I have a script that I run every night. This script reads an XML feed which pulls from a MS SQL database and then updates a MySQL database. The XML feed is rather large and the server where the XML feed comes from is rather slow. I’m not the only one who thinks so – […]
The Disappearing Database! 'MySQL server has gone away' Read More »
PHP Data Objects or PDO is an extension for PHP that gives a consistent interface for accessing databases. Each database will have it’s own driver that must be installed or enabled in your PHP installation. It gives me a data-access abstraction layer which allows me to change the underlying database type without changing my code.
PHP Data Objects (PDO) Read More »
I usually use a database abstraction layer with PDO to access MySQL Databases, but yesterday, I needed to use the php mysql functions the ‘old-fashioned’ way. I didn’t have access to my usual classes and libraries. It’s been a while since I used mysql this way, so I had a little ‘relearning’ to do. I
How to Check if a Record Exists in a MySQL Database Read More »
For those of you who have been programming in PHP much at all, you will be familiar with the $_GET and $_POST variables that can be passed to your scripts. You may not be as familiar with the $_SERVER variable that gives you information about your host environment. I often use the $_SERVER variable to
PHP's Built-in Server Variables Read More »
Scheduling a script to run with cpanel is fairly simple. The hardest part is getting the command syntax correct. To schedule a script on Linux based hosting (as opposed to Windows based hosting), we use what’s called a ‘cron job’. According to Wikipedia, ‘cron’ comes from the Greek word for time – chronos. Scheduling a
How to Schedule a Script to Execute With Cpanel Read More »
Sending a plain text email in php is very simple: If I want to send the email to more than one person, I can just add more email addresses in the $to variable separated by a comma like this: Notice the ‘\n\n’ in the $body variable. This is the linefeed. I’ve had trouble in some
How to Send an Email in PHP Read More »
FirePHP is really an extension to an extension. You have to have the Firebug extension installed for FirePHP to work correctly. You also have to download and install the FirePHP class to your website. You can get the extension and learn all about it here. This extension allows me to write to the Firebug console
My Favorite New Firefox Extension – FirePHP Read More »
Before you can use a MySQL database in your scripts, you must let your script know which MySQL database you plan to use and how to connect to it. You will need to know the host computer where the database lives – usually localhost – and the username and password that will allow you to
Connecting to a MySQL Database Read More »
This is a PHP function that I wish I had known about earlier, so I thought it was worth a mention for today’s Daily Web Tip. parse_url is a function that breaks a url down into it’s parts. <?php print_r(parse_url(‘https://cindycullen.com/example/test.php?id=255#faq1’)) ?> Will give you: Array ( [scheme] => http [host] => cindycullen.com [path] => /example/test.php
Using PHP's parse_url Function Read More »
PHP is a preprocessor which means that before your web page is loaded in someone’s browser, the server where the web page lives ‘pre-processes’ the web page. In other words, before the web page is delivered to the browser, the code for the page is first translated with the PHP translator on the server. To
How to Use PHP on Your Web Page Read More »
