Can someone translate this to English? > -----Original Message----- > From: Peter [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Saturday, April 27, 2002 7:21 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [PHP] class PHP > > The text of this proposal, test code, and updates live at > petermoulding.com/class. I place it here for discussion of the best > approach before people build code. > > Class PHP > > An invention for a classier PHP. > > This invention uses PHP classes as Web pages. The invention can be > implemented as a wrapper around PHP or as an enhancement to PHP. In > Apache 2, the invention can be implemented as a filter to precede PHP. I > will give a quick outline of the requirement, then sketches of > implementations, then detailed examples prototyped using PHP. > > The invention is named class. An Apache implementation could be a module > named class. If you write code to implement this invention, suffix the > project name with your name as in class_John. > > To prevent a rapacious company copyrighting this invention using the > excuse that it is a business process or anything else they can > copyright, I declare my copyright on everything in this invention and > any processes derivable from this. Please make your code implementations > GPL, www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html, and mention my page at > petermoulding.com/class. > > Invention Requirement > The main requirement is to replace PHP's page input with invented input. > > Here is a file named any_class.class that containing a PHP class named > any_class: > <?php > class any_class > { > function any_class() > { > /* code to build a Web page. */ > } > } > ?> > > Here is a Web page containing a PHP script to build the entire page > using the PHP class any_class: > <?php > include_once("any_class.class"); > $any_class = new any_class(); > ?> > > The invention makes PHP initiate any_class.class as if any_class were > included and instantiated by the example Web page. > > PHP Wrapper > > The invention could be implemented as a module for Apache or another Web > server by writing a wrapper for PHP. The wrapper would accept a call > from Apache then pass the call on to PHP so PHP could perform 100% > unaltered as if PHP were called direct from Apache. > > The module would look for class requests with a page of the form *.class > then intercept the URL and prepare to pass invented input to PHP. The > Apache configuration parameters can ensure all requests for class go to > class and only requests for class to class. In a mixed class/PHP > environment, the requested class can go to class and the PHP requests > can go direct to PHP. There could also be a check in class for a class > file so that all requests are directed to class and class processes just > those with a matching class file. > > When class finds a valid class request, class builds a PHP Web page that > includes the class file and initiates the class. To make PHP read the > invented Web page, you could trap PHP's Web page read and substitute the > invented page. As PHP has to access files within the constraints of a > Web server, the access technique could vary from release to release and > across Web servers. I will describe two quick implementation > possibilities. > > If PHP reads files via Apache's file read functions (or an equivalent on > other web servers), class gets to view all file requests from PHP to > Apache and monitor all replies. Class can then pass the invented page > back to PHP without the request reaching Apache. PHP remains untouched > by class. > > Where a Web server does not provide file access functions or PHP chooses > to not use those functions, class would need a modification to PHP to > intercept file reads. The interception depends on the exact compilation > of PHP and would be in the form of a wrapper around a file access > routine in PHP. The wrapper (or interception layer) needs to be at a > level where the code can see file names and subvert the whole file read > process. Interception at this level requires PHP release dependent > coding and is a step toward the PHP enhancement described next. > PHP Enhancement > A PHP enhancement would be an implementation of the invention direct > within PHP's code so that PHP can react to class requests in conjunction > with an external process or without an external process. The ultimate > enhancement would be to incorporate the whole invention within PHP so > there are no additional installation steps required. > > A PHP enhancement could use a wrapper as described in PHP Wrapper or the > Apache 2 filter described next but use those devices just to trigger > class processing then perform the whole processing within PHP. This > approach has the advantage that the processing is independent of the > trigger method and the trigger method is free from processing code. > > The PHP enhancement could discover the need for class processing by > whatever method suits the web server environment. The enhancement would > then verify the action is valid within constrains specified in php.ini, > verify a class file is available, and invoke the class file as if from > an invented Web page of the same name as the class file. > Apache 2 Filter > > To implement this idea as an Apache 2 filter, you need a link to PHP > that lets PHP know your code will provide the Web page input. Your code > then invents a Web page of the same name as the class file and passes > the invented page to PHP. The Apache Notes field looks like a good > vehicle for passing the invented page. > > PHP has to discover the Web page will arrive in the Notes field or via > another mechanism of your invention. That means a modification to PHP > and something in php.ini to prevent accidental use of the modification > in sites not using your code. The least PHP dependent method would be to > invent the page in your code and enhance PHP with a single trigger to > make PHP read the input Web page from your mechanism. The approach > minimises changes to PHP but makes the process Web server dependent. The > PHP enhancement described in a previous page is more PHP dependent but > less Web server dependent. > > Allow for other filters using the Apache Notes field. Wrap your invented > page in a simple XML tag that PHP can recognise within the Notes field. > > Detailed Example > > Here is a file named any_class.class that containing a PHP class named > any_class: > <?php > class any_class > { > function any_class() > { > /* code to build a Web page. */ > } > } > ?