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@NogDogMay 11.2013 — #The semi-colon that is part of the CSS statement (and that you highlighted in red) is, as far as PHP is concerned, just another character within the quoted string literal, and when output to the browser will be parsed by the HTML/CSS interpreter on the browser as having meaning in that context -- but PHP doesn't care what character it is:
The only characters in there that have any special meaning to PHP are the back-slashes used to escape the literal double-quotes, telling PHP that they are [i]not[/i] PHP string delimiters, just literal quote characters within that entire quoted string. The semi-colon that follows all of that (the very last character on the line) does matter to PHP, as in that case (not within a string literal), it is the PHP command separator.
Personally, I generally prefer to use single quotes withing the HTML part, so that I don't have to escape them (and the HTML parser is just as happy with them as the double quotes):
@NogDogMay 12.2013 — #Even if it does not all sink in immediately, it's a good idea to read through the PHP manual section on the String type: http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.types.string.php (and read it again several times as weeks and months go by to reinforce it and to pick up bits you missed the first time ? ).
The good news is that PHP provides multiple ways to define string literals, giving you quite a bit of flexibility.
The bad news is that PHP provides multiple ways to define string literals, giving you quite a few reasons to get confused or make mistakes.
Let's take a look at some of the many options to output a line of HTML code that includes a couple variable values in it, one being a simple scalar variable and one an array member. The main thing to remember (which I think you already know) is that variables are not interpolated within single-quoted strings, so you would have to use concatenation in that case. You can also use concatenation within double quotes if you like, but it's not required. However, array elements get a picky about how you use them if you want to use interpolation within a double quoted string, so I find it's best to either use concatenation or "complex" (curly brace) notation with them. And another option is to write your output while [i]not[/i] in PHP mode, only entering that mode when needed.
The ugliest part (to me) is the handling of array elements.
:eek:
Therefore, I prefer to always quote my array indexes and then make use of either complex notation or concatenation if using them within a double-quote string, so that my array key quoting is consistent throughout:
Did any of that help? :rolleyes:
For extra credit, read up on the HEREDOC and NOWDOC quoting techniques. ?@NogDogMay 12.2013 — #Ah, okay, that semi-colon is part of the style attribute in that HTML tag. It is the separator between CSS element/value descriptors, essentially the same as the semi-colon's use in PHP. It is not required after the last element:value pair, so could be omitted in this case; but many coders prefer to leave it in both for consistency and to avoid simple errors if they decide to append another element. Either of these is valid in HTML:
But as the semi-colons here are part of the HTML output, they are meaningless to the PHP parser/compiler:
@NogDogMay 13.2013 — #
Just to make sure we're clear here, let's take a really simple example:
The only semi-colon in that line that has any special meaning to PHP is the very last one, [i]after[/i] the closing quote. All of the semi-colons between the opening and closing quotes are just arbitrary characters to be output by the echo command. In other words, they have no more impact on PHP than the plus signs or eights in either of these:
In a more complex example:
Once again, everything between the double-quote characters in this example is of no particular meaning to the PHP parser/compiler running on the web server: it only gains any sort of meaning when a web browser that supports JavaScript receives that text and then parses and executes it within the browser, with the browser being totally oblivious to the fact that PHP was ever involved with it at all. All the browser would ever "see" from that PHP file's output is:
Is the semicolon in the correct place?
Hello. I’m still new to some basic formatting concepts. Something confused me in the book I was reading.
[B]Q:
when you have CSS style rules embedded in an PHP string, is the [COLOR=”#FF0000″]semicolon
[CODE]$name = $_GET[‘name’];
print “<p>Hello, <span style=”font-weight:bold[B][COLOR=”#FF0000″];[/COLOR][/B]”>$name</span>!</p>”;
I got confused because I know usually the semicolon surrounds the entire string, including any variable, and other tags that may include things such as the paragraph ..ect. The semicolon is always placed after the double quotes. However, in this case it seems that because there are [I]style rules
[canned-message]attachments-removed-during-migration
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@NogDogMay 11.2013 — #The semi-colon that is part of the CSS statement (and that you highlighted in red) is, as far as PHP is concerned, just another character within the quoted string literal, and when output to the browser will be parsed by the HTML/CSS interpreter on the browser as having meaning in that context -- but PHP doesn't care what character it is:<i>
</i>"<p>Hello, <span style="font-weight:bold;">$name</span>!</p>"
The only characters in there that have any special meaning to PHP are the back-slashes used to escape the literal double-quotes, telling PHP that they are [i]not[/i] PHP string delimiters, just literal quote characters within that entire quoted string. The semi-colon that follows all of that (the very last character on the line) does matter to PHP, as in that case (not within a string literal), it is the PHP command separator.
