Posts Tagged ‘PHP’

Calculate Average in PHP Example

April 7th, 2009 4 Comments

To calculate the average of numbers in PHP, we first need to add up all the item, then divide by the total number of items. In our example, we will add up the eight numbers 2, 4, 5, 3, 2, 9, 11, and 9.

First, the code example:

<?php
  $totalRatings = 2+4+5+3+2+9+11+9;
  $totalVotes = 8;
  $average = $totalRatings / $totalVotes;
  echo "Average: $average";
?>

Next, the output of the above PHP example will print the following to a web browser.

Average: 5.625

Since PHP is not strongly typed, the line of PHP code that performs the dividing of $totalRatings and $totalVotes (both integers) will correctly result in a double value.

Posted in PHP Tags: ,

Enable HTTP Compression in PHP

January 16th, 2009 No Comments

From my past tasks in improving a website’s load time, I’ve read in various forums that allowing the server to perform HTTP compression can significantly improve load time. The website I wanted to optimize was powered by PHP and runs of an Apache server hosted by LunarPages.

It all began when I ran the PHP site through useful Microsoft Tool (http://www.microsoft.com/search/Tools/default.aspx). I found that HTTP Compression was Not Enabled.

What I need to do is add the below script before the header loads in all PHP pages:

<?php
  if (substr_count($_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING'], 'gzip'))
  {
    ob_start("ob_gzhandler");
  }
  else
  {
    ob_start();
  }
?>

After all this, I did notice some odd behavior in PHP and consequently removed the script. Though others who have used the script managed without problems, I still believe this is a great resource.

Posted in PHP Tags: , , , , ,

Post Fancy Sample Code on Website

November 15th, 2008 4 Comments

You may have noticed the fancing code snippets that accompany many of the tutorials on this website! I would love to say I developed this myself, but the truth is that this is a free resource free for anybody to download and use. It is called SyntaxHighlighter and can be found at http://code.google.com/p/syntaxhighlighter/.

What is Included?

So what does the Syntax Highlighter come with? Below is a list my favorite features of this software:

  1. It’s completely free!
  2. Associate keywords for supported languages are highlighted.
  3. Each line of code is numbered and colored for easier reading!
  4. Allows one click to code only view.
  5. Allows one click copy to clipboard of code.
  6. Allows one click copy to printer.

What Comes With the Download

The file can be downloaded from their official website at http://code.google.com/p/syntaxhighlighter/ as a rar compressed file. Inside the compressed file, you will find various folders and files. The core files that are required include:

  1. clipboard.swf
  2. shCore.js
  3. SyntaxHighlighter.css

Still, there are many more JavaScript files that have been included in the download. Not all of these files are required. Instead, you choose additional optional JavaScript files for the programming or scripting languages you want the Syntax Highlighter to associate.

Installation After Uploading Files

After you have uploaded the required and accompanying optional files, you will need to include the javascript and css files to the header of the pages with which you plan on using the Syntax Highlighter. See the example below:

<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.victorchen.info/wp-includes/js/SyntaxHighlighter/Styles/SyntaxHighlighter.css"></link>
<script language="javascript" src="http://www.victorchen.info/wp-includes/js/SyntaxHighlighter/Scripts/shCore.js"></script>
<script language="javascript" src="http://www.victorchen.info/wp-includes/js/SyntaxHighlighter/Scripts/shBrushCSharp.js"></script>
<script language="javascript" src="http://www.victorchen.info/wp-includes/js/SyntaxHighlighter/Scripts/shBrushJava.js"></script>
<script language="javascript" src="http://www.victorchen.info/wp-includes/js/SyntaxHighlighter/Scripts/shBrushPhp.js"></script>
<script language="javascript" src="http://www.victorchen.info/wp-includes/js/SyntaxHighlighter/Scripts/shBrushXml.js"></script>
<script language="javascript" src="http://www.victorchen.info/wp-includes/js/SyntaxHighlighter/Scripts/shBrushJScript.js"></script>
<script language="javascript">
  window.onload = function () {
    dp.SyntaxHighlighter.ClipboardSwf = 'http://www.victorchen.info/wp-includes/js/SyntaxHighlighter/Scripts/clipboard.swf';
    dp.SyntaxHighlighter.HighlightAll('code');
  }
</script>

In the above, there Line 1 includes the CSS file. Next, Line 2 includes the one core JavaScript file. Lines 4 through 8 include optional JavaScript files. Lines 9 through 14 include setup for using Syntax Highlighter. The portion requires including the clipboard.swf file.

Usage

I assume you already have formatted code contained within the pre tags, as found in a previous tutorial called 3 Steps to Posting Sample Code on your Website. As of now, all you have is a formatted tag, without the fancy upgrades. All you need to add for fancy code formatting is to add name=”code” class=”html”. Exchange html with the type of file you have included. Click to see sample supported files: http://code.google.com/p/syntaxhighlighter/wiki/Languages. An example:

<pre name="code" class="html">&lt;html&gt;
  &lt;head&gt;
    &lt;title&gt;Victor's Programming Aid&lt;/title&gt;
  &lt;/head&gt;
  &lt;body&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;This is a test&lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;/body&gt;
&lt;/html&gt;</pre>

Conclusion

With that, you now have fancy code formatting on your website. Comment on some examples of where you have used the Syntax Highlighter in action!

Posted in CSS, HTML, Javascript Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries