Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Possibilities Of Implementing Odd Number Functions In PHP

By Chris Channing

PHP, a very useful web development language, has much use for functions that are able to tell whether a number is even or odd. In fact, one will see many web designers implementing such PHP functions into their designs such as commenting systems or lyrics scripts; and everything in between.

The PHP language has made many functions available within the core engine- we call these functions language constructs since they are a part of the language as a whole. But one thing that hasn't apparently made the grade yet is a function to determine if a number is odd or even- leaving web developers to make their own functions and statements to get the results themselves. Thankfully, the process is easier than most would think.

The most common use for an odd and even number function is to alternate the color or style of tables in web design. Specifically, this is most used by bloggers who alternate the background color of comments so they are much more readable. The extra readability also helps out readers stay in discussion, as it keeps organization and makes differentiating between comments quite easy.

Databases are vital part of PHP, so of course odd or even number functions have their role in interfacing with them. Databases can be queried in a hefty amount of ways- and sorting the information is made possible with an odd number function in PHP. Whether building arrays from the data or outputting it directly to a table, even or odd number functions have much use.

Arrays are great at storing information outside of a database- great for getting access to information in the current session without much hassle or without creating a bottleneck at the database. One interesting concept is to create multi-dimensional arrays out of a single array, by sorting information based on even and odd numbers.

Date functions are also heavily used in PHP. Dates are used to timestamp data, give the current time, or even to calculate age restrictions (and everything in between). A date function may be paired with an odd number function in order to display information at certain times of the day, for instance. It can also be more creatively used by limiting connections to a certain website service to reduce load, hacking attempts, or several other things in addition. As can be seen, PHP developers can get quite creative in how they use such functions.

Final Thoughts

Web design and web development are quickly melding, as we can see with odd and even number functions in PHP. Alternating styles or even using such functions to display information at certain times during the day are two examples of the sheer power that comes as a result of the two fields of expertise.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment