Re: More frustration with MySQL and PHP

On Jan 22, 2008, at 10:32 AM, Daniel Brown wrote:

On Jan 22, 2008 9:03 AM, Eric Butera <eric.butera@gmail.com> wrote:

That is basically it. You're going to want to learn the why, not just the how though. There is a reason for creating functions and it isn't just code reuse. Think about when you want to change your export script. Say you needed to add a field to it. Right now you have to edit some web facing php script mixed with code that handles the request and connects to your database. Wouldn't it be easier if you just could edit a very specific spot that was easy to get to and pop a column on to that instead of sifting through dozens of if statements?

Eric's exactly right, J. I started working with PHP about a decade ago (yeah, I was one of the 1% or so that played around with PHP/FI2 - and I still have a copy of it, actually). I really didn't appreciate functions as much as I should have until the release of PHP4, and like Eric said, it's not just for 'reusability' - it's also for portability, centralization, extensibility, and a whole bunch of other great words with expansive suffixes.

I've found many times, that you can find the "how" by googling for the right terms... It's the "Why" that you can't learn from code... That's when you gotta dig into books and ask questions :) Once I've had a chance to read some of the info that has been provided and have a project (Maybe I'll even rewrite my current one if it makes it faster!) I'll be asking questions :) So hopefully you guys are ready for some questions that I come up with. Maybe I'll even throw my experience into a webpage for someone who is learning like me... bit by bit. Thanks for all the help you guys provide! I vote to double the pay of everyone who helps here! -- Jason Pruim Raoset Inc. Technology Manager MQC Specialist 3251 132nd ave Holland, MI, 49424 www.raoset.com japruim@raoset.com