Dynamic CSS with PHP based on database

Question

found a couple answers here on StackOverflow and used them as my models, but I must be missing something. I'm trying to set a couple of background colors dynamically in CSS based on what is in my database, but it's not working - when I check Inspect Element in Chrome, background-color has a line through it and a warning mark for 'Invalid property value'.

Here's my code; it's in two separate files - the first is in the header include file, and the second is in the linked .php / css-esque file.

Header include: [Edited 4/29 to include session code]

session_start();
// check if $_SESSION was set before
if (!isset($_SESSION['email'])) {
header("Location: bad_login.php");
exit();
}

$_SESSION['companyid'] = $_POST['companyid'];
$companyID = $_SESSION['companyid'];
$email = $_SESSION['email'];

require_once('../includes/_connection.inc.php'); 
$connect = dbConnect('read');
$sql = 'SELECT colorone, colortwo, logo
        FROM companies
        WHERE companyid = ' . $companyID;
$result = $connect->query($sql) or die(mysqli_error());
$row = $result->fetch_assoc();
$colorOne = '#' . $row['colorone'];
$colorTwo = '#' . $row['colortwo'];
$carrierLogo = '/companylogos/' . $row['logo'];

PHP/CSS file:

<?php header("Content-type: text/css"); 

?>

#main {
    width: 85%;
    margin: 0 auto;
    padding: 0.75em 0;
}

#colorOne {
    width: 100%;
    height: 12px;
    background-color: <?php echo $colorOne; ?>;
}

#colorTwo {
    width: 100%;
    height: 7px;
    background-color: <?php echo $colorTwo; ?>;
}

EDIT 4/29:

This is the CSS generated:

#main {
    width: 85%;
    margin: 0 auto;
    padding: 0.75em 0;
}

#colorOne {
    width: 100%;
    height: 12px;
    background-color: ;
}

#colorTwo {
    width: 100%;
    height: 7px;
    background-color: ;
}

I also echoed the variable back in the html so I know that there should be something in the variable. Should I be opening the database and assigning the variable inside the css.php file?

CSS/PHP is linked this way in header:

<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="../css/carrier.php">

have you included your header file into the php/css file? when you request the css file by direct url instead of inspecting it, what does the built css look like? — HorusKol
– HorusKol, Commented Apr 29, 2015 at 3:28
Sounds like you have everything working good as to include it in the page and have it read as css. Can you give us an output of the css.php? — RisingSun
– RisingSun, Commented Apr 29, 2015 at 3:53

YesItsMe · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-29 18:21:16Z

8

Instead of using the .css file extension, use .php

in the html file: is it linked to .php?

<link rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' href='css/style.php' />

in the style.php add

<?php
    header("Content-type: text/css; charset: UTF-8");
?>

Now you can set up variables for whatever you like:

source

Edit:

Don't forget about session_start(); since you're using sessions (I don't understand how, since nothing gets posted to css/carrier.php you should rather have it in session from a different file & then just use the $companyID = $_SESSION['companyid']; $email = $_SESSION['email'];).

is this the way your code looks?

        <?php
    session_start();
        header("Content-type: text/css; charset: UTF-8");
    $_SESSION['companyid'] = $_POST['companyid'];
    $companyID = $_SESSION['companyid'];
    $email = $_SESSION['email'];

    require_once('../includes/_connection.inc.php'); 
    $connect = dbConnect('read');
    $sql = 'SELECT colorone, colortwo, logo
            FROM companies
            WHERE companyid = ' . $companyID;
    $result = $connect->query($sql) or die(mysqli_error());
    $row = $result->fetch_assoc();
    $colorOne = '#' . $row['colorone'];
    $colorTwo = '#' . $row['colortwo'];
    $carrierLogo = '/companylogos/' . $row['logo'];
    ?>

#main {
    width: 85%;
    margin: 0 auto;
    padding: 0.75em 0;
}

#colorOne {
    width: 100%;
    height: 12px;
    background-color: <?php echo $colorOne; ?>;
}

#colorTwo {
    width: 100%;
    height: 7px;
    background-color: <?php echo $colorTwo; ?>;
}

edited Apr 29, 2015 at 18:21

answered Apr 29, 2015 at 3:45

YesItsMe

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5 Comments

Tig Over a year ago

I've done that; the problem seems to be getting the information from the database into the variable. If I do it in the header and echo it in the html, the value shows up. It doesn't show up in the css.php. Trying to open the database in the css.php also fails massively (no output whatsoever) so I am now out of ideas.

Tig Over a year ago

the code is laid out in my original post as to which file it's in. Session and database connection is in a header include, css with variables is in carrier.php. For whatever reason, the value of the variable I'm referring to isn't carrying over to the carrier.php file. The link to that file is as follows: <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="../css/carrier.php">

Tig Over a year ago

I must have missed copying it above, but I doublechecked the file and it is in the header include. I'll add it in above. Do I also need it in the css/php file? @yesitsme

YesItsMe Over a year ago

you need it in every file that you use sessions. where is the include code in the css? it should be first <?php include("header.php"); header("Content-type: text/css; charset: UTF-8"); ?> your included file doesn't have php opening and closing brackets.

Tig Over a year ago

It seems one of my main problems was that I had to create a second include with the code from the header and include that in my css (the css didn't seem to like having more than one line before header("content-type"). Or, I accidentally made it work somehow in the process, which is more than likely.

obrvo · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-29 04:08:55Z

0

The answer of yesitsme is correct. Other thing you can do is that each storage changes in the database, run the process of creating this "new" CSS file with the appropriate .css extension.

What if with every request you create a new CSS file? I mean, you have two paths, when creating the first call to the Web and update it from time to time, either, at the time you keep the data in the database associating it to a script.

With this new CSS and stored is generated through fwrite () and other functions that PHP has to manage files, keep the name of the CSS created in the BDD and then in your place the link as appropriate.

answered Apr 29, 2015 at 4:08

obrvo

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