I'm trying to put a countdown script on my page(s). It will just show up on every page. It's not triggered by clicking on a link.

Currently I have the entire PHP code inside of my HTML document.

How can I, I guess "call" would be the proper terminology, have that PHP execute from outside of my HTML.

In other words so my PHP code, besides the one line I suppose, is not in my HTML document?

Thanks!

You can include external scripts by using include() in PHP. You can include anything really, but if its another php page, it will also parse during the execution.

I am a novice with PHP. Would you be as so kind as to give me an example and/or point me to a link?

Thank you.

PHP Code:

<?php
include("file_link");
?>

file_link should be something like /home/username/public_html/includes/filename.inc.php it's relative to your server not externall (like not yousite.com/includes/filename.inc.php).

You can read about the include() function on php.net
http://se2.php.net/manual/en/function.include.php

You can also use include_once(), require() or require_once() which pretty much does the same thing (of course there are differenses). They are also available on php.net

I would use include() in this case, but there are many other ways. Such as having a config.php and echoing the countdown on every page.

Eg:

config.php

PHP Code:

<?php 

$countdown = 'code for countdown here'

?>

any other page.

PHP Code:

<?php 

echo $countdown 

?>

Originally Posted by rogem002

PHP Code:

<?php
include("file_link");
?>

file_link should be something like /home/username/public_html/includes/filename.inc.php it's relative to your server not externall (like not yousite.com/includes/filename.inc.php).

That's slightly misleading - you don't need to enter the /home/username/public_html stuff every time. Let's say I have a website called mywebsite.com and a file in public_html called hello.php. (accessible to the world by typing mywebsite.com/hello.php).

Well to include that file in another file called test.php which is also in the public_html directory, I would type:

PHP Code:

<?php include('hello.php');?>

If the hello.php was in a folder beneath public_html, I would type the folder such as:

PHP Code:

<?php include('somefolder/anotherfolder/hello.php');?>

What I'm basically saying is that you don't need to type in the /home/username/public_html stuff in every time usually - it will work fine without it.

Dan

I use it, but mainly because I'm calling the page from inside 4 folders.

its better than doing ../../../../db.php

Easier editing, better knowing of where the files are. Just my opinion though.

I would agree with everyone else, use the include() function.

I've wondered though, what's the reason to use .inc.php rather than just .php for file names.

Originally Posted by Gilligan

I use it, but mainly because I'm calling the page from inside 4 folders.

its better than doing ../../../../db.php

Easier editing, better knowing of where the files are. Just my opinion though.

It's fine if it's just your site, but if you're making scripts for other sites, make sure you change your code.

Yeah, changed servers 3 times, and needed to update every file haha

I've wondered though, what's the reason to use .inc.php rather than just .php for file names.

There is none.
I think that peoples just remember more easily that the file should be included when there is a .inc in the file name, but you could name it "file.ssdfjkghfkg" and it would not do any differences.

The .php is important though!
If you have DB connections infos (for example) in the file

PHP Code:

$db="secret";
$user="james_bond";
$password="007"; 


and the file has .php as extention, a direct request won't do nor display anything.
But, if the same file has a .inc extension, the PHP engine won't recognize it as a php file, and won't try to interpret it.
It will be displayed as is, in plain text, giving anyone accessing it the infos.

Aw man. I can't get this sucker to work!

What problem are you having?

I've put this line in the HTML code where I want execution and nothing shows.

