uh oh, I defined a resoruce

I have been using define to create a constant for the link resource returned by mysql
pconnect like so:

$PL = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
define("SITE_DB",$PL);


Later I use the constant to select my databases.

mysql_select_db($SrcdbID ,SITE_DB);

This code seems to be working as I expected and I have many thousands of llines of code
done over several years using this construct.

But, I happened to be reading the php doco today and noticed that you are not supposed to
use define for resources, so question is, is what I am doing safe or am I going to run into
problems and if so what is the best way to globally pass resources to multiple classes and
functions, command line scripts etc?


Cheers
Charlie Reese

On Jan 10, 2008 1:33 PM, <reese@adeptscience.com> wrote:
> I have been using define to create a constant for the link resource returned by mysql
> pconnect like so:
>
> $PL = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> define("SITE_DB",$PL);
>
>
> Later I use the constant to select my databases.
>
> mysql_select_db($SrcdbID ,SITE_DB);
>
> This code seems to be working as I expected and I have many thousands of llines of code
> done over several years using this construct.
>
> But, I happened to be reading the php doco today and noticed that you are not supposed to
> use define for resources, so question is, is what I am doing safe or am I going to run into
> problems and if so what is the best way to globally pass resources to multiple classes and
> functions, command line scripts etc?
>
>
> Cheers
> Charlie Reese
>
>
>
> --
> PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/)
> To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
>
>

Hi Charlie!

Well a CONSTANT is a value that doesn't change. I don't think that
makes sense for a DB connection. The connection command returns a
resource that could be different on each request depending on if
you've worked on different resources.

You could just do this:
$GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);

Then inside your function reference it like this:
mysql_query($sql, $GLOBALS['SITE_DB']);

This would be an easy mass find/replace that you could do. Global
variables are evil though.

I personally use the registry pattern to hold an instance of the
database connection that can be lazy loaded whenever I need it. Then
inside of my gateway objects I pass that instance in the constructor
so they only have to know how to work with its interface. If you're
okay with using object that might be a nice road to travel. You could
also use the singleton pattern but I would advise against that because
what if you wanted 2 instances for different databases? I've never
ran across this myself but you never know. Plus it makes unit testing
a little tricky since you can't mock it as easily.

Hopefully something in all this will help you to an answer.

On Jan 10, 2008, at 12:48 PM, Eric Butera wrote:

> On Jan 10, 2008 1:33 PM, <reese@adeptscience.com> wrote:
>> I have been using define to create a constant for the link resource
>> returned by mysql
>> pconnect like so:
>>
>> $PL = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
>> define("SITE_DB",$PL);
>>
>>
>> Later I use the constant to select my databases.
>>
>> mysql_select_db($SrcdbID ,SITE_DB);
>>
>> This code seems to be working as I expected and I have many
>> thousands of llines of code
>> done over several years using this construct.
>>
>> But, I happened to be reading the php doco today and noticed that
>> you are not supposed to
>> use define for resources, so question is, is what I am doing safe
>> or am I going to run into
>> problems and if so what is the best way to globally pass resources
>> to multiple classes and
>> functions, command line scripts etc?
>>
>>
>> Cheers
>> Charlie Reese
>>
>>
> Hi Charlie!
>
> Well a CONSTANT is a value that doesn't change. I don't think that
> makes sense for a DB connection. The connection command returns a
> resource that could be different on each request depending on if
> you've worked on different resources.
>
> You could just do this:
> $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
>
> Then inside your function reference it like this:
> mysql_query($sql, $GLOBALS['SITE_DB']);
>
> This would be an easy mass find/replace that you could do. Global
> variables are evil though.
>
> I personally use the registry pattern to hold an instance of the
> database connection that can be lazy loaded whenever I need it. Then
> inside of my gateway objects I pass that instance in the constructor
> so they only have to know how to work with its interface. If you're
> okay with using object that might be a nice road to travel. You could
> also use the singleton pattern but I would advise against that because
> what if you wanted 2 instances for different databases? I've never
> ran across this myself but you never know. Plus it makes unit testing
> a little tricky since you can't mock it as easily.
>
> Hopefully something in all this will help you to an answer.


I don't agree that "Global variables are evil." If you have a valid
purpose for defining a global variable, then go with it. The usual
argument is that it could accidentally be changed elsewhere (and there
are several more). However, defining a variable that you KNOW you're
going to use only for a database connection, IMO, is perfectly fine.

$GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);

If you accidently change $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] elsewhere, then I think
you have some bigger issues at hand. =P HTH.

