> <input type="hidden" name="_submit_check" value="1"/>
>> ...
>> ...
>>
>> <?php } ?> // close else block
>>
>> In theory it's great, but after I get a whole lot of html in the gaps it
>> gets really hard to follow and edit, especially if I'm editing months later.
>>
>> I tried indenting the html inserts, but as my php gets more involved,
>> and properly indented (especially in the processing block) that gets
>> pretty messy.
>>
> If you code is that long that you can't follow it easily you need to break it
> down into various functions to handle what you are doing. Put these functions
> into an include file.
>

Actually, it's the html that obscures the php.

When I make a php template, I don't have any trouble reading and
following the code, but after I add a couple dozen lines of html It's
hard to see where a logical php block begins and ends.

This is easy to follow:
<?php
if ($a > $b) {
echo "a is bigger than b";
} else {
echo "a is NOT bigger than b";
}
?>

but when '<?php if ($a > $b) { ?>' and '<?php } else { ?>' are separated
by many lines of html, it isn't so easy.

>
> <?php if (array_key_exists('_submit_check',$_POST)) {
> processSubmission();
> <?}else{?>
> processNormal();
> <?}?>
>
> I'd also loose the comments about closing and opening blocks, they are
> completely unnecessary.
>
> D.

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