> > > This class contains a constructor that builds the whole Web page using > any combination of code, functions and classes valid within PHP classes. > I copied all the Web site construction code from one Web site in to a > class/function wrapper and initiated Web page construction without > error. In other tests there were some global variables that needed > mention in a global statement within the outside function. If the global > communication within an application is a variable named $site, the above > example becomes: > <?php > class any_class > { > function any_class() > { > global $site; > /* code to build a Web page. */ > } > } > ?> > > As the authors switch to 100% class based coding, global variables > disappear in favour of a structure of variables with the class > structure. > > Now for a more detailed look. The following code is a PHP implementation > of a PHP wrapper built by pointing the Web server at pages of type .html > which then contain a script to call the appropriate class from a > parallel file of type .class. In this version there is no code within > the Web server so there has to be two files. Once the example is > translated to C and added to a Web server as a module, the example code > becomes the content of a virtual Web page that is passed to PHP but not > stored on disk. > > The first part of the code simply extracts the page name from PHP_SELF > and saves the name in $class_new_page. There are many ways to derive the > page name from server variables. Your technique will vary depending on > the Web server, the release of PHP and the options in php.ini. The > example happens to work on all the variations of PHP and Web servers I > currently use. The example also lets me remove the file type for known > file names while leaving in name parts that happen to contain dots. > > The second part of the code prepares variables for use in the > constructor class. I used a class that does not know about URL or form > variables so I copy them in to an array for the class. This code is not > needed if your class knows it will be initiated as the start of a page. > You only need this type of code if you want to use the class as both the > start of a page and as a class within other code. > > You could pass URL variables to the class in the order read from the URL > but you do not control the URL order. You could leave all the variables > out and let the class find the variables but the class would have to > know where to look, in the parameters of the constructor function or in > external variables. I use this part of the code to translate external > variables to a form the class understands and will later convert the > class to read direct. A better approach would be to enhance PHP to read > named parameters. > > The third part of the code initiates the class. Initiation includes both > class file inclusion and class instantiation. I use include_once() to > prevent multiple inclusions. Your Web server module should use > include_once() for version of PHP that have include_once(). > > The variables are prefixed $class_new to reduce clashes with existing > code. That means I can mix this code with legacy PHP code on sits during > conversion. In your Web site module the variables are external to PHP so > do not clash with anything within the class or subsequent code. > > <?php > // Extract page name: > $class_new_parts_page = explode(".", array_pop(explode("/", > str_replace("\\", "/", $HTTP_SERVER_VARS["PHP_SELF"])))); > if(in_array($class_new_parts_page[count($class_new_parts_page) - 1], > array("html", "php"))) > { > array_pop($class_new_parts_page); > } > $class_new_page = implode(".", $class_new_parts_page); > > // Prepare variables: > $class_new_variables = $HTTP_GET_VARS; > foreach($HTTP_POST_VARS as $class_new_key => $class_new_value) > { > $class_new_variables[$class_new_key] = $class_new_value; > } > > // Initiate the class: > include_once("./" . $class_new_page . ".class"); > $$class_new_page = new $class_new_page($class_new_variables); > ?> > > The function initiation can be implemented in a function so all > subsequent classes are initiated in a similar fashion. I use the > following simple function because it works with existing classes on a > development site. Once the existing site and classes are redeveloped, > the "./" prefix and ".class" suffix will be replaced by named constants. > At that point the function will serve little purpose so will be dropped. > in some other sites the function may be expanded to extract dynamic > classes from content databases. A logical extension of this invention is > to add code extraction from an XML database, something I describe in > another document. > > // A function to initiate a class: > function class_new($class_new_class, $class_new_variables, > $class_new_prefix = "./", $class_new_suffix = ".class") > { > global $$class_new_class; > include_once($class_new_prefix . $class_new_class . > $class_new_suffix); > $$class_new_class = new $class_new_class($class_new_variables); > } > ?> > > Implications > > By now you realise the class will have the same name as the page so will > not suit sites based on many pages with different names. It is also of > no interest to people to write HTML pages then insert small portions of > PPH code. This invention is for sites using pages generated by PHP code > so suits sites using dynamic content management. It suits sites that > have a small number of pages presenting varied data. > > Your site might have one page for registration, another for logging in > then a single page/script that provides a shopping system while another > single page/script provides a search facility. Make the search a class > and use this invention to initiate the class. > > Once you develop dynamic content management, your sites end up as a list > of scripts delivering what looks like a series of intelligent pages. The > HTML pages execute PHP scripts and add nothing. This invention removes > HTML layer between your class based scripts and the Web server. > > -- > PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) > To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
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