<?php
include("index.php");
?>

The php includes HTML as well (countdown script)

Here's the HTML file. I've put the include code in bold.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">

<html>
<head>
	<title>Robert Raglievich</title>
	<link rel=stylesheet type="text/css" href="style.css">
    <script src="Scripts/AC_RunActiveContent.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body bottommargin="0" leftmargin="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" rightmargin="0" topmargin="0" background="background.jpg" text="#EAF5FF">
<table width="100%" height="94" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">
	<tr valign="top">

		<td width="246" height="94"><img src="logo.jpg" width="246" height="94" border="0" alt=""></td>

		<td width="368" height="94"><img src="topbar1.jpg" width="368" height="94" border="0" alt=""></td>
		<td width="100%" height="94" background="topbar1bg.jpg">&nbsp;</td>
	</tr>
</table>
<table width="100%" height="91" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">
	<tr valign="top">
		<td width="613" height="91"><img src="2maincolorarea.jpg" width="613" height="91" border="0" alt=""></td>
		<td width="100%" height="91" background="2maincolorarea_bg.jpg">&nbsp;</td>
	</tr>
</table>
<table width="100%" height="33" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">
	<tr valign="top">
		<td width="246" height="33"><a href="index.html"><img src="home.jpg" width="207" height="33" border="0" alt=""></a></td>

		<td width="368" height="33"><img src="3buttonarea.jpg" width="427" height="33" border="0" alt=""></td>
		<td width="100%" height="33" background="3buttonareabg.jpg">&nbsp;</td>
	</tr>
</table>


<table width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">
	<tr valign="top">

		<td width="207">

<a href="aboutme.html"><img src="aboutme.jpg" width="207" height="33" border="0" alt=""></a><BR>
<a href="http://www.robertraglievich.com/blog"><img src="bobbysblog.jpg" width="207" height="33" border="0" alt=""></a><BR>
<a href="portfolio.html"><img src="portfolio.jpg" width="207" height="33" border="0" alt=""></a><BR>
<a href="contactme.html"><img src="contactme.jpg" width="207" height="33" border="0" alt=""></a><BR>

<script type="text/javascript"><!--
google_ad_client = "pub-9006675163052100";
google_ad_width = 120;
google_ad_height = 240;
google_ad_format = "120x240_as";
google_ad_type = "text_image";
google_ad_channel = "";
google_color_border = "0000FF";
google_color_bg = "FFFFFF";
google_color_link = "0000FF";
google_color_text = "0000FF";
google_color_url = "0000FF";
//-->
</script>
<script type="text/javascript"
  src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
</script>


		</td>
	
	
		<td width="20">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>

		<td width="100%">

			<table width="100%" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" border="0">
				<tr valign="top">
					<td>			

<table width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" border="0"><tr valign="top">
<td width="49%">
<H3>Welcome to my site</h3>
<p align="justify">The Internet and the World Wide Web's popularity is increasing and growing larger everyday. Any business or individual can and should utilize it to send their message and reach virtually anyone, anytime, no matter where they are. The Internet has changed our lives in ways never imagined.</p>
<p align="justify"> We can get our news, sports, weather, and stock quotes without watching television, reading the newspaper or listening to the radio. We can buy, sell, and even browse without ever setting foot in a store. We can blog, chat, correspond, listen to music, learn, and work right from the comfort of our own homes.
<p align="justify">I've decided to create my own web site (again!). This time the emphasis will be career oriented. I'll do my best to give you a sense of my abilities, career goals, accomplishments, and future endeavors.</p>
<p>Thank you for visiting!</p>
</td>
</tr></table>
<H3>Dedication</h3>
<p align="justify">This website is dedicated to my wife Christine, who has never stopped believing in me and my abilities. Her presence and confidence has always been my inspiration. I love you more than words can express! ---- Bob</p>
<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>
<BR><BR><BR><BR>

[bold]
<?php
include("index.php");
?> 
[/bold]

<a href="http://refer.asmallorange.com/Click/button/205"><img src="http://refer.asmallorange.com/Images/button7.png" /></a>
<a href="http://www.asmallorange.com" target="_blank"><img src="asmallorange.png" width="186" height="72" border="0"></a><br>
<script type="text/javascript">
AC_FL_RunContent( 'codebase','http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0','width','468','height','60','src','myfile','quality','high','pluginspage','http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash','movie','myfile' ); //end AC code
</script><noscript><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="468" height="60">
  <param name="movie" value="myfile.swf">
  <param name="quality" value="high">
  <embed src="myfile.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="468" height="60"></embed>
</object>
</noscript><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>
<center>Web site contents © Copyright Robert Raglievich 2007, All rights reserved.</center>