~Philip

"Personally, most of my web applications do not have to factor 13.7
billion years of space drift in to the calculations, so PHP's rand
function has been great for me..." ~S. Johnson

On Jan 10, 2008 2:02 PM, Philip Thompson <philthathril@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jan 10, 2008, at 12:48 PM, Eric Butera wrote:
>
> > On Jan 10, 2008 1:33 PM, <reese@adeptscience.com> wrote:
> >> I have been using define to create a constant for the link resource
> >> returned by mysql
> >> pconnect like so:
> >>
> >> $PL = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> >> define("SITE_DB",$PL);
> >>
> >>
> >> Later I use the constant to select my databases.
> >>
> >> mysql_select_db($SrcdbID ,SITE_DB);
> >>
> >> This code seems to be working as I expected and I have many
> >> thousands of llines of code
> >> done over several years using this construct.
> >>
> >> But, I happened to be reading the php doco today and noticed that
> >> you are not supposed to
> >> use define for resources, so question is, is what I am doing safe
> >> or am I going to run into
> >> problems and if so what is the best way to globally pass resources
> >> to multiple classes and
> >> functions, command line scripts etc?
> >>
> >>
> >> Cheers
> >> Charlie Reese
> >>
> >>
> > Hi Charlie!
> >
> > Well a CONSTANT is a value that doesn't change. I don't think that
> > makes sense for a DB connection. The connection command returns a
> > resource that could be different on each request depending on if
> > you've worked on different resources.
> >
> > You could just do this:
> > $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> >
> > Then inside your function reference it like this:
> > mysql_query($sql, $GLOBALS['SITE_DB']);
> >
> > This would be an easy mass find/replace that you could do. Global
> > variables are evil though.
> >
> > I personally use the registry pattern to hold an instance of the
> > database connection that can be lazy loaded whenever I need it. Then
> > inside of my gateway objects I pass that instance in the constructor
> > so they only have to know how to work with its interface. If you're
> > okay with using object that might be a nice road to travel. You could
> > also use the singleton pattern but I would advise against that because
> > what if you wanted 2 instances for different databases? I've never
> > ran across this myself but you never know. Plus it makes unit testing
> > a little tricky since you can't mock it as easily.
> >
> > Hopefully something in all this will help you to an answer.
>
>
> I don't agree that "Global variables are evil." If you have a valid
> purpose for defining a global variable, then go with it. The usual
> argument is that it could accidentally be changed elsewhere (and there
> are several more). However, defining a variable that you KNOW you're
> going to use only for a database connection, IMO, is perfectly fine.
>
> $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
>
> If you accidently change $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] elsewhere, then I think
> you have some bigger issues at hand. =P HTH.
>
> ~Philip
>
> "Personally, most of my web applications do not have to factor 13.7
> billion years of space drift in to the calculations, so PHP's rand
> function has been great for me..." ~S. Johnson
>
> --
>
> PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/)
> To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
>
>

Depending on what project I'm working on sometimes I use specific
globals on our older procedural code because:

1) It is our code
2) It does not use outside code
3) I'm the only developer working on it
4) It is very simplistic

By specific globals I mean that I have a "namespaced" entry such as
$GLOBALS['ericonly']['db'] and put things inside of ericonly. I
basically only use this for database connections and a few other very
specific things.

Aside from that I'm not going to argue the merits of globals. Someone
else can do that as I've made up my mind and so have you. :)

But just to prove that I'm right
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...il&btnG=Search
:D

On 1/10/08, Eric Butera <eric.butera@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Jan 10, 2008 2:02 PM, Philip Thompson <philthathril@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Jan 10, 2008, at 12:48 PM, Eric Butera wrote:
> >
> > > On Jan 10, 2008 1:33 PM, <reese@adeptscience.com> wrote:
> > >> I have been using define to create a constant for the link resource
> > >> returned by mysql
> > >> pconnect like so:
> > >>
> > >> $PL = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> > >> define("SITE_DB",$PL);
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Later I use the constant to select my databases.
> > >>
> > >> mysql_select_db($SrcdbID ,SITE_DB);
> > >>
> > >> This code seems to be working as I expected and I have many
> > >> thousands of llines of code
> > >> done over several years using this construct.
> > >>
> > >> But, I happened to be reading the php doco today and noticed that
> > >> you are not supposed to
> > >> use define for resources, so question is, is what I am doing safe
> > >> or am I going to run into
> > >> problems and if so what is the best way to globally pass resources
> > >> to multiple classes and
> > >> functions, command line scripts etc?
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Cheers
> > >> Charlie Reese
> > >>
> > >>
> > > Hi Charlie!
> > >
> > > Well a CONSTANT is a value that doesn't change. I don't think that
> > > makes sense for a DB connection. The connection command returns a
> > > resource that could be different on each request depending on if
> > > you've worked on different resources.
> > >
> > > You could just do this:
> > > $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> > >
> > > Then inside your function reference it like this:
> > > mysql_query($sql, $GLOBALS['SITE_DB']);
> > >
> > > This would be an easy mass find/replace that you could do. Global
> > > variables are evil though.
> > >
> > > I personally use the registry pattern to hold an instance of the
> > > database connection that can be lazy loaded whenever I need it. Then
> > > inside of my gateway objects I pass that instance in the constructor
> > > so they only have to know how to work with its interface. If you're
> > > okay with using object that might be a nice road to travel. You could
> > > also use the singleton pattern but I would advise against that because
> > > what if you wanted 2 instances for different databases? I've never
> > > ran across this myself but you never know. Plus it makes unit testing
> > > a little tricky since you can't mock it as easily.
> > >
> > > Hopefully something in all this will help you to an answer.
> >
> >
> > I don't agree that "Global variables are evil." If you have a valid
> > purpose for defining a global variable, then go with it. The usual
> > argument is that it could accidentally be changed elsewhere (and there
> > are several more). However, defining a variable that you KNOW you're
> > going to use only for a database connection, IMO, is perfectly fine.
> >
> > $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> >
> > If you accidently change $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] elsewhere, then I think
> > you have some bigger issues at hand. =P HTH.
> >
> > ~Philip
> >
> > "Personally, most of my web applications do not have to factor 13.7
> > billion years of space drift in to the calculations, so PHP's rand
> > function has been great for me..." ~S. Johnson
> >
> > --
> >
> > PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/)
> > To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
> >
> >
>
> Depending on what project I'm working on sometimes I use specific
> globals on our older procedural code because:
>
> 1) It is our code
> 2) It does not use outside code
> 3) I'm the only developer working on it
> 4) It is very simplistic
>
> By specific globals I mean that I have a "namespaced" entry such as
> $GLOBALS['ericonly']['db'] and put things inside of ericonly. I
> basically only use this for database connections and a few other very
> specific things.
>
> Aside from that I'm not going to argue the merits of globals. Someone
> else can do that as I've made up my mind and so have you. :)
>
> But just to prove that I'm right
> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...il&btnG=Search
> :D


