Code Extensions I Always Use

Here are all of the "extensions" I use for all of my PHP games and sites. I decided to finally compile them and improve them, so figured I would share them. I don't think there is any equivelant PHP functions already, but I could be wrong.

I am aware that some may be too memory intensive or something along those lines, but if you can find a better way to do what these functions are doing, then I invite you to do so.



function al($a) {

// Strips all but alphabetical characters from $a. If a second parameter
// is specified, all characters in that string are kept as well. If the second
// parameter is set to true instead of a string, then it will keep numeric characters
// as well. If a third parameter is set to true, then it will also keep numeric characters.

$extra = "";
if (func_num_args() >= 2) {
if (func_get_arg(1) === true) $extra = "0123456789";
else $extra = func_get_arg(1);
if (func_num_args() >= 3 && func_get_arg(2) === true) $extra .= "0123456789";
}
$temp = "";
$aln = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz".$extra;
for ($b=0;$b<strlen($a);$b++) {
$temp2 = substr($a,$b,1);
if (stristr($aln,$temp2)) {
$temp .= $temp2;
}
}
return $temp;
}

function checkwhite($a) {

// Returns true if $a is only full of empty spaces (characters at or below ASCII 0032).
// If a second parameter is specified, and is true, this will also check ASCII 0160 as an empty space.

$temp = true;
$c160 = false;
if (func_num_args() >= 2 && func_get_arg(1) === true) $c160 = true;
for ($b=0;$b<strlen($a);$b++) {
$temp2 = ord(substr($a,$b,1));
if ($temp2 > 32 && (!$c160 || $temp2 != 160)) {
$temp = false;
break;
}
}
return $temp;
}

function sw($a) {

// Strips all but 1 space between words in $a. ASCII 0160 is treated as a space. Spaces
// and empty characters are also removed from the front and back of $a.

if (!eregi(" ",$a) && !eregi("*",$a)) return $a;
$a = str_replace("*"," ",$a);
$as = explode(" ",$a);
$ns = "";
foreach ($as as $value) {
if ($value != "") {
if ($ns != "") $ns .= " ";
$ns .= trim($value," \t\0\x0B");
}
}
return $ns;
}

function hex($a) {

// Simply makes a hex-color for HTML out of whatever string is
// passed to it. If you pass "I like cheese and nachos!" to this
// function, then it will return "#ECEEEA". Another example:
// "##G08ED" would return "#08ED00" since it pads the right-side
// with 0's.

$a = strtolower($a);
$set = "abcdef0123456789";
$result = "#";
for ($i=0;$i<strlen($a);$i++) {
if (eregi(substr($a,$i,1),$set)) {
$result .= substr($a,$i,1);
}
}
while (strlen($result) < 7) {
$result .= "0";
}
$result = substr($result,0,7);
$result = strtoupper($result);
return $result;
}

function pluralize() {

// Uses English logic to attempt to pluralize a word. If a second parameter is passed,
// and is true, the pluralization will be capitalized. If the second parameter is an
// integer, it will be checked if it is == 1, if it is, the first parameter will be
// returned unaltered. If a third parameter is specified, that instead will be checked
// to see if it is == 1, ignoring the second parameter.

if (func_num_args() >= 1) {
$vows = "euioa";
$cons = "qwrtypsdfghjklzxcvbnm";
$word = func_get_arg(0);
$add = "";
$cap = false;
$donum = 0;
if (func_num_args() >= 2) {
if (func_get_arg(1) === true) $cap = true;
else if (is_numeric(func_get_arg(1))) $donum = func_get_arg(1);
if (func_num_args() >= 3 && is_numeric(func_get_arg(2))) $donum = func_get_arg(2);
}
if ($donum == 1) return $word;
if (is_string($word)) {
$word = trim($word);
if (strlen($word) == 1) $add = "s";
else {
$last = strtolower(substr($word,-1));
$blast = strtolower(substr($word,-2,1));
if (!eregi($last,$vows) && !eregi($last,$cons)) $add = "";
else {
if ($last != "s" && $last != "y") $add = "s";
else if ($last == "s") {
if ($blast == "s" || eregi($blast,$vows)) $add = "es";
else $add = "'";
}
else {
if (eregi($blast,$vows)) $add = "s";
else {
$word = substr($word,0,(strlen($word)-1));
$add = "ies";
}
}
}
}
$add = ($cap) ? strtoupper($add) : strtolower($add);
return $word.$add;
}
return $word;
}
return false;
}

function cutwords() {

// Returns a string with all words occuring within the string truncated to 24
// characters, or to the second parameter if specified. It will use the … character
// to signify the word was truncated unless a third parameter is specified, then it
// will use that. This will even truncate words within HTML tags (if properly formatted).

