source: forum/docs/coding-guidelines.html@ 653

Last change on this file since 653 was 651, checked in by aleg, 15 years ago

Změněná cesta k GM a Char logům pro realmy 4 a 7.
File size: 104.6 KB
Line 
1<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
2<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
3<head>
4
5<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
6<meta http-equiv="content-style-type" content="text/css" />
7<meta http-equiv="content-language" content="en" />
8<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" />
9<meta name="resource-type" content="document" />
10<meta name="distribution" content="global" />
11<meta name="copyright" content="2007 phpBB Group" />
12<meta name="keywords" content="" />
13<meta name="description" content="Olympus coding guidelines document" />
14<title>phpBB3 &bull; Coding Guidelines</title>
15
16<link href="stylesheet.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen, projection" />
17
18</head>
19
20<body id="phpbb" class="section-docs">
21
22<div id="wrap">
23 <a id="top" name="top" accesskey="t"></a>
24 <div id="page-header">
25 <div class="headerbar">
26 <div class="inner"><span class="corners-top"><span></span></span>
27
28 <div id="doc-description">
29 <a href="../index.php" id="logo"><img src="site_logo.gif" alt="" /></a>
30 <h1>Coding Guidelines</h1>
31 <p>Olympus coding guidelines document</p>
32 <p style="display: none;"><a href="#start_here">Skip</a></p>
33 </div>
34
35 <span class="corners-bottom"><span></span></span></div>
36 </div>
37 </div>
38
39 <a name="start_here"></a>
40
41 <div id="page-body">
42
43<!-- BEGIN DOCUMENT -->
44
45<p>These are the phpBB Coding Guidelines for Olympus, all attempts should be made to follow them as closely as possible.</p>
46
47<h1>Coding Guidelines</h1>
48
49 <div class="paragraph menu">
50 <div class="inner"><span class="corners-top"><span></span></span>
51
52 <div class="content">
53
54<ol>
55 <li><a href="#defaults">Defaults</a>
56 <ol style="list-style-type: lower-roman;">
57 <li><a href="#editorsettings">Editor Settings</a></li>
58 <li><a href="#fileheader">File Header</a></li>
59 <li><a href="#locations">File Locations</a></li>
60 </ol>
61 </li>
62 <li><a href="#code">Code Layout/Guidelines</a>
63 <ol style="list-style-type: lower-roman;">
64 <li><a href="#namingvars">Variable/Function Naming</a></li>
65 <li><a href="#codelayout">Code Layout</a></li>
66 <li><a href="#sql">SQL/SQL Layout</a></li>
67 <li><a href="#optimizing">Optimizations</a></li>
68 <li><a href="#general">General Guidelines</a></li>
69 </ol>
70 </li>
71 <li><a href="#styling">Styling</a></li>
72 <ol style="list-style-type: lower-roman;">
73 <li><a href="#cfgfiles">Style Config Files</a></li>
74 <li><a href="#genstyling">General Styling Rules</a></li>
75 </ol></li>
76 <li><a href="#templating">Templating</a>
77 <ol style="list-style-type: lower-roman;">
78 <li><a href="#templates">General Templating</a></li>
79 <li><a href="#inheritance">Template Inheritance</a></li>
80 </ol></li>
81 <li><a href="#charsets">Character Sets and Encodings</a></li>
82 <li><a href="#translation">Translation (<abbr title="Internationalisation">i18n</abbr>/<abbr title="Localisation">L10n</abbr>) Guidelines</a>
83 <ol style="list-style-type: lower-roman;">
84 <li><a href="#standardisation">Standardisation</a></li>
85 <li><a href="#otherconsiderations">Other considerations</a></li>
86 <li><a href="#writingstyle">Writing Style</a></li>
87 </ol>
88 </li>
89 <li><a href="#changes">Guidelines Changelog</a></li>
90 <li><a href="#disclaimer">Copyright and disclaimer</a></li>
91</ol>
92
93 </div>
94
95 <span class="corners-bottom"><span></span></span></div>