Personally, I generally prefer to use single quotes withing the HTML part, so that I don't have to escape them (and the HTML parser is just as happy with them as the double quotes):
[code=php]
print "<p>Hello, <span style='font-weight:bold;'>$name</span>!</p>";
[/code]0
@NogDogMay 12.2013 — #Even if it does not all sink in immediately, it's a good idea to read through the PHP manual section on the String type: The good news is that PHP provides multiple ways to define string literals, giving you quite a bit of flexibility.
The bad news is that PHP provides multiple ways to define string literals, giving you quite a few reasons to get confused or make mistakes.
Let's take a look at some of the many options to output a line of HTML code that includes a couple variable values in it, one being a simple scalar variable and one an array member. The main thing to remember (which I think you already know) is that variables are not interpolated within single-quoted strings, so you would have to use concatenation in that case. You can also use concatenation within double quotes if you like, but it's not required. However, array elements get a picky about how you use them if you want to use interpolation within a double quoted string, so I find it's best to either use concatenation or "complex" (curly brace) notation with them. And another option is to write your output while [i]not[/i] in PHP mode, only entering that mode when needed.
[code=php]
<?php
$page = 'page.php';
$text = array('foo' => 'click me');
// only enter PHP mode as needed:
?>
<p><a href='/dir/<?php echo $page; ?>'><?php echo $text['foo'];?></a></p>
<?php
// single-quotes with concatenation:
echo '<p><a href="/foo/'.$page.'">'.$text['foo'].'</a></p>';
// double-quotes with concatenation:
// (note, doesn't matter which quote type you use for array keys)
echo "<p><a href='/foo/".$page."'>".$text["foo"]."</a></p>";
// double-quotes with interpolation and complex notation:
echo "<p><a href='/foo/$page'>{$text['foo']}</a></p>";
// and then there's printf(), where you use place-holders that are replaced by the args that follow:
printf(
"<p><a href='/foo/%s'>%s</a></p>",
$page,
$text['foo']
);
[/code]The ugliest part (to me) is the handling of array elements.
[code=php]
$text = array('foo' => 'bar');
// this will generate a notice-level error and possible bug:
echo $text[foo];
// this will not be an error:
echo $text['foo']; /* or */ echo $text["foo"];
// however, this will be a parse error:
echo "<p>$text['foo']</p>";
// while PHP considers this to be just fine:
echo "<p>$text[foo]</p>";
[/code]:eek:
Therefore, I prefer to always quote my array indexes and then make use of either complex notation or concatenation if using them within a double-quote string, so that my array key quoting is consistent throughout:
[code=php]
echo "<p>{$text['foo']}</p>";
// or
echo "<p>".$text['foo']."</p>";
[/code]Did any of that help? :rolleyes:
For extra credit, read up on the HEREDOC and NOWDOC quoting techniques. ?
0
@NogDogMay 12.2013 — #Ah, okay, that semi-colon is part of the style attribute in that HTML tag. It is the separator between CSS element/value descriptors, essentially the same as the semi-colon's use in PHP. It is not required after the last element:value pair, so could be omitted in this case; but many coders prefer to leave it in both for consistency and to avoid simple errors if they decide to append another element. Either of these is valid in HTML:[code=html]
<p style='background-color:#fff;border:solid 1px #333;color:#000;'>some text</p>
<p style='background-color:#fff;border:solid 1px #333;color:#000'>some text</p>
[/code]But as the semi-colons here are part of the HTML output, they are meaningless to the PHP parser/compiler:
[code=php]
<?php
echo "
<p style='background-color:#fff;border:solid 1px #333;color:#000;'>some text</p>
<p style='background-color:#fff;border:solid 1px #333;color:#000'>some text</p>
"; // <-- this is the only semi-colon in this code that PHP is "interested" in,
// since it is not part of the quoted string being echoed.
[/code]0
@NogDogMay 13.2013 — #I see, Makes sense tracknut, and NogDog. Thank you!
So the last semicolon really tells php to keep the HTML styles separate from the PHP. Makes sense.
...[/QUOTE]
Just to make sure we're clear here, let's take a really simple example:
[code=php]
<?php
echo ";;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;";
[/code]The only semi-colon in that line that has any special meaning to PHP is the very last one, [i]after[/i] the closing quote. All of the semi-colons between the opening and closing quotes are just arbitrary characters to be output by the echo command. In other words, they have no more impact on PHP than the plus signs or eights in either of these:
[code=php]
<?php
echo "++++++++++++++";
echo "8888888888888888";
[/code]In a more complex example:
[code=php]
<?php
echo "<script type='text/javascript'>alert('Hello, World!');</script>";
[/code]Once again, everything between the double-quote characters in this example is of no particular meaning to the PHP parser/compiler running on the web server: it only gains any sort of meaning when a web browser that supports JavaScript receives that text and then parses and executes it within the browser, with the browser being totally oblivious to the fact that PHP was ever involved with it at all. All the browser would ever "see" from that PHP file's output is:
[code=html]
<script type='text/javascript'>alert('Hello, World!');</script>
[/code]