How to Add PHP in a BLOCK

Extend Your Blocks with the Power of PHP!

It seems to have finally happened. You can now add PHP in a Block as of 612, but with one caveat. You have to make an entry in the PageCompose table and you have to add your PHP via phpMyAdmin. This shouln't be too hard as it's a lot easier now than before.

Here's a simple example:

The above example uses an echo function. For example:

echo "Look at me I'm the PHP!';

Here's one that uses a Flash chart and PHP. There's a few additional code that I had to write, but it's the same concept.

So what has changed? Well take a look at this:

function getBlockCode_PHP( $iBlockID, $sContent ) {
ob_start();
eval($sContent);
return ob_get_clean();
}


The function can be found in the BxDolPageView.php file located in inc/classes. That new function was introduced in 612 and as such it will parse PHP code. Comapre that to the typical ECHO function:

function getBlockCode_Echo( $iBlockID, $sContent ) {
return $sContent;
}

Notice the ECHO function does not have the ob_start(), eval() or the ob_get_clean() function.


HOW TO ADD A PHP BLOCK
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To add a PHP block, you have to do the following:
1. Make an entry in the PageCompose table.
2. Add your PHP Code in the "Content" field of your new block entry.
3. In the Admin, you have to make sure it's active in the page.


STEP 1 : MAKE AN ENTRY IN THE PAGECOMPOSE TABLE
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Login to your phpMyAdmin and run this SQL INSERT statement:

INSERT INTO `PageCompose` (`ID`, `Page`, `PageWidth`, `Desc`, `Caption`, `Column`, `Order`, `Func`, `Content`, `DesignBox`, `ColWidth`, `Visible`, `MinWidth`) VALUES ('', 'index', '960px', 'PHP BLOCK', 'PHP BLOCK', 2, 2, 'PHP', 'echo "You can now have PHP in a block!";', 1, 50, 'non,memb', 0)

It will make an entry in your table with the necessary field values. The most important value is the value that we add for the field Func. It has to be "PHP". Take note that a block function is identified in the database by what it appended. For example, the name of the function we are working with is "getBlockCode_PHP". Notice the "_PHP" in the function name. That tells Dolphin to look for the record in the PageCompose table that has "PHP" as the value in the Func field. If we created a custom function called getBlockCode_TEST, then we would need a corresponding Func value in the PageCompose table of "TEST". This is how the function matches up with the value that is found the database. In our example, it will spit out the value found in the Content field. That's where the PHP code would go.


STEP 2 : ADD YOUR PHP CODE
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Once you've made the record entry in the PageCompose table, the rest is pretty easy. Just add you PHP code in the Content field and save. Go to step 3 to get a sample of a db connection and display your memebers.


STEP 3 : ADD THE PHP BLOCK VIA THE ADMIN
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The SQL INSERT statement provided will automatically add the PHP Block in your admin under Builders so the only thing you would need to do is move the block to where you want it to be.

****One of the quirky things about the Dolphin is how it keeps and show information. In some cases you may need to refresh the page or move a block to make sure that your changes will update. For example, moving a block to another location in the page builder will usually do it.


Below is sample PHP code that will list all your members. You can copy and paste this bit of code in the PageCompose table.

$jt_dbHost="localhost";
$jt_dbLogin="yourlogin";
$jt_dbPass="yourpass";
$jt_db="yourdb";

$connection=mysql_connect("$jt_dbHost","$jt_dbLogin","$jt_dbPass") or die("Couldn't connect to the server.");

$db=mysql_select_db("$jt_db", $connection) or die("Couldn't select a database.");

$sql="SELECT * FROM Profiles";

$sql_result=mysql_query($sql,$connection) or die("Couldn't execute query!");

echo "PROFILES LISTING:<BR>";
while($row=mysql_fetch_array($sql_result)) {
$NickName=$row["NickName"];
echo "<br>$NickName";
}

echo "<br><br><br>CONGRATS! The db connected properly.";

mysql_close($connection);

Please try it out and let me know how it goes.

...sip...