96 </div>
97
98 <hr />
99
100<a name="defaults"></a><h2>1. Defaults</h2>
101
102 <div class="paragraph">
103 <div class="inner"><span class="corners-top"><span></span></span>
104
105 <div class="content">
106
107<a name="editorsettings"></a><h3>1.i. Editor Settings</h3>
108
109 <h4>Tabs vs Spaces:</h4>
110 <p>In order to make this as simple as possible, we will be using tabs, not spaces. We enforce 4 (four) spaces for one tab - therefore you need to set your tab width within your editor to 4 spaces. Make sure that when you <strong>save</strong> the file, it's saving tabs and not spaces. This way, we can each have the code be displayed the way we like it, without breaking the layout of the actual files.</p>
111 <p>Tabs in front of lines are no problem, but having them within the text can be a problem if you do not set it to the amount of spaces every one of us uses. Here is a short example of how it should look like:</p>
112
113 <div class="codebox"><pre>
114{TAB}$mode{TAB}{TAB}= request_var('mode', '');
115{TAB}$search_id{TAB}= request_var('search_id', '');
116 </pre></div>
117
118 <p>If entered with tabs (replace the {TAB}) both equal signs need to be on the same column.</p>
119
120 <h3>Linefeeds:</h3>
121 <p>Ensure that your editor is saving files in the UNIX (LF) line ending format. This means that lines are terminated with a newline, not with Windows Line endings (CR/LF combo) as they are on Win32 or Classic Mac (CR) Line endings. Any decent editor should be able to do this, but it might not always be the default setting. Know your editor. If you want advice for an editor for your Operating System, just ask one of the developers. Some of them do their editing on Win32.
122
123 <a name="fileheader"></a><h3>1.ii. File Header</h3>
124
125 <h4>Standard header for new files:</h4>
126 <p>This template of the header must be included at the start of all phpBB files: </p>
127
128 <div class="codebox"><pre>
129/**
130*
131* @package {PACKAGENAME}
132* @version &#36;Id: &#36;
133* @copyright (c) 2007 phpBB Group
134* @license http://opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php GNU Public License
135*
136*/
137 </pre></div>
138
139 <p>Please see the <a href="#locations">File Locations section</a> for the correct package name.</p>
140
141 <h4>Files containing inline code:</h4>
142
143 <p>For those files you have to put an empty comment directly after the header to prevent the documentor assigning the header to the first code element found.</p>
144
145 <div class="codebox"><pre>
146/**
147* {HEADER}
148*/
149
150/**
151*/
152{CODE}
153 </pre></div>
154
155 <h4>Files containing only functions:</h4>
156
157 <p>Do not forget to comment the functions (especially the first function following the header). Each function should have at least a comment of what this function does. For more complex functions it is recommended to document the parameters too.</p>
158
159 <h4>Files containing only classes:</h4>
160
161 <p>Do not forget to comment the class. Classes need a separate @package definition, it is the same as the header package name. Apart from this special case the above statement for files containing only functions needs to be applied to classes and it's methods too.</p>
162
163 <h4>Code following the header but only functions/classes file:</h4>
164
165 <p>If this case is true, the best method to avoid documentation confusions is adding an ignore command, for example:</p>
166
167 <div class="codebox"><pre>
168/**
169* {HEADER}
170*/
171
172/**
173* @ignore
174*/
175Small code snipped, mostly one or two defines or an if statement
176
177/**
178* {DOCUMENTATION}
179*/
180class ...
