Help understanding 3 lines of code

[dangerd]

Hi folks,

can someone help me understand the meaning behind this snippet of
code:

$result = mysql_query('SELECT category_id,category_name FROM
gallery_category');
while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {
$photo_category_list .= <<<__HTML_END
<option value="$row[0]">$row[1]</option>\n
__HTML_END;
}

I start to get confuse when the .=<<<_HTML_END bit start, how does
this work? I don't understand.

Thanks

[Steve]

"dangerd" <du**********@breathe.comwrote in message
news:11*********************@n59g2000hsh.googlegro ups.com...
| Hi folks,
|
| can someone help me understand the meaning behind this snippet of
| code:
|
| $result = mysql_query('SELECT category_id,category_name FROM
| gallery_category');
| while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {
| $photo_category_list .= <<<__HTML_END
| <option value="$row[0]">$row[1]</option>\n
| __HTML_END;
| }
|
| I start to get confuse when the .=<<<_HTML_END bit start, how does
| this work? I don't understand.
|
| Thanks

it's called a heredoc. i hate them, but others love them. essentially you
are breaking out of php code so that what is contained inbetween <<<__TAG
and __TAG can be written as if it were literal text. it is much more clear
to me to do:

$photo_category_list .= '<option value="' . $row[0] . '">' .
$row[1] .
"</option>\n";

but that's just me.

btw, wouldn't it make much more sense to make $row be $columns since the key
of the array points to a column/field and not a row of data?

[Moot]

On Apr 16, 11:47 am, "Steve" <[e-mail]:

"dangerd" <[e-mail] in message
| I start to get confuse when the .=<<<_HTML_END bit start, how does
| this work? I don't understand.
|
| Thanks

it's called a heredoc.

Language reference for heredoc can be found here:
http://us.php.net/manual/en/language...syntax.heredoc

[Steve Wright]

In message <nS***********@newsfe04.lga>, Steve <no****@example.com>
writes

>"dangerd" <du**********@breathe.comwrote in message
news:11*********************@n59g2000hsh.googlegr oups.com...
| Hi folks,
|
| can someone help me understand the meaning behind this snippet of
| code:
|
| $result = mysql_query('SELECT category_id,category_name FROM
| gallery_category');
| while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {
| $photo_category_list .= <<<__HTML_END
| <option value="$row[0]">$row[1]</option>\n
| __HTML_END;
| }
|
| I start to get confuse when the .=<<<_HTML_END bit start, how does
| this work? I don't understand.
|
| Thanks

it's called a heredoc. i hate them, but others love them. essentially you
are breaking out of php code so that what is contained inbetween <<<__TAG
and __TAG can be written as if it were literal text. it is much more clear
to me to do:

$photo_category_list .= '<option value="' . $row[0] . '">' .
$row[1] .
"</option>\n";

but that's just me.

btw, wouldn't it make much more sense to make $row be $columns since the key
of the array points to a column/field and not a row of data?

Better still

$photo_category_list .= '<option value="' .
$row['category_id'] . '">' .
$row['category_name'] .
'</option>\n";

--
Steve Wright

[Steve]

| >btw, wouldn't it make much more sense to make $row be $columns since the
key
| >of the array points to a column/field and not a row of data?
| >
| >
| Better still
|
| $photo_category_list .= '<option value="' .
| $row['category_id'] . '">' .
| $row['category_name'] .
| '</option>\n";
|

optimally:

$photo_category_list .= '<option value="' .
$row['category_id'] .
'">' .
$row['category_name'] .
'</option>\n";

:)

[Tim Roberts]

"Steve" <no****@example.comwrote:

>
btw, wouldn't it make much more sense to make $row be $columns since the key
of the array points to a column/field and not a row of data?

That's an interesting question. mysql_fetch_array returns one "row" at a
time. But, even though the "thing" is one row of a database query, what
the thing contains are columns.

Personally, I always use $row, but I see your point.
--
Tim Roberts, ti**@probo.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.

[Toby A Inkster]

Steve wrote:

optimally:

$photo_category_list .= '<option value="' .
$row['category_id'] .
'">' .
$row['category_name'] .
'</option>\n";

better still:

$photo_category_list = sprintf( '<option value="%s">%s</option>'."\n",
htmlentities($row['category_id']),
htmlentities($row['category_name'])
);

--
Toby A Inkster BSc (Hons) ARCS
http://tobyinkster.co.uk/
Geek of ~ HTML/SQL/Perl/PHP/Python*/Apache/Linux

* = I'm getting there!

[Steve]

"Toby A Inkster" <us**********@tobyinkster.co.ukwrote in message
news:ja************@ophelia.g5n.co.uk...
| Steve wrote:
|
| optimally:
| >
| $photo_category_list .= '<option value="' .
| $row['category_id'] .
| '">' .
| $row['category_name'] .
| '</option>\n";
|
|
| better still:
|
| $photo_category_list = sprintf( '<option value="%s">%s</option>'."\n",
| htmlentities($row['category_id']),
| htmlentities($row['category_name'])
| );

ok, you win. i actually think that is much more consice as you can see what
it is that you're after and how/where each input is used. i'll make note of
that.

:)