Using url as a variable - php

Question

I normally use a GET variable i n the URL to determined what data to show in my template.
Today I am not passing a variable. I am including a file named inludes/leftmenu.php on every page but depending on the page name I want to show different data.
leftmenu.php looks like so:
$page = $_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"];
$page_name = get_page_name($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"]);
if ($page_name == "classes.php")
{
<h2 class="left_h2">Class Schedules & Info</h2>
<ul class="left_ul">
<li>Immersion Programs</li>
<li>Afternoon Programs</li>
<li>Immersion Schedule</li>
<li>Afternoon Schedule</li>
</ul>
}else if($page_name == "about.php")
{
<h2 class="left_h2">About Us</h2>
<ul class="left_ul">
<li>About Us</li>
<li>Photo Scrapbook</li>
</ul>
}else if ($page_name == "news.php")
{
<h2 class="left_h2">News & Events</h2>
<ul class="left_ul">
<li>News</li>
<li>Events</li>
</ul>
}

Answer 1

You could use a PHP array:
$pages = array(
'/events.php' => 'includes/events_menu.php',
'/news.php' => 'includes/news_menu.php'
);
// lookup the appropriate include file
$uri = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
$include = $pages[$uri];
// produce a default page if the URI wasn't recognised
if (!isset($include)) {
$include = 'includes/default.php';
}
include($include);

Answer 2

I don't know if it's faster, but there are many ways to do this.
E.g. with an array:
$page_name = get_page_name($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']);
$includes = array(
'events.php' => 'includes/events_menu.php',
'news.php' => 'includes/news_menu.php'
);
if(isset($includes[$page_name])) include($includes[$page_name]);
else die('this page does not exist');

Answer 3

PHP polulates $_GET with variables passed in the URL. Though I do not recommend having a user-passed variable as a function of what your code includes.
an array is a better method, ofcourse, but you may also look into realpath() and make sure it's in DOCUMENT_ROOT /includes

Answer 4

You can create array with paths and then use in_array function, which will reduce if statements.

Answer 5

If there's a menu for every single page, you could go with
include('includes/'.basename($page_name, ".php").'_menu.php');

Answer 6

You can use REQUEST_URI, but you have to keep in mind that it always starts with a / slash. Unless you apply basename() you therefore would have to write:
if ($page_name == "/events.php")
The if statements are a workable approach if you only need a few page names. Otherwise use an switch or an url->filename map (as an array).
If you are using a RewriteRule to map all incoming URLs to a single PHP script, you could also think about using PATH_INFO instead of REQUEST_URI.