181 </pre></div>
182
183 <a name="locations"></a><h3>1.iii. File Locations</h3>
184
185 <p>Functions used by more than one page should be placed in functions.php, functions specific to one page should be placed on that page (at the bottom) or within the relevant sections functions file. Some files in <code>/includes</code> are holding functions responsible for special sections, for example uploading files, displaying &quot;things&quot;, user related functions and so forth.</p>
186
187 <p>The following packages are defined, and related new features/functions should be placed within the mentioned files/locations, as well as specifying the correct package name. The package names are bold within this list:</p>
188
189 <ul>
190 <li><strong>phpBB3</strong><br />Core files and all files not assigned to a separate package</li>
191 <li><strong>acm</strong><br /><code>/includes/acm</code>, <code>/includes/cache.php</code><br />Cache System</li>
192 <li><strong>acp</strong><br /><code>/adm</code>, <code>/includes/acp</code>, <code>/includes/functions_admin.php</code><br />Administration Control Panel</li>
193 <li><strong>dbal</strong><br /><code>/includes/db</code><br />Database Abstraction Layer.<br />Base class is <code>dbal</code>
194 <ul>
195 <li><code>/includes/db/dbal.php</code><br />Base DBAL class, defining the overall framework</li>
196 <li><code>/includes/db/firebird.php</code><br />Firebird/Interbase Database Abstraction Layer</li>
197 <li><code>/includes/db/msssql.php</code><br />MSSQL Database Abstraction Layer</li>
198 <li><code>/includes/db/mssql_odbc.php</code><br />MSSQL ODBC Database Abstraction Layer for MSSQL</li>
199 <li><code>/includes/db/mysql.php</code><br />MySQL Database Abstraction Layer for MySQL 3.x/4.0.x/4.1.x/5.x
200 <li><code>/includes/db/mysqli.php</code><br />MySQLi Database Abstraction Layer</li>
201 <li><code>/includes/db/oracle.php</code><br />Oracle Database Abstraction Layer</li>
202 <li><code>/includes/db/postgres.php</code><br />PostgreSQL Database Abstraction Layer</li>
203 <li><code>/includes/db/sqlite.php</code><br />Sqlite Database Abstraction Layer</li>
204 </ul>
205 </li>
206 <li><strong>diff</strong><br /><code>/includes/diff</code><br />Diff Engine</li>
207 <li><strong>docs</strong><br /><code>/docs</code><br />phpBB Documentation</li>
208 <li><strong>images</strong><br /><code>/images</code><br />All global images not connected to styles</li>
209 <li><strong>install</strong><br /><code>/install</code><br />Installation System</li>
210 <li><strong>language</strong><br /><code>/language</code><br />All language files</li>
211 <li><strong>login</strong><br /><code>/includes/auth</code><br />Login Authentication Plugins</li>
212 <li><strong>VC</strong><br /><code>/includes/captcha</code><br />CAPTCHA</li>
213 <li><strong>mcp</strong><br /><code>mcp.php</code>, <code>/includes/mcp</code>, <code>report.php</code><br />Moderator Control Panel</li>
214 <li><strong>ucp</strong><br /><code>ucp.php</code>, <code>/includes/ucp</code><br />User Control Panel</li>
215 <li><strong>utf</strong><br /><code>/includes/utf</code><br />UTF8-related functions/classes</li>
216 <li><strong>search</strong><br /><code>/includes/search</code>, <code>search.php</code><br />Search System</li>
217 <li><strong>styles</strong><br /><code>/styles</code>, <code>style.php</code><br />phpBB Styles/Templates/Themes/Imagesets</li>
218 </ul>
219
220 </div>
221
222 <div class="back2top"><a href="#wrap" class="top">Back to Top</a></div>
223
224 <span class="corners-bottom"><span></span></span></div>
225 </div>
226
227 <hr />
228
229<a name="code"></a><h2>2. Code Layout/Guidelines</h2>
230
231 <div class="paragraph">
232 <div class="inner"><span class="corners-top"><span></span></span>
233
234 <div class="content">
235
236 <p>Please note that these Guidelines applies to all php, html, javascript and css files.</p>
237
238 <a name="namingvars"></a><h3>2.i. Variable/Function Naming</h3>
239