<center><a href="http://www.bobbyrags.com" title="Bobby Rags website" target="_blank">Bobby Rags</a></center>
					</td>
				</tr>
			</table>			
		</td>
		
		<td width="20">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
	</tr>
</table>

</body>
</html>

And here's the PHP code

PHP Code:

<?php
// Define your target date here
    $targetYear  = 2008;
    $targetMonth = 09;
    $targetDay   = 210
    $targetHour  = 13;
    $targetMinute= 00;
    $targetSecond= 00;
// End target date definition

// Define date format
$dateFormat = "Y-m-d H:i:s";

$targetDate = mktime($targetHour,$targetMinute,$targetSecond,$targetMonth,$targetDay,$targetYear);
$actualDate = time();

$secondsDiff = $targetDate - $actualDate;

$remainingDay     = floor($secondsDiff/60/60/24);
$remainingHour    = floor(($secondsDiff-($remainingDay*60*60*24))/60/60);
$remainingMinutes = floor(($secondsDiff-($remainingDay*60*60*24)-($remainingHour*60*60))/60);
$remainingSeconds = floor(($secondsDiff-($remainingDay*60*60*24)-($remainingHour*60*60))-($remainingMinutes*60));

$targetDateDisplay = date($dateFormat,$targetDate);
$actualDateDisplay = date($dateFormat,$actualDate);

?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<title>Max's Countdown System</title>
<link href="style/cntdwnstyle.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<script type="text/javascript">
  var days = <?php echo $remainingDay; ?>  
  var hours = <?php echo $remainingHour; ?>  
  var minutes = <?php echo $remainingMinutes; ?>  
  var seconds = <?php echo $remainingSeconds; ?>  

function setCountDown ()
{
  seconds--;
  if (seconds < 0){
      minutes--;
      seconds = 59
  }
  if (minutes < 0){
      hours--;
      minutes = 59
  }
  if (hours < 0){
      days--;
      hours = 23
  }
  document.getElementById("remain").innerHTML = days+" days, "+hours+" hours, "+minutes+" minutes, "+seconds+" seconds";
  setTimeout ( "setCountDown()", 1000 );
}

</script>
</head>

<body onload="setCountDown();">
<div id="container">
    <div id="header"><div id="header_left"></div>
    <div id="header_main">Max's Countdown System</div><div id="header_right"></div></div>
    <div id="content">
        <table class="countTable">
           <tr><td>Target date:</td><td><?php echo $targetDateDisplay; ?></td></tr>
           <tr><th colspan="2" id="remain"><?php echo "$remainingDay days, $remainingHour hours, $remainingMinutes minutes, $remainingSeconds seconds";?></th></tr>
           <tr><td>Actual date:</td><td><?php echo $actualDateDisplay; ?></td></tr>
       </table>
    </div>
    <div id="footer"><a href="http://www.phpf1.com" target="_blank">Powered by PHP F1</a></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>

If your running php and your .html file isn't displaying php, then apache isn't set up to.

Create a .htaccess file in your document root directory and add

AddHandler x-httpd-php .html .htm .php

or simply save you file as *.php

the file you're trying to include should be the countdown script, try saving that as countdown.php to avoid confusion.

so
page.php contains your html and this line where you want the countdown to appear

PHP Code:

<?php include('countdown.php'); ?>

and countdown.php contains your countdown script.

Also, as a note, bold should be [ b ] not [ bold ]

Originally Posted by Gilligan

or simply save you file as *.php

the file you're trying to include should be the countdown script, try saving that as countdown.php to avoid confusion.

so
page.php contains your html and this line where you want the countdown to appear

PHP Code:

<?php include('countdown.php'); ?>

and countdown.php contains your countdown script.

Also, as a note, bold should be [ b ] not [ bold ]

The HTML "within" the countdown script becomes page.php

or

are you referring to the main page HTML to become page.php?