KevinM1

The first one refers to PHP 6, which doesn't exist. All of the features originally planned for version 6 have instead been rolled into 5.3+. It also only has a 3 star rating, which would make me wary. The second one isn't even a week old, so it's impossible to tell the quality. I suggest: http://www.amazon.com/PHP-Web-Visual-QuickStart-Guide/dp/0321733452/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343151882&sr=1-1&keywords=ullman+php I started with one of the earlier editions of that book. It covers all the basics in a very easy to understand manner.

I wouldn't call this a compiler. The word 'compiler' has a very specific definition in computer science. This is a code convention profiler, closer to something like a customized PHP Lint.

Read #10: http://www.phpfreaks.com/page/rules-and-terms-of-service#toc_forum_do_nots

Apologies if you feel I was flaming you/the site. I tend to be blunt with my critiques because I feel it's necessary. A lot of people come here to merely get a pat on the back after getting 'feedback' from friends, family, and their clients, who either don't know what they're looking at or don't have the heart to actually criticize. A blunt wakeup call generally starts people on the path of actually looking at their work with a critical eye. Much better to get some harsh criticism here, which is always tied to some sort of advice on how to fix the problems, than to get a negative reaction (or, worse, no reaction) in the wild. Regarding the assertion "I'm only doing what the client wants," that's bunk. Presumably, your client paid you because you can provide them with a service of a certain quality they cannot provide themselves. In short, they're paying you for your (relative) expertise. This means you have a responsibility to provide for them the best site possible, which will generate them more business, while remaining under budget. The old adage "The customer is always right" is bullshit, to be frank. The customer/client often doesn't know what's in their best interest. Again, that's (presumably) why they hired you. What that all means is that you have a duty to inform them of bad decisions that ultimately hurt their site. The things xyph and I highlighted hurt the site as a whole. As a developer, yes, you work for the client, but you're not required to bend to their every whim. Instead, you need to use your professional judgement in order to provide them the best bang for their buck while keeping with the overall look and feel they want. I mean, if the client came to you and said, "I like the dark, edgy vibe we have going, but I want a gigantic animated .gif of a pink flamingo dead center on the home page," would you put it on there? Or would you explain to them why it would be a bad idea and offer alternative suggestions? Remember, also, that as a freelancer, your portfolio is your ticket to getting better projects. If your portfolio consists of jumbled, muddled sites because you simply do whatever a client wants you to do, you'll never advance. It's okay to set standards for yourself. It's okay to have certain lines you won't cross just because a client wants you to. It's okay to fire clients if they won't budge on something that would compromise your personal or professional integrity. If you want to be a developer, then you need to be part businessman. You'll need to make hard decisions that may cost you money in the short term. It sucks, but that's the way it is.

All you need to know about w3schools: www.w3fools.com Get yourself a decent introductory text (Larry Ullman is a solid author), and use PHP.net as a supplement.

Not a fan of the navigation at all. Like xyph said, half the links lead to pages outside the domain. In addition, there's no indication that certain links actually have nested navigation on hover (see: About Us -> Members -> individual band members). Finally, I actually really dislike that every band member has their own little profile. Who ever is writing the content should just weave it all as a narrative on one page (or not even that, if they feel the music is more important than the people making it). This isn't the Mickey Mouse Club, right?

Yes, you have. There's nothing stopping you from trying to come up with some sort of system that does what you want. It'd be a bit convoluted to do it just in PHP. You'd be far better doing it in JavaScript, as it can access the DOM far easier. The problem is, it's not a surefire way to get what you want. If you think the client is just going to yank your name off the template the minute they get it, then you can be assured they'll want to get rid of any 'security' (I use the term very loosely) features you've included as well. You can't bank on their technical ignorance to leave it alone. If they have the time, money, or determination, there's really nothing you can do. They'll either learn how to remove both your name and the security feature themselves, or get someone else to do it for them. Frankly, you're going about this in a completely backwards manner. The issue isn't a technical one, but one of trust. You don't trust that your client will adhere to whatever verbal agreement the two of you made, so you're trying to come up with some convoluted technical solution. Again, this is why contracts exist. So, instead of getting pissy about not getting the answer you want, maybe you should heed the advice of people who have been down the road you're so eager to drive down and got screwed in the process.

This topic has been moved to Miscellaneous. http://forums.phpfreaks.com/index.php?topic=362886.0

If he really wants to remove it, and he has unfettered access to the file, he'll remove it. Maybe he won't be the one to actually delete the code, but there's nothing stopping them from finding someone else with enough technical knowledge to do it. Don't bank on the ignorance of your client. If they want to change something, they will, with or without your consent. EDIT: This kind of situation is why contracts exist. Why are you doing work, or providing a service, without paperwork and signatures? Contracts exist to protect both you and the client. If neither of you are comfortable putting your name down, then why bother?

If they have the ability to remove your credits, they have the ability to remove whatever you write as a safeguard/warning mechanism.

First, it's the weekend, so there are less people active than normal. Second, a lot of people don't know/like dealing with XML. As a data exchange format, it's largely been supplanted by JSON. Third, everyone here is a volunteer. No one - not even the staff - gets money for being here. We do what we can when we can, but no one is guaranteed help. Finally, instead of getting frustrated because you didn't get the help you wanted with a fairly esoteric problem, how about you start from the beginning and tell us the following: What you're trying to do What's actually happening (including any error messages) The relevant code In most cases, the quality of the answers received is directly proportional to the questions asked. Rather than getting angry, you can help yourself far more by being absolutely clear and concise with what you want.

I think what we're all trying to get at is, what are you doing that's causing that kind of delay? In most normal cases, long execution time is the result of poorly written code, either PHP code itself, or PHP code that generates a ton of unneeded SQL queries. To (not) answer the question, I'm not sure if you can do what you want. PHP doesn't have true asynchronous behavior as far as I'm aware. I'm not sure if it would be possible to fork processes, and if it were possible, if the two would be able to interact.

Even better - why don't you give us an example of what you're trying to do?

Well, according to its own project page, Phalanger is PHP, just ported over to .NET. Also, how else would you suggest he handle his already existing C# objects in PHP? His issue isn't that he's scared of PHP, but rather there's an existing backend written in C# whose presentation layer needs to be written in PHP according to his boss/client. Exposing the existing C# data via web service or, even worse, storing them in a DB, is far less efficient than using Phalanger in this instance. All .NET languages get translated into an intermediate language, then compiled down even further. If Phalanger really is PHP for .NET, then the OP has the ideal solution based on his requirements. He'll be able to use his C# objects directly (include a namespace and go), and everything will be compiled. There's the obvious learning curve of PHP, but if they're competent in C#, they'll be fine.

I would understand the confusion if it was a general public site. Its a fulfillment site for SCE. They are the only ones intended to use it. They pre buy 200,000.00 in shirts and then each department orders what they need/want. Thank you for the critiques I will be taking action and updating the site. I'm guessing that in this context, SONGS does not refer to music, but rather some group/program for SCE. Would have been nice to get that context in order for us to not think "It's named the songs store, but all it sells are shirts."

It just seems odd that the business logic would be written in C#, but the presentation layer is mandated to be PHP. I mean, ASP.NET MVC seems like the ideal solution from what you've told us. Barring being able to convince your bosses/client to change their mind(s), Phalanger sounds like it would be your best bet since it all gets compiled down into the .NET IL. I haven't tried it, but if it works as well as its codeplex site suggests, you shouldn't have any problems.

This topic has been moved to Application Design. http://forums.phpfreaks.com/index.php?topic=362743.0

Do some research on it. Google "navigation hierarchy database" - you should get some decent results to get you on your way. Suffice it to say, it's a bit more complicated than just having someone give you code to plug into a system.

Like scootstah said, JavaScript isn't going to work. Neither is CSS. JavaScript runs in the user's browser. CSS is just a way to format HTML, isn't even a programming language (contains no logic), and is also parsed by the browser. In order to access a database, you need to use a server side language, like PHP, Python, Ruby, Perl, etc.

The 'California Marketing Group' part of the logo is barely readable (too small, and blue on blue is a bad idea). Since there's virtually no content on the index, it looks like an advertisement for Southern California Edison. For the shirt store part, why did you introduce mint green for your boxes? Why not use the light yellow you already use as the background for the navigation? You also need to work on each item's form inputs. The color <select> cuts into the last letter(s) of the options available. Both the color and size <select> elements should be aligned. Make the color <select> the same width as the size <select>. Finally, your quantity textbox needs to appear to be on the same line as the buttons to the right of it. In Firefox, at least, the textbox is a bit lower than the buttons.

Not much to say. It's three columns with rounded rectangles. Pretty pedestrian.

What do you mean by 'dynamic'?

Don't have much time to go over your code at the moment, but I couldn't help but notice all of your base dice roll methods. Why not consolidate them like so: public function rollDice($sides) { return mt_rand(1, $sides); } You could then use it like: return $this->rollDice(6); // d6 return $this->rollDice(20); // d20 Remember - the whole point of functions/object methods is to create as abstract, reusable code as you possibly can.

Yeah, that font is horrid.

Of course. Just have the form submit to itself, then handle it with PHP on the refresh. Pseudocode: if (/* form has been submitted */) { /* Get a hold of the form data * Do what you need to do with the database * Output success/failure depending on whether the form values were legit */ } else { /* first time at this script, show the form */ }