if (func_num_args() == 0) return "";
else $c = func_get_arg(0);
$len = 24;
$chr = "…";
if (func_num_args() >= 2) $len = func_get_arg(1);
if (func_num_args() >= 3) $chr = func_get_arg(2);
$c = str_replace("<"," <",str_replace(">","> ",$c));
$c = str_replace("\t"," ",$c);
$d = explode(" ",$c);
$onhtml = false;
foreach ($d as $key => $value) {
if (substr($value,0,1) == "<" && !$onhtml) $onhtml = true;
if (!$onhtml) {
if (strlen($value) > $len) {
$tt1 = " <span class=\"toolong\" title=\"".$value."\">";
$tt2 = "</span> ";
$d[$key] = str_replace($value,$tt1.substr($value,0,$len).$chr.$tt2,$d[$key]);
}
}
if (substr($value,(strlen($value)-1),1) == ">" && $onhtml) $onhtml = false;
}
$c = implode(" ",$d);
return str_replace(" <","<",str_replace("> ",">",$c));
}

function getsuccess($rate) {

// Returns true/false success rate based on a 0-100% basis. Decimals are supported up to 2, or
// however many specified in the second parameter up to 12. getsuccess(12.5) will return true
// 12.5% of the time, etc.

$dec = 2;
if (func_num_args() >= 2 && is_numeric(func_get_arg(1))) $dec = floor(abs(func_get_arg(1)));
if ($dec > 12) $dec = 12;
$n1 = "1".str_repeat("0",$dec);
$n2 = "100".str_repeat("0",$dec);
return (round(($rate*$n1),2) >= mt_rand(1,$n2)) ? true: false;
}

function gettimeformat($time) {

// Will return a format of time based on $time seconds. If a second parameter is specified, then it will
// use that internal format instead of the default. The format defaults to 2, as it's the most
// proper english method of displaying time. This function only goes up to weeks, as months and years
// do not have a constant amount of time.

// The following are examples of the internal time format using 1341733 for $time:
// 0 = 2w 1d 12h 42m 13s
// 1 = 2 weeks, 1 day, 12 hrs, 42 mins, 13 secs
// 2 = 2 Weeks, 1 Day, 12 Hours, 42 Minutes, 13 Seconds
// 3 = Weeks: 2 - Days: 1 - Hours: 12 - Mins: 42 - Secs: 13

$tf = array();
$tf[0] = array();
$tf[0]['w'] = "!w";
$tf[0]['d'] = "!d";
$tf[0]['h'] = "!h";
$tf[0]['m'] = "!m";
$tf[0]['s'] = "!s";
$tf[0]['p'] = " ";
$tf[1] = array();
$tf[1]['w'] = "! week%";
$tf[1]['d'] = "! day%";
$tf[1]['h'] = "! hr%";
$tf[1]['m'] = "! min%";
$tf[1]['s'] = "! sec%";
$tf[1]['p'] = ", ";
$tf[2] = array();
$tf[2]['w'] = "! Week%";
$tf[2]['d'] = "! Day%";
$tf[2]['h'] = "! Hour%";
$tf[2]['m'] = "! Minute%";
$tf[2]['s'] = "! Second%";
$tf[2]['p'] = ", ";
$tf[3] = array();
$tf[3]['w'] = "Weeks: !";
$tf[3]['d'] = "Days: !";
$tf[3]['h'] = "Hours: !";
$tf[3]['m'] = "Mins: !";
$tf[3]['s'] = "Secs: !";
$tf[3]['p'] = " - ";

$res = "";
$format = 2;
if (func_num_args() >= 2 && isset($tf[func_get_arg(1)])) $format = func_get_arg(1);

$ta = array();
$ta['w'] = floor($time/604800);
$ta['d'] = floor(($time-($ta['w']*604800))/86400);
$ta['h'] = floor(($time-($ta['w']*604800)-($ta['d']*86400))/3600);
$ta['m'] = floor(($time-($ta['w']*604800)-($ta['d']*86400)-($ta['h']*3600))/60);
$ta['s'] = floor($time-($ta['w']*604800)-($ta['d']*86400)-($ta['h']*3600)-($ta['m']*60));
foreach ($ta as $key => $value) {
if ($value != 0) {
if ($res != "") $res .= $tf[$format]['p'];
$temp = str_replace("!",number_format($value),$tf[$format][$key]);
if ($value != 1) $temp = str_replace("%","s",$temp);
$res .= $temp;
}
}
if ($res == "") $res = str_replace("!","0",$tf[$format]['s']);
else $res = str_replace("%","",$res);
return $res;
}

function suffix($a) {

// Gets the suffix of the specified number $a.

if (!is_numeric($a)) return $a;
$a = floor(abs($a));
$ac = array("th","st","nd","rd");
$b = $ac[0];
if (isset($ac[substr($a,-1)]) && (strlen($a) < 2 || substr($a,-2,1) != 1)) $b = $ac[substr($a,-1)];
return $a.$b;
}

function gettextualsize($bytes) {

// Returns the textual size of $bytes in B/KB/MB. If a second parameter is specified, and evaluates to true,
// then the textual representations of the size will be elongated. This does not support GB, TB, etc.

