Calling a helpful PHP expert

[savespy]

First off my skills are firmly planted in the design side of things so anything beyond css and xhtml and I get lost pretty quick. So if it sounds like I don't know what I'm talking about then it's cause I really don't

A friend's been doing some development for me but PHP isn't his language of choice and he's hit a problem that he can't figure out. It involves PHP, Javascript/Ajax and an XML feed and am looking for someone who might be able to help or have a look at it with a fresh pair of eyes.

It would take a while to describe here and it's still in test so if anyone's willing to have a look then please drop me a PM and I'll get back to you with the details or can chat on msn.

If you're able to help then I can return the favour with some design work or pay you for your time for any further development.

Thanks,

Grant

[cyates]

HI GRANT

DROP ME AN EMAIL CHRISYATES23 at GMAIL.COM

sorry for caps .. typed before i realised lol

[savespy]

Thanks cyates or CYATES tbp's kindly having a look just now so hopefully should be ok, will keep you posted.

Much appreciated and thanks to esnagel for the offer of help too. Don't hesitate to give me a shout for help with any css or design related stuff even though you probably know more than me it'll make me feel useful

[moredial]

The usual answer that I give is to throw out the javascript/ajax as it is usually impossible to get anything other than very simple code to work in more than one version of a browser, let alone get it to work in the 6 major browsers.

There is nothing you can do in ajax that can't be done using just php, and that without the browser incompatibility issues. And it works in text only browsers too, so you cover yourself for all the accessibility requirements.

If you are using ajax to hide content from search engines, php can be used in the same way.

[axod]

Originally Posted by moredial There is nothing you can do in ajax that can't be done using just php, and that without the browser incompatibility issues.

That statement is so astoundingly wrong it's hurting my brain.

[cyates]

Originally Posted by axod That statement is so astoundingly wrong it's hurting my brain.

lol

[moredial]

Originally Posted by axod That statement is so astoundingly wrong it's hurting my brain.

I am ready to learn. Nothing I have seen so far shows ajax to be a wonder solution.

Show me something and have it working across all platforms and meet all the legal requirements for accessibility. Why build 2 sites when you can do it all with only one?

[axod]

Originally Posted by moredial I am ready to learn. Nothing I have seen so far shows ajax to be a wonder solution. Show me something and have it working across all platforms and meet all the legal requirements for accessibility. Why build 2 sites when you can do it all with only one?

Problem is, you can't do it all with only one. Have you not seen some cool things you can do with ajax?

First of all, ajax is a fuzzy term. It encompasses several things: DOM manipulation, XHR server callbacks, and pretty much just 'javascript done well'.

Yes if you want accessability, then you need to make sure that you have support for that, with the NOSCRIPT attribute etc.

But to say that you can do anything ajax can do in PHP, is simply stupid. ajax is about executing script on the client side. It's about making the user interface immediate and responsive to the user. It's about calling back to the server seamlessly in the background instead of reloading the page all the time. It's about playing with the DOM.

PHP is a *server* side scripting language that usually generates static HTML pages.

It's not a wonder solution at all, and of course it doesn't work in old browsers.

In the instance above specifically, perhaps they are using ajax/an XHR to update product results in the browser dynamically as the user types in a search box for instance. That's a nice feature to have, and one you can't do in PHP.

PS. Good luck reimplementing google maps in PHP.

[moredial]

Originally Posted by axod PS. Good luck reimplementing google maps in PHP.

I have enough problems just getting google maps to work - the browser and settings I use by default do not know what to do with the code and give me a blank page.

Not as bad as MSN's mapping which only works with M$ software.

And don't get me started on the BBC's video and audio offerings - if they can get some video to work, why don't they have it all working?

[axod]

Originally Posted by moredial I have enough problems just getting google maps to work - the browser and settings I use by default do not know what to do with the code and give me a blank page. Not as bad as MSN's mapping which only works with M$ software. And don't get me started on the BBC's video and audio offerings - if they can get some video to work, why don't they have it all working?

Yeah maybe you should enable cookies, images, javascript for a start.