Well...

Personalized Results *1* - *10* of about *121,000* for
*global<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=InGGR9TUIYO6gATv4ZHKBg&sig2=rv 83RnqqLJDobfnA3d78Lg&q=http://www.answers.com/global%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNF3eQaMYwTOPeOFmY3o3_vKZo xD3g>
variables<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=InGGR9TUIYO6gATv4ZHKBg&sig2=Pt lnDj6B_ES74-UoJFdoYg&q=http://www.answers.com/variables%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNHUllfcxecDiCBZ124r8p5 KyQoZlQ>are
evil<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=InGGR9TUIYO6gATv4ZHKBg&sig2=QH GtFJrSLNf_0ARuYMWpHA&q=http://www.answers.com/evil%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNF5_Fag6ntgqNkFzuWVU9bEyb71 7Q>
*. (*0.10* seconds)

Personalized Results *1* - *10* of about *4,330,000* for
*global<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=83CGR832BpbAggSao-G9Bg&sig2=b4uu-ZcrCZM0QWEXalxTNA&q=http://www.answers.com/global%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNH3VaZGgornyBLBavFsd_hlji BXsA>
variables<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=83CGR832BpbAggSao-G9Bg&sig2=kto8MuCLr5saX5VPjN8ThQ&q=http://www.answers.com/variables%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNF1uZkzAKhsWmdBCI0IzFz gLSEAhA>are
good<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=83CGR832BpbAggSao-G9Bg&sig2=ntLt-I0PIDJMXBMCk4OXCg&q=http://www.answers.com/good%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNHkthOJTyoPGlW9T2kzBpRwIqBc _A>
*. (*0.25* seconds)

Sorry, I couldn't resist. ;-)

