Switch Command Problems

Seal · 08-18-2010, 12:16 AM

Before I ask my question, let me say that I am an old dbase programmer (and I do mean (OLD!) so, while I am not a absolute beginner, PHP is another languange (though the syntax is somewhat related).

Here is what I want to do:

Without using frames I want to use the switch command to replace the majority of the screen on a rotating basis. Several years ago (maybe 4 or 5) I had the switch command working like this but some idiot newbie programmer at the webhost overwrote it and I didn't have it backed up.

If you go to www.stevenwjohnson.com you will see what I have now. What I want to do is add a left hand menu (easy enough to do in HTML) and have each individual book display on the majority of the page, incrementing the variable +1 for every view so people don't see the same book every time they visit the site. And every refresh will bring up a new book.

My problem is that for every 'sample' switch/case code I download I get nothing but the logo and the top and bottom menus.

Here is the code I have been playing with...

<?php
switch ($x) {
case 0:
echo "x equals 0";
break;
case 1:
echo "x equals 1";
break;
case 2:
echo "x equals 2";
break;
default:
echo "x is not equal to 0, 1 or 2";
}
?>

I realize somewhere I should increment x but I can't even get the default to echo.

HELP!!!

Seal

tony · 08-18-2010, 12:46 PM

Ok, so you want to have a different layout and you only want to show 1 book and when they refresh the page you show another book, randomly. I don't think refreshing is a good way to navigate through the books if anything I would say instead of displaying 1, display them all downwards and just select randomly which is going to be at the top. Or am I understanding it badly?

About the switch code you posted, I tried it out and it work for me:

php Code:

<?php
$x = 5;
switch ($x) {
case 0:
echo "x equals 0";
break;
case 1:
echo "x equals 1";
break;
case 2:
echo "x equals 2";
break;
default:
echo "x is not equal to 0, 1 or 2";
}
?>

I am wondering if the way you get the value of $x returns you a string because a string in a loose comparison (which is what the switch statement does) would be equal to 0.

P.S. It would be better if you are sharing code to wrap it in highlight tags.