help with my static class logic with pushing new values into an array

Question

I am trying to make a class that will load my .ini files for me. The rundown is that I specify the name of the application I'm working with, then give it a single or array of files for it to load for me. Once that is done I just call it like so.

Ini::path(BASE_PATH . "config" . DS);
Ini::set_app("testApp");
Ini::load(array("db", "web", "themer"));

then I'm trying to use it like this

echo Ini::$get['testApp']['someKey']['someValue'];

at the moment I can use it without the Ini::$app being set because I'm trying to add that features. i.e Ini::$get['someKey']['someValue'];

My problem is that I cannot figure out how to push more .ini files into the Ini::$get array. The usage should be something like this

Ini::push("anotherIni");

that is suppose to call my push method and push the new file into the array. But I can't seem to build the array correctly. Either that, or it is not possible to push a new value into a static array.

My array with the array_push attempt looks like this ounce outputted with a print_r()

Array ( [testApp] => )

otherwise it outputs this without me trying to push the new ini into the array

Array ( [testApp] => Array ( [db] => [web] => [themer] => ) )

Here is my Class file (Updated to reflect answers)

    class Ini {

    public static $get = array();
    public static $tmp = array();
    public static $path;
    public static $app;
    public static $push;

    public static function load($file)
    {
        if (is_array($file)) {

            foreach ($file as $ini)
                self::$get[self::$app][$ini] = parse_ini_file(self::$path . $ini . ".ini", true);

            //array_push(self::$get[self::$app], "testIni");
        } else {

            self::$get[self::$app][$file] = parse_ini_file(self::$path . $file . ".ini", true);
        }
    }

    public static function push($file)
    {
        self::$tmp[$file] = parse_ini_file(self::$path . $file . ".ini", true);
        array_push(self::$get[self::$app], self::$tmp[$file]);
    }

    public static function set_app($name)
    {
        self::$app = $name;
        self::$get[self::$app] = array();
    }

    public static function path($path)
    {
        self::$path = $path;
        return self::$path;
    }

    // TODO: Create 'write', 'delete', 'append' function to change ini values
}

Alex · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-15 19:33:39Z

2

The problem is in this line:

array_push(self::$get[self::$app], $file);

array_push() expects an array as it's first argument. I copy-pasted your class in to a PHP file, and then used the following code:

Ini::$app = 'Some App';

Ini::push('something.ini');

and receive the "array_push() expects..." error. This is because self::$get[self::$app] is a string, not an array.

So, you need a method that sets the first entry of the $get array to have a key of self::$app and a value of a blank array. This addtional method fixed it for me:

public static function set_app_name($name)
{
  self::$app = $name;
  self::$get[self::$app] = array();
}

Then use

Ini::set_app_name('Some App');

answered Sep 15, 2011 at 19:33

Alex

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4 Comments

Eli Over a year ago

ya, i wasn't using the push() yet so i forgot to fix it prior to posting the code here. But i did go ahead and applied your example but didn't get any results in my array. i'm going to edit my question with updated code

Alex Over a year ago

Then your problem is in first line of the push method (where you're parsing the ini file). What error(s) is PHP throwing?

Eli Over a year ago

no error, it just won't push onto the array. I however am able to push if I manually write out the array_push(self::$get[self::$app], "testPush"); but not by calling the method.

Alex Over a year ago

As I said then, you're problem is with the parse_ini_file line. I think you're being a little to generous with the scope of this question: I solved your problem but now you've moved the goalposts. I suggest you choose the best answer for your initial question and start a new question with your new problem. However, the parse_ini_file problem should be trivial to solve.

user699082 · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-15 19:56:02Z

0

I'll answer your question, but IMHO there are several major concerns with your code:

Why is everything static? It would make more sense if the ini config was in an object. And if you just want to force its uniqueness, read about the singleton pattern.
The purpose of your $app static property is obscure. It needs to be initialized before loading or reading files. That's almost unreadable. At the very least, your code would be more clear with a method setDefaultApp($appName) instead of setting directly this attribute.
There are two syntaxes for adding an element $e at the end of an array $a:
```
$a[] = $e;
array_push($a, $e); // scarcely used
```
With the latter syntax, $a has to be an array, it won't be initialized. So use the alternative syntax:
```
self::$get[self::$app][] = $file;
```
But I strongly recommend you opt for a more readable API. To your echo Ini::$get['testApp']['someKey']['someValue']; I'd even prefer echo $ini->get('testApp')['someKey']['someValue'];

answered Sep 15, 2011 at 19:56

user699082

2 Comments

Eli Over a year ago

heh, i tried to make it object based in my first attempt but i remembered i had an issue where if i needed this information on another page i didn't want to make a new object and reset the data. I read up singletons but saw that they work the same as static classes but with less code.

user699082 Over a year ago

I'm afraid you have some misconception about PHP. With the Apache PHP module, each web page is independent. The variables are always deleted at the end of a request. So you won't be able to declare an object in one page and use it in another (by page, I mean web page in response to a user request, it can be in the same file or not). If you do not want to parse the ini files on each request, you have to use a cache, like APC or memcache.

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