Re: Problem with a script

Jerim79 wrote:
On Apr 12, 11:01 am, Rami Elomaa <rami.elo...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Jerim79 kirjoitti:

As for the loop that was given, it may surprise you that I don't label
my variables as $VariableX. Variables should have unique names that
signify what they are. Seeing as how I have unique names for my
variables, a loop there becomes impractical. Unless of course I
utilize pointers, which is open to a matter of discussion of whether
it is worth it or not.
Okay, so variables have unique labels, that doesn't mean they still
couldn't be handled in a loop. I'll just tell you what I personally
would do, and I'm not trying to say this is how you should do it.

Php's arrays can be both indexed and associative, I'd use the lable
strings as keys instead of numbers.

Okay, so the variables aren't called $variable1, $variable2, but let's
say Peter, Paul and Mary, etc... So just make a array of them:
$my_labels = array('Peter', 'Paul', 'Mary',);

Collect the values from form:
foreach($my_labels as $key)
$my_values[$key] = $_POST[$key];

Then check for errors:
foreach($my_values as $key => $val)
if (empty($val)){
$msg[$key] = " * You have not answered this question.";
$error++;
}

You still have them as uniquely named array indexes... (indices? whatever.)

I believe that for the new guy this code would be readable, and
identifying problems should really not be any more difficult with this,
plus I think that it actually might save some time to write the actual
code from the beginnig, even though it's not at it's final stage,
instead of first writing everything spread out, and then rewriting the
same code again cleaned. If anything, writing the code twice will only
introduce new bugs which still would need to be detected.

However, my original intent was not to concentrate on the bad code, err,
your personal style of writing test code, but to draw your attention to
the fact that there was so much of it. When you write to a forum such as
this, requesting for help, do concider trimming the code to a very very
short piece where the problem is shown. If you post several hundreds of
lines of code, who's gonna start reading it all? Most just take a
glimpse at it and think "spaghetti!" and ignore it. Had you isolated the
problem to less than 20 lines, people might've actually paid attention
to it and been able to help you with it. You see, people in c.l.php have
the patience of an adhd child high on sugar. If the problem isn't solved
within 10 seconds, it's ignored. If you expect a person to spend an hour
reading your entire code and parsing it in their head, you wont get any
help and have to solve the problem by yourself.

I'm sure you have your own style of coding and after reading your
explanation you've convinced me that you may not actually be entirely
rookie in coding. The difficlty seems to be that you've not yet grasped
the fine skill of posting a question to usenet. I wouldn't want to think
that this was all waste of both of our time, so I'll try to learn the
lesson here and not judge people and their code so harshly, if you'll
consider sending shorter piece of sample code the next time you post,
agreed? :)

A final word on refusing to use loops is an educating story on Worse
Than Failure (formerly known as The Daily WTF) that you might want to
read:http://worsethanfailure.com/Articles/Checking_Your_Digits.aspx

--
Rami.Elo...@xxxxxxxxx

"Wikipedia on vähän niinq internetin raamattu, kukaan ei pohjimmiltaan
usko siihen ja kukaan ei tiedä mikä pitää paikkansa." -- z00ze

Perhaps I was too hasty in my original reply and if so, I apologize. I
certainly don't want to take all my frustration out on one person.
Having been around programmers for a while, I have run into the "My
way is the only way" attitude. Perhaps I am too quick to pounce on
anyone who I think exhibits that behavior, even if they don't. My
apologies. I always love to learn new things.

IIRC I inclued a line saying: If I am wrong, then [...] The word sorry
being part of it.
I also said: from what you POSTED I got the idea [...]
I still think there's nothing insulting about my reply btw, and I can
assure you it was written with best intent.
I can live with your sarcasm, I hope you understand nonetheless
_APPARANTLY_ your post triggered a few responses you had not expected.

Most people here seriously try to help out if they can. And sometimes
they fail at giving the response someone was hoping for. Fact of usenet
life. Getting a storm in return also seems to be one. C'est la vie!

Sh.





.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Problem with a script
    ... Okay, so variables have unique labels, that doesn't mean they still couldn't be handled in a loop. ... You still have them as uniquely named array indexes... ... I believe that for the new guy this code would be readable, and identifying problems should really not be any more difficult with this, plus I think that it actually might save some time to write the actual code from the beginnig, even though it's not at it's final stage, instead of first writing everything spread out, and then rewriting the same code again cleaned. ... If you expect a person to spend an hour reading your entire code and parsing it in their head, you wont get any help and have to solve the problem by yourself. ...
    (comp.lang.php)
  • Newbie read image help
    ... reading one byte or one line per loop. ... array, that would be great if I could choose. ... is there any libraries out there that someone can ...
    (comp.lang.cpp)
  • Re: [regexp] Speaking of the /s modifier...
    ... Sorry, I'm relatively new to programming in general, so I'm not sure what you mean by "sanitizing." ... speaking, while in a "while" loop, the presence or absence of a /s ... No when slurping all lines at once into an array and loop over the array. ... The $/ variable is very interesting for reading multiline records from a file like conventional lines. ...
    (perl.beginners)
  • Re: Problem with a script
    ... a loop there becomes impractical. ... You still have them as uniquely named array indexes... ... writing the code twice will only ... reading your entire code and parsing it in their head, ...
    (comp.lang.php)
  • Re: Array.Clear vs List<>.Clear
    ... There isn't a mechanism to do this, but writing your own is easy: ... // Cycle through the list and set the item to the default. ... Array.Clear sets all elements of the array to their default values (0, ... loop across the list isn't incredible. ...
    (microsoft.public.dotnet.languages.csharp)