$txt = array(" B"," KB"," MB");
if (func_num_args() >= 2 && func_get_arg(1) == true) $txt = array(" Bytes"," Kilobytes"," Megabytes");

if ($bytes < 1024) return $bytes.$txt[0];
else if ($bytes < 1048576) return round($bytes/1024,2).$txt[1];
else return round($bytes/1048576,2).$txt[2];
}

function truncate($a,$b) {

// This cuts $a to $b length.
// Unlike the substr() function, this truncates the text at the closest
// space after the word. So if the $bth character is the "n" in "arrange",
// then this will add 2 to $b, and return it's truncated state.
// This is mainly used for news snippets.

$brat = $b;
$temp = "";
if (strlen($a) >= $brat) {
while (substr($a,$brat,1) != " " && $brat <= strlen($a)) {
$brat++;
}
$temp = substr($a,0,$brat);
}
else $temp = $a;
return $temp;
}

A couple of suggestions:

1) The names of your functions are very confusing. I could only determine what the function does from reading the comments in your functions.

2) Try using the docblock style of commenting your functions. For example:


/**
* A function that outputs "bar".
*
* @param $a A variable that is unused, just here to demonstrate docblocks.
* @return void
*/
function foo($a = "Unused") {
echo 'bar';
}


It is a standard format used by many programming languages, and pretty clear to read. The biggest advantage with them is that they can be interpreted by programs like doxygen.

3) Your function, checkwhite() will be slower when compared to the php native function empty(), which would be faster and more thorough.

4) At lot of your functions use heavy indenting where it is unnecessary. Do not encapsulate a whole function body in an if statement. If you're validating function arguments and the validation fails, return! It also makes your code a lot easier to read.

A couple of suggestions:

1) The names of your functions are very confusing. I could only determine what the function does from reading the comments in your functions.

2) Try using the docblock style of commenting your functions. For example:


/**
* A function that outputs "bar".
*
* @param $a A variable that is unused, just here to demonstrate docblocks.
* @return void
*/
function foo($a = "Unused") {
echo 'bar';
}


It is a standard format used by many programming languages, and pretty clear to read. The biggest advantage with them is that they can be interpreted by programs like doxygen.

3) Your function, checkwhite() will be slower when compared to the php native function empty(), which would be faster and more thorough.

4) At lot of your functions use heavy indenting where it is unnecessary. Do not encapsulate a whole function body in an if statement. If you're validating function arguments and the validation fails, return! It also makes your code a lot easier to read.

1) The names are simple on some of them because I use them frequently and abbreviating them makes it easier on ME, not necessarily anyone else. Remember, these were just extensions I used, and I never ever meant for them to be used by anyone else until now, so I didn't take into account that they may be confusing.

2) So suddenly there's an improper way to comment...? I have NEVER used someone else's PHP code, so I have NEVER encountered someone else's commenting style, and always use my own. I comment USUALLY in large blocks with /* and */ if before I comment I KNOW that the comment is going to be a large one (only for references to myself, as again, I don't code for others). If I start with a simple "// $a = Blah, $x = blahblah" but it turns out to be more than one line, I just continue using //.

3) empty() does NOT do what I intended checkwhite() do. checkwhite() was intended for Usernames, making sure that the user hadn't simply held space or tried using alt+0160 for whatever sick reason they had. If they wanted a username of "0" then empty would return true, and disallow them.

4) Ahaha, I know, eh? Man, was I high when I wrote those functions or what? I knew someone might point that out, then I'd laugh. The problem is I wrote SOME of them BEFORE I learned how to have variable arguments, then tacked that on, then some AFTER I learned it, and was all fanciful with "no input required" type of stuff, then the latest functions I wrote were normal.

Using default arguments is much more idiomatic in PHP than func_num_args and friends (thankfully). Typically each function should serve one purpose and bolting on functionality with extra arguments is bad style. Providing polymorphic behavior for the same number of inputs is great (ie, making it work on ints and strings transparently), but trailing booleans and stuff usually indicate either you need more than one function, that the function should operate on a callback to allow client-defined behavior, or that the function wants to be a class providing diverse methods to work on similar data.

Speaking of classes, utility stuff like this belongs in the private implementations of classes and not in the global namespace. It's bad enough trying to remember the 52,000 functions in the PHP core without having to remember a dozen more for each coder's util.php.

To provide something constructive, here's the first group of functions in regexp:


function strip_non_alpha($str, $extra = '')
{
return preg_replace('/[^[:alpha:]' . preg_quote($extra) . ']/xms', '', $str);
}

function is_all_lower_ascii($str, $include_160 = false)
{
$class = ($include_160) ? '\x00-\x20' : '\xA0\x00-\x20';
return preg_match("/\A[$class]*\z/xms", $str);
}

function compact_spaces($str)
{
return preg_replace('/\b\W+\b/xms', ' ', $str);
}

function coerce_hex_color_code($str)
{
return sprintf('#%06.6s', preg_replace('/[^a-fA-F\d]/xms', '', $str));
}


I think I heard marek say he wants to rewrite the other ones ;)