240 <p>We will not be using any form of hungarian notation in our naming conventions. Many of us believe that hungarian naming is one of the primary code obfuscation techniques currently in use.</p>
241
242 <h4>Variable Names:</h4>
243 <p>Variable names should be in all lowercase, with words separated by an underscore, example:</p>
244
245 <div class="indent">
246 <p><code>$current_user</code> is right, but <code>$currentuser</code> and <code> $currentUser</code> are not.</p>
247 </div>
248
249 <p>Names should be descriptive, but concise. We don't want huge sentences as our variable names, but typing an extra couple of characters is always better than wondering what exactly a certain variable is for. </p>
250
251 <h4>Loop Indices:</h4>
252 <p>The <em>only</em> situation where a one-character variable name is allowed is when it's the index for some looping construct. In this case, the index of the outer loop should always be $i. If there's a loop inside that loop, its index should be $j, followed by $k, and so on. If the loop is being indexed by some already-existing variable with a meaningful name, this guideline does not apply, example:</p>
253
254 <div class="codebox"><pre>
255for ($i = 0; $i &lt; $outer_size; $i++)
256{
257 for ($j = 0; $j &lt; $inner_size; $j++)
258 {
259 foo($i, $j);
260 }
261}
262 </pre></div>
263
264 <h4>Function Names:</h4>
265 <p>Functions should also be named descriptively. We're not programming in C here, we don't want to write functions called things like "stristr()". Again, all lower-case names with words separated by a single underscore character. Function names should preferably have a verb in them somewhere. Good function names are <code>print_login_status()</code>, <code>get_user_data()</code>, etc. </p>
266
267 <h4>Function Arguments:</h4>
268 <p>Arguments are subject to the same guidelines as variable names. We don't want a bunch of functions like: <code>do_stuff($a, $b, $c)</code>. In most cases, we'd like to be able to tell how to use a function by just looking at its declaration. </p>
269
270 <h4>Summary:</h4>
271 <p>The basic philosophy here is to not hurt code clarity for the sake of laziness. This has to be balanced by a little bit of common sense, though; <code>print_login_status_for_a_given_user()</code> goes too far, for example -- that function would be better named <code>print_user_login_status()</code>, or just <code>print_login_status()</code>.</p>
272
273 <h4>Special Namings: </h4>
274 <p>For all emoticons use the term <code>smiley</code> in singular and <code>smilies</code> in plural.</p>
275
276 <a name="codelayout"></a><h3>2.ii. Code Layout</h3>
277
278 <h4>Always include the braces:</h4>
279 <p>This is another case of being too lazy to type 2 extra characters causing problems with code clarity. Even if the body of some construct is only one line long, do <em>not</em> drop the braces. Just don't, examples:</p>
280
281 <p class="bad">// These are all wrong. </p>
282
283 <div class="codebox"><pre>
284if (condition) do_stuff();
285
286if (condition)
287 do_stuff();
288
289while (condition)
290 do_stuff();
291
292for ($i = 0; $i &lt; size; $i++)
293 do_stuff($i);
294 </pre></div>
295
296 <p class="good">// These are all right. </p>
297 <div class="codebox"><pre>
298if (condition)
299{
300 do_stuff();
301}
302
303while (condition)
304{
305 do_stuff();
306}
307
308for ($i = 0; $i &lt; size; $i++)
309{
310 do_stuff();
311}
312 </pre></div>
313
314 <h4>Where to put the braces:</h4>
315 <p>This one is a bit of a holy war, but we're going to use a style that can be summed up in one sentence: Braces always go on their own line. The closing brace should also always be at the same column as the corresponding opening brace, examples:</p>
316
317 <div class="codebox"><pre>
318if (condition)
319{
320 while (condition2)
321 {
322 ...
323 }
324}
325else
326{
327 ...
328}
329
330for ($i = 0; $i &lt; $size; $i++)
331{
332 ...
333}
334
335while (condition)
336{
337 ...
338}
339
340function do_stuff()
341{
342 ...
