Help with an update system

[MetroidMaster1914]

I'm making an update system where the site admin writes a new update to a file in the archives which contain only the HTML of the update, not the whole page. Then what I want to happen is for the main index.php file to display the latest 5 updates from the archive directory. I'm not sure how to make that happen. Any and all help in this area would be very much appreciated.

[pocobueno1388]

Just create a table called "updates" with these fields:

 

updateID

poster (person who posted update)

date_posted (date of post, if you wante that)

body (The update itself)

 

Then just make a form, and when they press submit, add the information to the database. Then wherever you want them displayed, all you have to do is pull that information from the database.

 

[MetroidMaster1914]

Right, I should have been more specific in my first post. I've managed to figure out the part of writing the update to the file, I just don't know how to call up the information I need in the index file.

[pocobueno1388]

<?php

$query = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM updates ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT 5");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($query)){
   echo $row['update'].'<p>';
}

?>

 

Just change it up to match your DB and how you want it displayed.

[MetroidMaster1914]

I don't store my updates in a mysql database, justas .html files in the directory "/archives/". Say you wrote an update at 2:55 pm on March 21, 2007. It would save the update to the file, "/archives/0703211455.html"

[Casalen]

So you have separate HTML pages for each update? What exactly are the updates? I would use a database for most anything. You can use a text file if you don't have SQL access, but some more information on what exactly you're going for would help. If you still want to have separate pages, I think you'd want to have a database with the filenames of each update. The exception would be a directory listing could be changed into an array, but I doubt it can.

[MetroidMaster1914]

I'm actually trying to get it done with a directory array listing. I'm using a code like this:

 

<?php

$dir = '/archives';

$files = opendir($dir);

while (false !== ($filename = readdir($dir))) {

$files[] = $filename;

}

rsort($files)

for ($i = 0; $i < 4; $i++){

include $files[$i];

}

?>

 

However, when I try to view that, I get this message:

 

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_FOR in /home/tartagli/domains/mhq.frih.net/public_html/admin/index.php on line 54

 

Line 54 is: for ($i = 0; $i < 4; $i++){

 

I don't know php well, so I can't tell what the syntax error is. Can anyone help?

[Casalen]

Put a semicolon after rsort($files), see what that does. Not ending things properly is the most common problem I have constantly, so it makes sense.

[JJohnsenDK]

as casalen wrote put a ; after rsort($files)... but next time try putting the data into a databasen, its much easier