Wether I’m making complex web applications or a five page no brainer site, if I’m using PHP to do something the chances are something’s not going to work out exactly to plan. I quite often find myself spitting out this bit of code to see the contents of my variables: print_r($var);

While this works very well, it can be daunting to look at without some sort of formatting. Another dilemma I’ve found (only on those big projects) is that I can’t remember where I’ve put that piece of code in order to remove or comment it out.

Today I spent a short amount of time making my life easier. I’ve created a function that works very much the same way, but unlike print_r, this function can handle any type of variable. It’s extremely simple to use. Once the function is included to your application, just call it: echo dba($var1,$var2,$var3…);

The function will handle any amount of variables you throw at it. Here’s a sample output from one of my sites:

================================================================================
Debug Called:
/home/vhosts/trade/www/sub-contractors/materials.php on Line 448
/home/vhosts/trade/www/sub-contractors.php on Line 109
================================================================================
Argument #1: String
Hello World!
End Argument #1
================================================================================
Argument #2: Integer
9316729
End Argument #2
================================================================================
Argument #3: Float
4582.55
End Argument #3
================================================================================
Argument #4: Array
(
[0] => foo
[1] => bar
)
End Argument #4
================================================================================
Argument #5: db_mysql Object
(
[dbname:private] => trade
[id_link:private] => Resource id #15
[eh] =>
[query_counter] => 8
)
End Argument #5
================================================================================

Notice that the first part explains the trace of pages called before this function. On the first entry and line number you’ll find this function’s call. Subsequent pages are ‘parents’ of this page.

It’s great! Where do I get it?

• Download function.dba.zip

Technorati: php, programming

How often have you ever found out that magic quotes was turned on, but you forgot all about it? Or your result from a database row is fine in its’ result set, except for the slashes?

Not too often for me either. But there are exceptions. Today, for example, I needed to stripslashes from every string in an array of strings. The normal stripslashes function just isn’t equipped to handle arrays of data.

Here’s what I’ve come up with:

<?php
function stripslashesArray($arr) {
  //check if the variable is an array
  if (is_array($arr)) {
    //get the keys of the array
    $keys = array_keys($arr);
    for ($x=0;$x<count($keys);$x++) {
      //check if array item is not an object
      if (!is_object($arr[$keys[$x]])) {
        //strip the slashes of the item, even if it's an array
        $arr[$keys[$x]] = stripslashesArray($arr[$keys[$x]]);
      }
    }
    return $arr; //return the stripped array
  } else {
    //variable is just a string, treat as normal
    return stripslashes($arr); //return the stripped string
  }
} //end stripslashesArray function
?>

Download this code: stripslashesarray.php

So you see, the function makes sure you’re not sending it an object, or an array with an object as an item. The function also calls itself again and again until all branches on the array are stripped. However, if you have an array with an object as an item, and that object has an array of strings, they won’t be stripped. I don’t see many opportunities where that would come up anyway!

Now that we’re stripping slashes, it’s just a simple modification to start adding slashes:

<?php
function addslashesArray($arr) {
  //check if the variable is an array
  if (is_array($arr)) {
    //get the keys of the array
    $keys = array_keys($arr);
    for ($x=0;$x<count($keys);$x++) {
      //check if array item is not an object
      if (!is_object($arr[$keys[$x]])) {
        //add the slashes to the item, even if it's an array
        $arr[$keys[$x]] = addslashesArray($arr[$keys[$x]]);
      }
    }
    return $arr; //return the stripped array
  } else {
    //variable is just a string, treat as normal
    return addslashes($arr); //return the stripped string
  }
} //end addslashesArray function
?>

Download this code: addslashesarray.php

The functions have more use than you’ve thought. For example, if you’ve just transferred your site to a new server, and magic quotes behave differently than before, you can use stripslashesArray or addslashesArray on your $_POST, $_REQUEST and $_GET arrays.

I hope this keeps you all sane.

Technorati: php, programming

Ever tried to make a Paypal button using their Button Creator, or even by getting the information from their Help pages? It’s not easy or dynamic. I’ve made many sites that use Paypal for their payment of both single items and multi item shopping carts. I’ve created this class to make my job easier. I have not come upon something like this in my search on the internet, so I’m sharing it to the world.

This class supports:

• CSS Styles
• Custom IPN, Return, and Cancel pages
• Postage, handling and tax amounts per item
• Custom pass-through variable

NEW – Version 1.1 now supports PayPal Subscriptions!

Sites using this class:

• Mysign
• OzHorses
• Just Wood Toys

Download

• Download Version 1.1 (30-11-2005) (Zip file)

Technorati: php, paypal, ecommerce

Inspired by Backpackit.com’s image management, Image Snapshot can take a portion of an image (crop) to specific dimensions, from different areas of the original image.

This class has been created for the purpose of manipulating an uploaded image, and creating a Thumbnail image that does not alter the aspect ratio, and yet represents the contents of the original image. I’m sure other uses can be found for the Image Snapshot class, but I’ll leave that to you. I use it for Photo Galleries, and Shopping Cart systems.

View the manual to get a clearer picture.

This class supports:

• Jpg, Gif, Png files
• Output to Jpg
• Can resize images before applying the crop
• Can crop from any part of the image

Sites using this class:

• My Drinks Collection
  
• Just Wood Toys

Downloads

• Download Version 1.3 (05-12-2005) (Zip file)
• Download Manual (highly recommended) (Pdf file)

Technorati: php, images, gd