David

On Jan 10, 2008 2:28 PM, David Giragosian <dgiragosian@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 1/10/08, Eric Butera <eric.butera@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Jan 10, 2008 2:02 PM, Philip Thompson <philthathril@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > On Jan 10, 2008, at 12:48 PM, Eric Butera wrote:
> > >
> > > > On Jan 10, 2008 1:33 PM, <reese@adeptscience.com> wrote:
> > > >> I have been using define to create a constant for the link resource
> > > >> returned by mysql
> > > >> pconnect like so:
> > > >>
> > > >> $PL = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> > > >> define("SITE_DB",$PL);
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> Later I use the constant to select my databases.
> > > >>
> > > >> mysql_select_db($SrcdbID ,SITE_DB);
> > > >>
> > > >> This code seems to be working as I expected and I have many
> > > >> thousands of llines of code
> > > >> done over several years using this construct.
> > > >>
> > > >> But, I happened to be reading the php doco today and noticed that
> > > >> you are not supposed to
> > > >> use define for resources, so question is, is what I am doing safe
> > > >> or am I going to run into
> > > >> problems and if so what is the best way to globally pass resources
> > > >> to multiple classes and
> > > >> functions, command line scripts etc?
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> Cheers
> > > >> Charlie Reese
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > > Hi Charlie!
> > > >
> > > > Well a CONSTANT is a value that doesn't change. I don't think that
> > > > makes sense for a DB connection. The connection command returns a
> > > > resource that could be different on each request depending on if
> > > > you've worked on different resources.
> > > >
> > > > You could just do this:
> > > > $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> > > >
> > > > Then inside your function reference it like this:
> > > > mysql_query($sql, $GLOBALS['SITE_DB']);
> > > >
> > > > This would be an easy mass find/replace that you could do. Global
> > > > variables are evil though.
> > > >
> > > > I personally use the registry pattern to hold an instance of the
> > > > database connection that can be lazy loaded whenever I need it. Then
> > > > inside of my gateway objects I pass that instance in the constructor
> > > > so they only have to know how to work with its interface. If you're
> > > > okay with using object that might be a nice road to travel. You could
> > > > also use the singleton pattern but I would advise against that because
> > > > what if you wanted 2 instances for different databases? I've never
> > > > ran across this myself but you never know. Plus it makes unit testing
> > > > a little tricky since you can't mock it as easily.
> > > >
> > > > Hopefully something in all this will help you to an answer.
> > >
> > >
> > > I don't agree that "Global variables are evil." If you have a valid
> > > purpose for defining a global variable, then go with it. The usual
> > > argument is that it could accidentally be changed elsewhere (and there
> > > are several more). However, defining a variable that you KNOW you're
> > > going to use only for a database connection, IMO, is perfectly fine.
> > >
> > > $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> > >
> > > If you accidently change $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] elsewhere, then I think
> > > you have some bigger issues at hand. =P HTH.
> > >
> > > ~Philip
> > >
> > > "Personally, most of my web applications do not have to factor 13.7
> > > billion years of space drift in to the calculations, so PHP's rand
> > > function has been great for me..." ~S. Johnson
> > >
> > > --
> > >
> > > PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/)
> > > To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Depending on what project I'm working on sometimes I use specific
> > globals on our older procedural code because:
> >
> > 1) It is our code
> > 2) It does not use outside code
> > 3) I'm the only developer working on it
> > 4) It is very simplistic
> >
> > By specific globals I mean that I have a "namespaced" entry such as
> > $GLOBALS['ericonly']['db'] and put things inside of ericonly. I
> > basically only use this for database connections and a few other very
> > specific things.
> >
> > Aside from that I'm not going to argue the merits of globals. Someone
> > else can do that as I've made up my mind and so have you. :)
> >
> > But just to prove that I'm right
> > http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...il&btnG=Search
> > :D
>
>
> Well...
>
> Personalized Results *1* - *10* of about *121,000* for
> *global<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=InGGR9TUIYO6gATv4ZHKBg&sig2=rv 83RnqqLJDobfnA3d78Lg&q=http://www.answers.com/global%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNF3eQaMYwTOPeOFmY3o3_vKZo xD3g>
> variables<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=InGGR9TUIYO6gATv4ZHKBg&sig2=Pt lnDj6B_ES74-UoJFdoYg&q=http://www.answers.com/variables%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNHUllfcxecDiCBZ124r8p5 KyQoZlQ>are
> evil<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=InGGR9TUIYO6gATv4ZHKBg&sig2=QH GtFJrSLNf_0ARuYMWpHA&q=http://www.answers.com/evil%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNF5_Fag6ntgqNkFzuWVU9bEyb71 7Q>
> *. (*0.10* seconds)
>
> Personalized Results *1* - *10* of about *4,330,000* for
> *global<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=83CGR832BpbAggSao-G9Bg&sig2=b4uu-ZcrCZM0QWEXalxTNA&q=http://www.answers.com/global%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNH3VaZGgornyBLBavFsd_hlji BXsA>
> variables<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=83CGR832BpbAggSao-G9Bg&sig2=kto8MuCLr5saX5VPjN8ThQ&q=http://www.answers.com/variables%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNF1uZkzAKhsWmdBCI0IzFz gLSEAhA>are
> good<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=83CGR832BpbAggSao-G9Bg&sig2=ntLt-I0PIDJMXBMCk4OXCg&q=http://www.answers.com/good%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNHkthOJTyoPGlW9T2kzBpRwIqBc _A>
> *. (*0.25* seconds)
>
> Sorry, I couldn't resist. ;-)
>
> David
>

Nice try, but if you don't put your query in quotes "global variabels
are evil" then it is just finding searches that contain the words such
as the first result:

Global Variables Are Bad
A good example of a global variable is LoginId? (or NetworkId?)
whereby the app is making a lot of security or role-based calls and
must pass this all over ...
c2.com/cgi/wiki?GlobalVariablesAreBad - 24k -