343}
344 </pre></div>
345
346 <h4>Use spaces between tokens:</h4>
347 <p>This is another simple, easy step that helps keep code readable without much effort. Whenever you write an assignment, expression, etc.. Always leave <em>one</em> space between the tokens. Basically, write code as if it was English. Put spaces between variable names and operators. Don't put spaces just after an opening bracket or before a closing bracket. Don't put spaces just before a comma or a semicolon. This is best shown with a few examples, examples:</p>
348
349 <p>// Each pair shows the wrong way followed by the right way. </p>
350
351 <div class="codebox"><pre>
352$i=0;
353$i = 0;
354
355if($i&lt;7) ...
356if ($i &lt; 7) ...
357
358if ( ($i &lt; 7)&amp;&amp;($j &gt; 8) ) ...
359if ($i &lt; 7 &amp;&amp; $j &gt; 8) ...
360
361do_stuff( $i, 'foo', $b );
362do_stuff($i, 'foo', $b);
363
364for($i=0; $i&lt;$size; $i++) ...
365for ($i = 0; $i &lt; $size; $i++) ...
366
367$i=($j &lt; $size)?0:1;
368$i = ($j &lt; $size) ? 0 : 1;
369 </pre></div>
370
371 <h4>Operator precedence:</h4>
372 <p>Do you know the exact precedence of all the operators in PHP? Neither do I. Don't guess. Always make it obvious by using brackets to force the precedence of an equation so you know what it does. Remember to not over-use this, as it may harden the readability. Basically, do not enclose single expressions. Examples:</p>
373
374 <p class="bad">// what's the result? who knows. </p>
375 <div class="codebox"><pre>
376$bool = ($i &lt; 7 &amp;&amp; $j &gt; 8 || $k == 4);
377 </pre></div>
378
379 <p class="bad">// now you can be certain what I'm doing here.</p>
380 <div class="codebox"><pre>
381$bool = (($i &lt; 7) &amp;&amp; (($j &lt; 8) || ($k == 4)));
382 </pre></div>
383
384 <p class="good">// But this one is even better, because it is easier on the eye but the intention is preserved</p>
385 <div class="codebox"><pre>
386$bool = ($i &lt; 7 &amp;&amp; ($j &lt; 8 || $k == 4));
387 </pre></div>
388
389 <h4>Quoting strings:</h4>
390 <p>There are two different ways to quote strings in PHP - either with single quotes or with double quotes. The main difference is that the parser does variable interpolation in double-quoted strings, but not in single quoted strings. Because of this, you should <em>always</em> use single quotes <em>unless</em> you specifically need variable interpolation to be done on that string. This way, we can save the parser the trouble of parsing a bunch of strings where no interpolation needs to be done.</p>
391 <p>Also, if you are using a string variable as part of a function call, you do not need to enclose that variable in quotes. Again, this will just make unnecessary work for the parser. Note, however, that nearly all of the escape sequences that exist for double-quoted strings will not work with single-quoted strings. Be careful, and feel free to break this guideline if it's making your code easier to read, examples:</p>
392
393 <p class="bad">// wrong </p>
394 <div class="codebox"><pre>
395$str = "This is a really long string with no variables for the parser to find.";
396
397do_stuff("$str");
398 </pre></div>
399
400 <p class="good">// right</p>
401 <div class="codebox"><pre>
402$str = 'This is a really long string with no variables for the parser to find.';
403
404do_stuff($str);
405 </pre></div>
406
407 <p class="bad">// Sometimes single quotes are just not right</p>
408 <div class="codebox"><pre>
409$post_url = $phpbb_root_path . 'posting.' . $phpEx . '?mode=' . $mode . '&amp;amp;start=' . $start;
410 </pre></div>
411
412 <p class="good">// Double quotes are sometimes needed to not overcroud the line with concentinations</p>
413 <div class="codebox"><pre>
414$post_url = "{$phpbb_root_path}posting.$phpEx?mode=$mode&amp;amp;start=$start";
415 </pre></div>
416
417 <p>In SQL Statements mixing single and double quotes is partly allowed (following the guidelines listed here about SQL Formatting), else it should be tryed to only use one method - mostly single quotes.</p>
418
419 <h4>Associative array keys:</h4>
