Store value of last runtime without session - php

I met storage problem with php.
What I want is when each time I visit the function Main of Class A, I can get the value of variable $temp of last time.
P.s. I know I can use session, but it wastes many memory, and not safe.
so I want to find another solution.
Below is the code.
class A {
//initilize the value, how to make it just initialize once?
private static $temp = 0;
public function Main() {
echo "Last time I was=". $this->temp;
$this->temp += 1;
}
}
Thank you for your guys' help! Waiting for your idea

static variable value is stored in a request lifetime.sessions are safe enough to even store authentication data in it so if you want to store this data between multiple requests i recommend sessions or database.

Will it be useful if you store it in a separate file, you overwrite the value in it and read from it when needed?

Related

Is there a server-level static variable in PHP?

My website (served by PHP) uses some values, which are expensive to calculate (and the calculation is deterministic), therefore I'd like to cache the result at the first request. Then I could use this function:
function MyValue($valueID) {
if (!isset($myValueCache[$valueID])) {
$myValueCache[$valueID] = ... // The long and expensive calculation.
}
return $myValueCache[$valueID];
}
The question is, how to declare $myValueCache to preserve its value between different calls of the script? I'd call it "server-level static variable" or something like. A simple static variable is not the desired solution. http://www.elated.com/articles/php-variable-scope-all-you-need-to-know/ writes: "Once the script exits, a static variable gets destroyed, just like local and global variables do." I'd like to preserve the value until I explicitly unset it. Thanks :)
PS. "expensive" means database access for example. Calculating and hard-coding the result is not possible at development time.
You should consider using of any in-memory database, like Redis or Memcached. You can also try to cache values in files, but it will be slower than in-memory databases.

Static Variable doesnt increment in Php

I have one php function on a seperate php file and I am calling this function from another php file by using an jquery ajax call. The php function is just increment its static value by 1 but its not incremented as I see the output. The static variable doesnt behave as I think.
Whats the reason for that ?
Thanks in advance,
Simple function:
function IncrementByOne()
{
static $count = 0;
$count++;
echo $count;
}
Static function variables are persistent across function calls of the same request. They don't keep their value across multiple requests.
Actually, that is true of all PHP variables, apart from the magic $_SESSION variable: They are always reset after the current request ends.
If you want a variable to persist between multiple requests, you can put it into:
a session
a database
a flatfile
APC
memcached
...

Reduce database calls for php web shop

I'm looking for a way to prevent repeated calls to the database if the item in question has already been loaded previously. The reason is that we have a lot of different areas that show popular items, latest releases, top rated etc. and sometimes it happens that one item appears in multiple lists on the same page.
I wonder if it's possible to save the object instance in a static array associated with the class and then check if the data is actually in there yet, but then how do I point the new instance to the existing one?
Here's a draft of my idea:
$baseball = new Item($idOfTheBaseballItem);
$baseballAgain = new Item($idOfTheBaseballItem);
class Item
{
static $arrItems = array();
function __construct($id) {
if(in_array($id, self::arrItems)){
// Point this instance to the object in self::arrItems[$id]
// But how?
}
else {
// Call the database
self::arrItems[id] = $this;
}
}
}
If you have any other ideas or you just think I'm totally nuts, let me know.
You should know that static variables only exist in the page they were created, meaning 2 users that load the same page and get served the same script still exist as 2 different memory spaces.
You should consider caching results, take a look at code igniter database caching
What you are trying to achieve is similar to a singleton factory
$baseball = getItem($idOfTheBaseballItem);
$baseballAgain =getItem($idOfTheBaseballItem);
function getItem($id){
static $items=array();
if(!isset($items[$id])$items[$id]=new Item($id);
return $items[$id];
}
class Item{
// this stays the same
}
P.S. Also take a look at memcache. A very simple way to remove database load is to create a /cache/ directory and save database results there for a few minutes or until you deem the data old (this can be done in a number of ways, but most approaches are time based)
You can't directly replace "this" in constructor. Instead, prepare a static function like "getById($id)" that returns object from list.
And as stated above: this will work only per page load.

