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call_user_func_array> <Function Handling
Last updated: Fri, 22 Aug 2008

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Function handling Functions

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call_user_func_array> <Function Handling
Last updated: Fri, 22 Aug 2008
 
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Function handling Functions
Michael T. McGrew
12-May-2005 07:56
An interesting way to use functions is by putting other things than PHP in them, i.e. HTML CSS. This can be useful if you will be using a format for many pages. Yes, the include function can be used also, but by defining them in functions can make them more portable in a way and keep you from having to make many include files. You could use include() when one will be putting big portions of PHP, HTML, and/or CSS and will be using them in many pages. Then you could use PHP, HTML, and/or CSS in a function when it is smaller portions of code and only want it to be on a few pages.

I have been using include() for HTML and CSS in my early days of PHP coding, but I will be using functions for that a lot more now.

<?php function a() {  ?>
<style type="text/css">
table {
border: 1px dashed black;
background: #95EAFE;
text-align:left;
width:610px;
}
.linkbar {
font-family:sans-serif;
line-height:40px;
top:1px;
text-align:center;
width:200px;
height:10px;
}
</style>
<?php ?>

Now doing:
<?php a(); ?>
will return all of the CSS just as if you had wrote it on the actual page, or used include() . The same thing goes for HTML code inside a function. The possibilities are endless...
michael dot bommarito at gmail dot com
30-Jan-2005 09:28
I've developed an easy-to-use hack using these functions to emulate overloaded functions.  It's especially handy for constructors and/or C++ style templating.

Here's a little example to get you going.  This does the trick for most circumstances, and if you need more intelligent parsing, it's not too hard to implement with regex or a more suitable classification scheme.

N.B. Note the lack of whitespace between variable types in case strings.

class Matrix {

...

function Matrix() {
  $args = func_get_args();
  $argmatch = implode(",", array_map('gettype', $args));

  switch( $argmatch ) {
    case 'integer,integer':
      //initialize m x n matrix
      break;

    case 'integer,integer,integer':
      //initialize m x n matrix with constant c
      break;

    case 'integer,integer,float':
      //initialize m x n matrix with constant c
      break;   

    case 'array':
      //initialize from array (2D....)
      break;

    case 'array,integer':
      //intialize from array (1D packed with m rows)
      break;
   
    default:
      //(void) overload?
      //error handling?
      break;
  }
}

...

}
php-note-2003-june-18 at ryandesign dot com
18-Jun-2003 06:22
Xavier's example is rather complicated, and his task would be much more simply accomplished by using classes. Define a base class to do the basic functions open, dump, and close, and create extension classes to override whatever behavior.

class foo {
  function open() {
    // Default functionality for open()
  }
  function dump() {
    // Default functionality for dump()
  }
  function close() {
    // Default functionality for close()
  }
}

class bar extends foo {
  function open() {
    // Override functionality of open()
  }
  // dump() and close() remain as in class foo
}
xmontero at dsitelecom dot com
24-Aug-2002 12:49
You can do some kind of overloading functions in PHP using "function_exists".

Let's suppose you want a script to call plugins that are php files and you want the plugins to "override" behaviours that if not overriden are used by default.

You might for example write a "mySQL table viewer" which displays a table and it "opens a table", "dumps the header", "dumps row-by-row" and then "closes the table".

Let's suppose you want a plugin for "Stocks" which prints negative stocks in red, so you want to override the "dumping row-by-row" to do that behaviour. Instead you do not want to have all the "default behaviour" repeated in the plugin.

You may then do the following:

1) Define a default plugin (ex: "default.php"

2) Write all your functions in default.php to open, dump and close, but add them a suffix:

open_table_default()
dump_header_default()
dump_row_default()
close_table_default()

3) Call your functions with a wrapper: Insetad of this:
open_table() or open_table_default() write this:

plugincall("open_table");

4) Then write a function called plugincall which uses function_exists() to see if you call one or the other function:

function plugincall($desired_function_name)
{

if( function_exists( $desired_function_name))
{
    //Call the plugin
    //Note the $ before the name
    $desired_function_name()
}
else
{
  $desired_function_name = $desired_function_name . "_default";
  if( function_exists($desired_function_name))
  {
      //Call the default
      //Note the $ before the name
      $desired_function_name()
  }
  else
  {
      // Nor the plugin nor the default were defined
  }
}

So, now, if the require_once(plugin.php) contains a function called "open_table()", it will be used. Instaed, "open_table_default()" will be used.

It's not like overloading functions, but it is very useful to write scripts ampliable by other programmers: If they write a function, it is used, if not, the default is used.

See ya!
Xavier Montero.

call_user_func_array> <Function Handling
Last updated: Fri, 22 Aug 2008
 
 
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