On 1/10/08, Eric Butera <eric.butera@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Jan 10, 2008 2:28 PM, David Giragosian <dgiragosian@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > On 1/10/08, Eric Butera <eric.butera@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > On Jan 10, 2008 2:02 PM, Philip Thompson <philthathril@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > > > On Jan 10, 2008, at 12:48 PM, Eric Butera wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > On Jan 10, 2008 1:33 PM, <reese@adeptscience.com> wrote:
> > > > >> I have been using define to create a constant for the link
> resource
> > > > >> returned by mysql
> > > > >> pconnect like so:
> > > > >>
> > > > >> $PL = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> > > > >> define("SITE_DB",$PL);
> > > > >>
> > > > >>
> > > > >> Later I use the constant to select my databases.
> > > > >>
> > > > >> mysql_select_db($SrcdbID ,SITE_DB);
> > > > >>
> > > > >> This code seems to be working as I expected and I have many
> > > > >> thousands of llines of code
> > > > >> done over several years using this construct.
> > > > >>
> > > > >> But, I happened to be reading the php doco today and noticed that
> > > > >> you are not supposed to
> > > > >> use define for resources, so question is, is what I am doing safe
> > > > >> or am I going to run into
> > > > >> problems and if so what is the best way to globally pass
> resources
> > > > >> to multiple classes and
> > > > >> functions, command line scripts etc?
> > > > >>
> > > > >>
> > > > >> Cheers
> > > > >> Charlie Reese
> > > > >>
> > > > >>
> > > > > Hi Charlie!
> > > > >
> > > > > Well a CONSTANT is a value that doesn't change. I don't think
> that
> > > > > makes sense for a DB connection. The connection command returns a
> > > > > resource that could be different on each request depending on if
> > > > > you've worked on different resources.
> > > > >
> > > > > You could just do this:
> > > > > $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser,
> $DBPass);
> > > > >
> > > > > Then inside your function reference it like this:
> > > > > mysql_query($sql, $GLOBALS['SITE_DB']);
> > > > >
> > > > > This would be an easy mass find/replace that you could do. Global
> > > > > variables are evil though.
> > > > >
> > > > > I personally use the registry pattern to hold an instance of the
> > > > > database connection that can be lazy loaded whenever I need
> it. Then
> > > > > inside of my gateway objects I pass that instance in the
> constructor
> > > > > so they only have to know how to work with its interface. If
> you're
> > > > > okay with using object that might be a nice road to travel. You
> could
> > > > > also use the singleton pattern but I would advise against that
> because
> > > > > what if you wanted 2 instances for different databases? I've
> never
> > > > > ran across this myself but you never know. Plus it makes unit
> testing
> > > > > a little tricky since you can't mock it as easily.
> > > > >
> > > > > Hopefully something in all this will help you to an answer.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I don't agree that "Global variables are evil." If you have a valid
> > > > purpose for defining a global variable, then go with it. The usual
> > > > argument is that it could accidentally be changed elsewhere (and
> there
> > > > are several more). However, defining a variable that you KNOW you're
> > > > going to use only for a database connection, IMO, is perfectly fine.
> > > >
> > > > $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser,
> $DBPass);
> > > >
> > > > If you accidently change $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] elsewhere, then I think
> > > > you have some bigger issues at hand. =P HTH.
> > > >
> > > > ~Philip
> > > >
> > > > "Personally, most of my web applications do not have to factor 13.7
> > > > billion years of space drift in to the calculations, so PHP's rand
> > > > function has been great for me..." ~S. Johnson
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > >
> > > > PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/)
> > > > To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > Depending on what project I'm working on sometimes I use specific
> > > globals on our older procedural code because:
> > >
> > > 1) It is our code
> > > 2) It does not use outside code
> > > 3) I'm the only developer working on it
> > > 4) It is very simplistic
> > >
> > > By specific globals I mean that I have a "namespaced" entry such as
> > > $GLOBALS['ericonly']['db'] and put things inside of ericonly. I
> > > basically only use this for database connections and a few other very
> > > specific things.
> > >
> > > Aside from that I'm not going to argue the merits of globals. Someone
> > > else can do that as I've made up my mind and so have you. :)
> > >
> > > But just to prove that I'm right
> > >
> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...il&btnG=Search
> > > :D
> >
> >
> > Well...
> >
> > Personalized Results *1* - *10* of about *121,000* for
> > *global<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...mY3o3_vKZoxD3g
> >
> > variables<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...124r8p5KyQoZlQ
> >are
> > evil<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...zuWVU9bEyb717Q
> >
> > *. (*0.10* seconds)
> >
> > Personalized Results *1* - *10* of about *4,330,000* for
> > *global<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...avFsd_hljiBXsA
> >
> > variables<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...CI0IzFzgLSEAhA
> >are
> > good<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...T2kzBpRwIqBc_A
> >
> > *. (*0.25* seconds)
> >
> > Sorry, I couldn't resist. ;-)
> >
> > David
> >
>
> Nice try, but if you don't put your query in quotes "global variabels
> are evil" then it is just finding searches that contain the words such
> as the first result:
>
> Global Variables Are Bad
> A good example of a global variable is LoginId? (or NetworkId?)
> whereby the app is making a lot of security or role-based calls and
> must pass this all over ...
> c2.com/cgi/wiki?GlobalVariablesAreBad - 24k -
>


While "global variables are good" in quotes did not return any results from
Google, "global variables are evil" in quotes only returned a result set of
4:

Results *1* - *4* of *4* for
*"global<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=-nyGR539MKjIgQT1hKC7Bg&sig2=Gorx1ErPpjplcNDVa0qb6g& q=http://www.answers.com/global%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNFszs4YfNg7ok3-m08IgyrhO5EAsQ>
variable<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=-nyGR539MKjIgQT1hKC7Bg&sig2=vCOY79teeScIcrxuvb6k3g& q=http://www.answers.com/variable%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNEzQBZwfNnJ4pr1pnYOXYtt JJNkvg>are
evil<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=-nyGR539MKjIgQT1hKC7Bg&sig2=eh8-cXxXIwGuHRJhXG2REQ&q=http://www.answers.com/evil%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNHcgNJwcVKoYcSB_Ks5OMr4LnAX Ww>
"*
**
Hardly an overwhelming argument by using search results as a measure.

David

On 1/10/08, David Giragosian <dgiragosian@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 1/10/08, Eric Butera <eric.butera@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Jan 10, 2008 2:28 PM, David Giragosian <dgiragosian@gmail.com >
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > On 1/10/08, Eric Butera <eric.butera@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > On Jan 10, 2008 2:02 PM, Philip Thompson < philthathril@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > > > > On Jan 10, 2008, at 12:48 PM, Eric Butera wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > On Jan 10, 2008 1:33 PM, <reese@adeptscience.com > wrote:
> > > > > >> I have been using define to create a constant for the link
> > resource
> > > > > >> returned by mysql
> > > > > >> pconnect like so:
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> $PL = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> > > > > >> define("SITE_DB",$PL);
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Later I use the constant to select my databases.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> mysql_select_db($SrcdbID ,SITE_DB);
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> This code seems to be working as I expected and I have many
> > > > > >> thousands of llines of code
> > > > > >> done over several years using this construct.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> But, I happened to be reading the php doco today and noticed
> > that
> > > > > >> you are not supposed to
> > > > > >> use define for resources, so question is, is what I am doing
> > safe
> > > > > >> or am I going to run into
> > > > > >> problems and if so what is the best way to globally pass
> > resources
> > > > > >> to multiple classes and
> > > > > >> functions, command line scripts etc?
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Cheers
> > > > > >> Charlie Reese
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >>
> > > > > > Hi Charlie!
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Well a CONSTANT is a value that doesn't change. I don't think
> > that
> > > > > > makes sense for a DB connection. The connection command returns
> > a
> > > > > > resource that could be different on each request depending on if
> > > > > > you've worked on different resources.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > You could just do this:
> > > > > > $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser,
> > $DBPass);
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Then inside your function reference it like this:
> > > > > > mysql_query($sql, $GLOBALS['SITE_DB']);
> > > > > >
> > > > > > This would be an easy mass find/replace that you could
> > do. Global
> > > > > > variables are evil though.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I personally use the registry pattern to hold an instance of the
> >
> > > > > > database connection that can be lazy loaded whenever I need
> > it. Then
> > > > > > inside of my gateway objects I pass that instance in the
> > constructor
> > > > > > so they only have to know how to work with its interface. If
> > you're
> > > > > > okay with using object that might be a nice road to travel. You
> > could
> > > > > > also use the singleton pattern but I would advise against that
> > because
> > > > > > what if you wanted 2 instances for different databases? I've
> > never
> > > > > > ran across this myself but you never know. Plus it makes unit
> > testing
> > > > > > a little tricky since you can't mock it as easily.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Hopefully something in all this will help you to an answer.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > I don't agree that "Global variables are evil." If you have a
> > valid
> > > > > purpose for defining a global variable, then go with it. The usual
> >
> > > > > argument is that it could accidentally be changed elsewhere (and
> > there
> > > > > are several more). However, defining a variable that you KNOW
> > you're
> > > > > going to use only for a database connection, IMO, is perfectly
> > fine.
> > > > >
> > > > > $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser,
> > $DBPass);
> > > > >
> > > > > If you accidently change $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] elsewhere, then I
> > think
> > > > > you have some bigger issues at hand. =P HTH.
> > > > >
> > > > > ~Philip
> > > > >
> > > > > "Personally, most of my web applications do not have to factor
> > 13.7
> > > > > billion years of space drift in to the calculations, so PHP's rand
> >
> > > > > function has been great for me..." ~S. Johnson
> > > > >
> > > > > --
> > > > >
> > > > > PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/ )
> > > > > To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > Depending on what project I'm working on sometimes I use specific
> > > > globals on our older procedural code because:
> > > >
> > > > 1) It is our code
> > > > 2) It does not use outside code
> > > > 3) I'm the only developer working on it
> > > > 4) It is very simplistic
> > > >
> > > > By specific globals I mean that I have a "namespaced" entry such as
> > > > $GLOBALS['ericonly']['db'] and put things inside of ericonly. I
> > > > basically only use this for database connections and a few other
> > very
> > > > specific things.
> > > >
> > > > Aside from that I'm not going to argue the merits of
> > globals. Someone
> > > > else can do that as I've made up my mind and so have you. :)
> > > >
> > > > But just to prove that I'm right
> > > > http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...il&btnG=Search
> >
> > > > :D
> > >
> > >
> > > Well...
> > >
> > > Personalized Results *1* - *10* of about *121,000* for
> > > *global<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...mY3o3_vKZoxD3g
> > >
> > > variables< http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...124r8p5KyQoZlQ
> > >are
> > > evil<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...zuWVU9bEyb717Q
> > >
> > > *. (*0.10* seconds)
> > >
> > > Personalized Results *1* - *10* of about *4,330,000* for
> > > *global<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...avFsd_hljiBXsA
> > >
> > > variables< http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...CI0IzFzgLSEAhA
> > >are
> > > good<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...T2kzBpRwIqBc_A
> > >
> > > *. (*0.25* seconds)
> > >
> > > Sorry, I couldn't resist. ;-)
> > >
> > > David
> > >
> >
> > Nice try, but if you don't put your query in quotes "global variabels
> > are evil" then it is just finding searches that contain the words such
> > as the first result:
> >
> > Global Variables Are Bad
> > A good example of a global variable is LoginId? (or NetworkId?)
> > whereby the app is making a lot of security or role-based calls and
> > must pass this all over ...
> > c2.com/cgi/wiki?GlobalVariablesAreBad - 24k -
> >
>
>
> While "global variables are good" in quotes did not return any results
> from Google, "global variables are evil" in quotes only returned a result
> set of 4:
>
> Results *1* - *4* of *4* for *" global<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=-nyGR539MKjIgQT1hKC7Bg&sig2=Gorx1ErPpjplcNDVa0qb6g& q=http://www.answers.com/global%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNFszs4YfNg7ok3-m08IgyrhO5EAsQ>
> variable<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=-nyGR539MKjIgQT1hKC7Bg&sig2=vCOY79teeScIcrxuvb6k3g& q=http://www.answers.com/variable%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNEzQBZwfNnJ4pr1pnYOXYtt JJNkvg>are
> evil<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=-nyGR539MKjIgQT1hKC7Bg&sig2=eh8-cXxXIwGuHRJhXG2REQ&q=http://www.answers.com/evil%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNHcgNJwcVKoYcSB_Ks5OMr4LnAX Ww>
> "*
> **
> Hardly an overwhelming argument by using search results as a measure.
>
> David
>