Zend PHP Class Variable retention for mysql queries

I have a flash application which uses a single php file to retrieve records from a database (using the Zend framework). When the application first begins, I make a call to the php to set a class variable, so that all future requests to the database will use this variable to select records based on its value. So here is how the class begins:
class MyClass
{
private $animal = "";
public function setAnimal($anim) {
$this->animal = $anim;
echo($this->animal); //this correctly prints the variable I passed in
}
Later, based on user input, I make a call to a different method in this class, but it's as if the class variable $animal has been forgotten, because it no longer has a value on any subsequent accessing of the class:
public function getAnimals()
{
echo('getAnimals: ');
echo($this->animal); //this prints nothing - as if it doesn't know what "animal" is
$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM animals WHERE animal='$this->animal'"); //and therefore this query doesn't work
$t = array();
while($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result))
{
array_push($t, $row);
}
return $t;
}
So my question is, how can I get a PHP class variable to persist so that I can set it once, and I can access it anytime during the life of an application?
I could be mis-interpreting your question, but it sounds like you first make a call to a PHP script from your Flash, and later you are making a second call to the PHP script from the Flash and expecting a certain variable to be set?
If this is the case, then it is also the problem. PHP is stateless. Every time you access a PHP script (ie, request the URL), the PHP environment is re-created from scratch. As soon as the request is done and the PHP script is finished executing, the environment is destroyed (ie. the web server thread shuts down, and the PHP environment is lost). Anything you set or do in your first request won't exist on your second request.
If you want information to persist, you can use sessions or cookies. Since you're using Flash, sessions is probably the best way to go. The first time you call your script, generate a session token and pass it back to the flash with your response. On all subsequent calls, your Flash should provide the session token, and you can store/fetch any state variables you need from $_SESSION.

Should a method ran several times in a PHP class be cached to a class variable instead?

In PHP I know many people will use a class to SET and GET session variables, I am doing this now in many classes, I need to know if I am doing it wrong though.
So for example lets pretend I have A class that need to use this
$session->get('user_id')
Which gets this value
$_SESSION['user_id']
Now in this class if I have 15 methods and in each method I need to access this value several time, currently I am calling $session->get('user_id') 20 times in a class if it is needed 20 times, should I be setting this 1 time per class to a local variable for that class and then access it? I am not sure if it makes any difference or not, my theory is that the way I am doing it now is 20 extra function calls that could be avoided?
If my theory is correct, what would be the best way to store these values inside a class? Like a private or public or protected variable?
Thanks, sorry for any confusio, classes and objects are taking me a while to learn.
Also note that $session->get('user_id') is just 1 of many DIFFERENT variables I would need to do the same thing to as well.
UPDATE
After reading Chacha102's post about using an array() ... here is what I have tried, does this look like a good way or still can be improved a lot?
class file
<?PHP
class User
{
// Load user details into an Array
public function load_user()
{
$this->user_id = $this->session->get('user_id');
//if user ID is already set, then Load the cached urser data
if(isset($this->user_id) && $this->user_id != ''){
// set user data to an array
$this->user['user_id'] = $this->user_id;
$this->user['user_name'] = $this->session->get('user_name');
$this->user['pic_small'] = $this->session->get('pic_small');
$this->user['sex'] = $this->session->get('sex');
$this->user['user_role'] = $this->session->get('user_role');
$this->user['location_lat'] = $this->session->get('location_lat');
$this->user['location_long'] = $this->session->get('location_long');
$this->user['new_user'] = $this->session->get('new_user');
return $this->user;
}
}
}
?>
main page file
<?PHP
require 'user.class.php';
$user = new User;
// if a user_id is set into a session variable then we return an array of other user related data
$user->account = $user->load_user();
// would show the user's ID from our array
echo $user->account['user_id'];
?>
If you are doing something like this:
if($session->get('user_id')==1)
{
$prefs = get_prefs($session->get('user_id'));
$info = get_info($session->get('user_id'));
}
then I would replace it with a since local variable
$id = $session->get('user_id');
if($id == 1)
{
//.....
}
It increases clarity for one. It probably isn't a big deal to call a simple function like that over and over again, but I still wouldn't do it.
I try to reduce the number of functions I call in a single method. If you are doing something like:
$user_id = $session->get('user_id');
$name = $session->get('name');
// ... etc ...
You might just want to grab an array of all the session variables instead.
$user = $session->get_array();
echo $user['user_id'];
This reduces the function calls, and you get all the data in one fell swoop.
Just one thing on clarity, using an array of user data is probably easier to read than to create a variable for each thing ($user_name, $user_id, etc).
For accesses distributed over a number of methods, as long as you're just using the function to access the variable, I'd say stay with the function. The additional cost is minuscule, and it's better for long term maintainability.
Within the same method, you would make one function call, populating a local variable, as Chacha102 suggests.
Even if the function does resource-intensive things like database calls, I would prefer giving the function some internal caching before adding a member to your class.
Adding the variable as a member to your class doesn't really make sense in the OOP way, because it's not a logical, legitimate member of the class but just a temporary variable.

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