Creating a content rating script - php

Question

I am trying to write a content rating script where the user can select what type of rating to give to their article (for instance, what age group the articles suits for).
I am using a Wordpress star rating script as a template.
This part of the script is where the user selects the rating:
function pn_apr_meta_box_form( $post )
{
wp_nonce_field( 'pn_apr_meta_box_nonce', 'pn_apr_meta_box_nonce_field' );
$current_post_rating = get_post_meta( $post->ID, PN_APR_RATING_META_KEY, true );
echo '<label for="pn_apr_rating">' . __( 'Choose a rating for this post:', 'author-post-ratings' ) . '</label> ';
echo '<select name="pn_apr_rating" id="pn_apr_rating">';
echo '<option value="unrated"' . selected( $current_post_rating, 0, false ) . '>' . __( 'Unrated', 'author-post-ratings' ) . '</option>';
for ( $i = 1; $i <= 5; $i++ ) {
echo '<option value="' . $i . '"' . selected( $current_post_rating, $i, false ) . '>' . sprintf( _n( '%1s Star', '%1s Stars', $i, 'author-post-ratings' ), $i ) . '</option>';
}
echo '</select>';
}
This part of the script outputs the ratings:
if ( $rating ) {
$output = null;
$output .= '<div class="author-post-rating">';
$output .= '<span class="author-post-rating-label">' . esc_attr( $pn_apr_settings['label_text'] ) . '</span> ';
$output .= '<span class="author-post-rating-stars" title="' . sprintf( __( '%1$d out of %2$d stars', 'author-post-ratings' ), $rating, 5 ) . '">';
// Output active stars
for ( $i = 1; $i <= $rating; $i++ ) {
$output .= '<img src="' . PN_APR_PLUGIN_DIR_URL . 'images/star-active.png" />';
}
// Output inactive stars
for ( $i = $rating + 1; $i <= 5; $i++ ) {
$output .= '<img src="' . PN_APR_PLUGIN_DIR_URL . 'images/star-inactive.png" />';
}
$output .= '</span>' . "\n";
$output .= '</div><!-- .author-post-rating -->';
if ( true == $return ) { return $output; }
// We don't need to use "else" here, since calling return will automatically stop further execution of this function.
echo $output;
}
Now, I want to change this script so that it becomes a content rating script (rather than star rating one). I want to offer these choices for the user:
G — Suitable for all audiences
PG — Possibly offensive, usually for audiences 13 and above
R — Intended for adult audiences above 17
X — Even more mature than above
Question: How can I change the script so that if the user selects for instance PG, then it will output the text Suitable for age 13 and up.
EDIT:
To Shawn, observe the following code:
function rating_select_cb( $post ) {
global $wpdb;
$value = get_post_meta($post->ID, 'rating', true);
echo '<div class="misc-pub-section misc-pub-section-last"><span id="timestamp"><label>Select a rating:<br></label>';
// build an array of each available rating
$ratings = array(
1 => 'G — Suitable for all audiences',
2 => 'PG — Possibly offensive, usually for audiences 13 and above',
3 => 'R — Intended for adult audiences above 17',
4 => 'X — Even more mature than above'
);
echo '<select name="rating">';
echo '<option value=""' . ((($value == '') || !isset($ratings[$value])) ? ' selected="selected"' : '') . '> None... </option>';
// output each rating as an option
foreach ($ratings as $id => $text) {
echo '<option value="' . $id . '"' . (($value == $id) ? ' selected="selected"' : '') . '">' . $text. '</option>';
}
echo '</select>';
echo '</span></div>';
}

Answer 1

Here's something that should get you to where you need to be:
Add to your functions.php:
add_action( 'add_meta_boxes', 'rating_select_box' );
function rating_select_box() {
add_meta_box(
'rating_select_box', // id, used as the html id att
__( 'Select rating:' ), // meta box title, like "Page Attributes"
'rating_select_cb', // callback function, spits out the content
'post', // post type or page. We'll add this to posts only
'side', // context (where on the screen
'low' // priority, where should this go in the context?
);
}
function rating_select_cb( $post )
{
global $wpdb;
$value = get_post_meta($post->ID, 'rating', true);
echo '<div class="misc-pub-section misc-pub-section-last">
<span id="timestamp">'
. '<label>Select a rating:<br></label>';
$selected = ($value == $result->post_name) ? ' selected="selected" ' : null;
echo '<select name="rating">';
echo '<option value="" default="default"> None... </option>';
echo '<option value="0" '.$selected.'> G — Suitable for all audiences </option>';
echo '<option value="1" '.$selected.'> PG — Possibly offensive, usually for audiences 13 and above </option>';
echo '<option value="2" '.$selected.'> R — Intended for adult audiences above 17 </option>';
echo '<option value="3" '.$selected.'> X — Even more mature than above </option>';
echo '</select>';
echo '</span></div>';
}
add_action( 'save_post', 'save_metadata');
function save_metadata($postid)
{
if ( defined( 'DOING_AUTOSAVE' ) && DOING_AUTOSAVE ) return false;
if ( !current_user_can( 'edit_page', $postid ) ) return false;
if( empty($postid) ) return false;
if ( is_null($_REQUEST["rating"]) ) {
delete_post_meta($postid, 'rating');
} else {
update_post_meta($postid, 'rating', $_REQUEST['rating']);
}
}
The above code does this:
1. Adds a new metabox to your posts
2. Adds a select box with the rating values
3. Saves the metadata with the post
To access your metadata in your templates:
$meta = get_post_custom($post->ID);
echo $meta['rating'][0];
To have your template display a custom string use something like:
switch ( $meta['rating'][0] ) {
case 0:
echo "This is rated PG";
break;
case 1:
echo "This is rated G";
break;
case 2:
echo "This is rated R";
break;
case 3:
echo "Ug oh! This is rated X!";
break;
default:
echo "This is not yet rated.";
}
**Edit: This code provides full functionality.. you could abandon your current solution if it works for you