Nevermind. I forgot the 's'.

Once again:

Personalized Results *1* - *8* of *8* for
*"global<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=joCGR9SjMp2wgATIv4HWBg&sig2=RN nAskxl87Jpwe85XDzyvg&q=http://www.answers.com/global%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNFkKRqMEPNyoEfdOeatXZo5_5 1d5Q>
variables<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=joCGR9SjMp2wgATIv4HWBg&sig2=b_ YKTOej3C0R3RD0QrZUwA&q=http://www.answers.com/variables%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNGXzEwYW9a5HoADskUH1aT T5OIvsg>are
good<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=joCGR9SjMp2wgATIv4HWBg&sig2=L-Je5IAp1doAPCeTovvqwA&q=http://www.answers.com/good%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNG9Bm-38XQxaR5w7aHA_cDvLT1nSw>
"*. (*0.17* seconds)

Personalized Results *1* - *10* of about *136* for
*"global<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=xYCGR-TiK4fcgASYpOi2Bg&sig2=ntdSUwxo_P-rplOA3PKNrw&q=http://www.answers.com/global%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNE2teAhA638GVYsBxeBxb9z0i Yi5A>
variables<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=xYCGR-TiK4fcgASYpOi2Bg&sig2=zCmKFYtnVoOQlWKrXcLqdw&q=htt p://www.answers.com/variables%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNEEdMRqxKMgkWXftVCWfE4 kZr98jg>are
evil<http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=xYCGR-TiK4fcgASYpOi2Bg&sig2=HxVB1-BREdrmjuSHo6E9jQ&q=http://www.answers.com/evil%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNErEUXMUFMcXbjo95hRT2t8pzkI Sg>
"*. (*0.07* seconds

Ok. So those of us who use globals are 17 time more likely to end up in
hell.

I can live with those odds.

David

On Jan 10, 2008 3:34 PM, David Giragosian <dgiragosian@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> On 1/10/08, David Giragosian <dgiragosian@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > On 1/10/08, Eric Butera <eric.butera@gmail.com > wrote:
> > > On Jan 10, 2008 2:28 PM, David Giragosian < dgiragosian@gmail.com >
> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > On 1/10/08, Eric Butera <eric.butera@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > On Jan 10, 2008 2:02 PM, Philip Thompson < philthathril@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > > > > > On Jan 10, 2008, at 12:48 PM, Eric Butera wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > On Jan 10, 2008 1:33 PM, < reese@adeptscience.com > wrote:
> > > > > > >> I have been using define to create a constant for the link
> resource
> > > > > > >> returned by mysql
> > > > > > >> pconnect like so:
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> $PL = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser, $DBPass);
> > > > > > >> define("SITE_DB",$PL);
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> Later I use the constant to select my databases.
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> mysql_select_db($SrcdbID ,SITE_DB);
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> This code seems to be working as I expected and I have many
> > > > > > >> thousands of llines of code
> > > > > > >> done over several years using this construct.
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> But, I happened to be reading the php doco today and noticed
> that
> > > > > > >> you are not supposed to
> > > > > > >> use define for resources, so question is, is what I am doing
> safe
> > > > > > >> or am I going to run into
> > > > > > >> problems and if so what is the best way to globally pass
> resources
> > > > > > >> to multiple classes and
> > > > > > >> functions, command line scripts etc?
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> Cheers
> > > > > > >> Charlie Reese
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > > Hi Charlie!
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Well a CONSTANT is a value that doesn't change. I don't think
> that
> > > > > > > makes sense for a DB connection. The connection command returns
> a
> > > > > > > resource that could be different on each request depending on if
> > > > > > > you've worked on different resources.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > You could just do this:
> > > > > > > $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser,
> $DBPass);
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Then inside your function reference it like this:
> > > > > > > mysql_query($sql, $GLOBALS['SITE_DB']);
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > This would be an easy mass find/replace that you could do.
> Global
> > > > > > > variables are evil though.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > I personally use the registry pattern to hold an instance of the
> > > > > > > database connection that can be lazy loaded whenever I need it.
> Then
> > > > > > > inside of my gateway objects I pass that instance in the
> constructor
> > > > > > > so they only have to know how to work with its interface. If
> you're
> > > > > > > okay with using object that might be a nice road to travel. You
> could
> > > > > > > also use the singleton pattern but I would advise against that
> because
> > > > > > > what if you wanted 2 instances for different databases? I've
> never
> > > > > > > ran across this myself but you never know. Plus it makes unit
> testing
> > > > > > > a little tricky since you can't mock it as easily.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Hopefully something in all this will help you to an answer.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I don't agree that "Global variables are evil." If you have a
> valid
> > > > > > purpose for defining a global variable, then go with it. The usual
> > > > > > argument is that it could accidentally be changed elsewhere (and
> there
> > > > > > are several more). However, defining a variable that you KNOW
> you're
> > > > > > going to use only for a database connection, IMO, is perfectly
> fine.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] = @mysql_pconnect("localhost", $DBUser,
> $DBPass);
> > > > > >
> > > > > > If you accidently change $GLOBALS['SITE_DB'] elsewhere, then I
> think
> > > > > > you have some bigger issues at hand. =P HTH.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > ~Philip
> > > > > >
> > > > > > "Personally, most of my web applications do not have to factor
> 13.7
> > > > > > billion years of space drift in to the calculations, so PHP's rand
> > > > > > function has been great for me..." ~S. Johnson
> > > > > >
> > > > > > --
> > > > > >
> > > > > > PHP General Mailing List ( http://www.php.net/ )
> > > > > > To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Depending on what project I'm working on sometimes I use specific
> > > > > globals on our older procedural code because:
> > > > >
> > > > > 1) It is our code
> > > > > 2) It does not use outside code
> > > > > 3) I'm the only developer working on it
> > > > > 4) It is very simplistic
> > > > >
> > > > > By specific globals I mean that I have a "namespaced" entry such as
> > > > > $GLOBALS['ericonly']['db'] and put things inside of ericonly. I
> > > > > basically only use this for database connections and a few other
> very
> > > > > specific things.
> > > > >
> > > > > Aside from that I'm not going to argue the merits of globals.
> Someone
> > > > > else can do that as I've made up my mind and so have you. :)
> > > > >
> > > > > But just to prove that I'm right
> > > > >
> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...il&btnG=Search
> > > > > :D
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Well...
> > > >
> > > > Personalized Results *1* - *10* of about *121,000* for
> > > > *global<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=InGGR9TUIYO6gATv4ZHKBg&sig2=rv 83RnqqLJDobfnA3d78Lg&q=http://www.answers.com/global%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNF3eQaMYwTOPeOFmY3o3_vKZo xD3g>
> > > > variables<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...124r8p5KyQoZlQ
> >are
> > > > evil<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=InGGR9TUIYO6gATv4ZHKBg&sig2=QH GtFJrSLNf_0ARuYMWpHA&q=http://www.answers.com/evil%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNF5_Fag6ntgqNkFzuWVU9bEyb71 7Q>
> > > > *. (*0.10* seconds)
> > > >
> > > > Personalized Results *1* - *10* of about *4,330,000* for
> > > > *global<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=83CGR832BpbAggSao-G9Bg&sig2=b4uu-ZcrCZM0QWEXalxTNA&q=http://www.answers.com/global%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNH3VaZGgornyBLBavFsd_hlji BXsA>
> > > > variables<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=di...CI0IzFzgLSEAhA
> >are
> > > > good<
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=dict&ei=83CGR832BpbAggSao-G9Bg&sig2=ntLt-I0PIDJMXBMCk4OXCg&q=http://www.answers.com/good%26r%3D67&usg=AFQjCNHkthOJTyoPGlW9T2kzBpRwIqBc _A>
> > > > *. (*0.25* seconds)
> > > >
> > > > Sorry, I couldn't resist. ;-)
> > > >
> > > > David
> > > >
> > >
> > > Nice try, but if you don't put your query in quotes "global variabels
> > > are evil" then it is just finding searches that contain the words such
> > > as the first result:
> > >
> > > Global Variables Are Bad
> > > A good example of a global variable is LoginId? (or NetworkId?)
> > > whereby the app is making a lot of security or role-based calls and
> > > must pass this all over ...
> > > c2.com/cgi/wiki?GlobalVariablesAreBad - 24k -
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > While "global variables are good" in quotes did not return any results
> from Google, "global variables are evil" in quotes only returned a result
> set of 4:
> >
> > Results 1 - 4 of 4 for " global variable are evil"
> >
> > Hardly an overwhelming argument by using search results as a measure.
> >
> > David
>
>
> Nevermind. I forgot the 's'.
>
> Once again:
>
> Personalized Results 1 - 8 of 8 for " global variables are good". (0.17
> seconds)
>
> Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 136 for " global variables are evil".
> (0.07 seconds
>
> Ok. So those of us who use globals are 17 time more likely to end up in
> hell.
>
> I can live with those odds.
>
> David
>
>
>
>
>
>

Haha. Thank you for all that insightful research. Seriously though,
using globals you might already be in hell! =\

David Giragosian wrote:
> On 1/10/08, Eric Butera <eric.butera@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Jan 10, 2008 2:28 PM, David Giragosian <dgiragosian@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 1/10/08, Eric Butera <eric.butera@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On Jan 10, 2008 2:02 PM, Philip Thompson <philthathril@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>>> On Jan 10, 2008, at 12:48 PM, Eric Butera wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Jan 10, 2008 1:33 PM, <reese@adeptscience.com