420 <p>In PHP, it's legal to use a literal string as a key to an associative array without quoting that string. We don't want to do this -- the string should always be quoted to avoid confusion. Note that this is only when we're using a literal, not when we're using a variable, examples:</p>
421
422 <p class="bad">// wrong</p>
423 <div class="codebox"><pre>
424$foo = $assoc_array[blah];
425 </pre></div>
426
427 <p class="good">// right </p>
428 <div class="codebox"><pre>
429$foo = $assoc_array['blah'];
430 </pre></div>
431
432 <p class="bad">// wrong</p>
433 <div class="codebox"><pre>
434$foo = $assoc_array["$var"];
435 </pre></div>
436
437 <p class="good">// right </p>
438 <div class="codebox"><pre>
439$foo = $assoc_array[$var];
440 </pre></div>
441
442 <h4>Comments:</h4>
443 <p>Each complex function should be preceded by a comment that tells a programmer everything they need to know to use that function. The meaning of every parameter, the expected input, and the output are required as a minimal comment. The function's behaviour in error conditions (and what those error conditions are) should also be present - but mostly included within the comment about the output.<br /><br />Especially important to document are any assumptions the code makes, or preconditions for its proper operation. Any one of the developers should be able to look at any part of the application and figure out what's going on in a reasonable amount of time.<br /><br />Avoid using <code>/* */</code> comment blocks for one-line comments, <code>//</code> should be used for one/two-liners.</p>
444
445 <h4>Magic numbers:</h4>
446 <p>Don't use them. Use named constants for any literal value other than obvious special cases. Basically, it's ok to check if an array has 0 elements by using the literal 0. It's not ok to assign some special meaning to a number and then use it everywhere as a literal. This hurts readability AND maintainability. The constants <code>true</code> and <code>false</code> should be used in place of the literals 1 and 0 -- even though they have the same values (but not type!), it's more obvious what the actual logic is when you use the named constants. Typecast variables where it is needed, do not rely on the correct variable type (PHP is currently very loose on typecasting which can lead to security problems if a developer does not have a very close eye to it).</p>
447
448 <h4>Shortcut operators:</h4>
449 <p>The only shortcut operators that cause readability problems are the shortcut increment <code>$i++</code> and decrement <code>$j--</code> operators. These operators should not be used as part of an expression. They can, however, be used on their own line. Using them in expressions is just not worth the headaches when debugging, examples:</p>
450
451 <p class="bad">// wrong </p>
452 <div class="codebox"><pre>
453$array[++$i] = $j;
454$array[$i++] = $k;
455 </pre></div>
456
457 <p class="good">// right </p>
458 <div class="codebox"><pre>
459$i++;
460$array[$i] = $j;
461
462$array[$i] = $k;
463$i++;
464 </pre></div>
465
466 <h4>Inline conditionals:</h4>
467 <p>Inline conditionals should only be used to do very simple things. Preferably, they will only be used to do assignments, and not for function calls or anything complex at all. They can be harmful to readability if used incorrectly, so don't fall in love with saving typing by using them, examples:</p>
468
469 <p class="bad">// Bad place to use them</p>
470 <div class="codebox"><pre>
471($i &lt; $size &amp;&amp; $j &gt; $size) ? do_stuff($foo) : do_stuff($bar);
472 </pre></div>
473
474 <p class="good">// OK place to use them </p>
475 <div class="codebox"><pre>
476$min = ($i &lt; $j) ? $i : $j;
477 </pre></div>
478
479 <h4>Don't use uninitialized variables.</h4>
480 <p>For phpBB3, we intend to use a higher level of run-time error reporting. This will mean that the use of an uninitialized variable will be reported as a warning. These warnings can be avoided by using the built-in isset() function to check whether a variable has been set - but preferably the variable is always existing. For checking if an array has a key set this can come in handy though, examples:</p>
481
482 <p class="bad">// Wrong </p>
483 <div class="codebox"><pre>
484if ($forum) ...
485 </pre></div>
486
487 <p class="good">// Right </p>
488 <div class="codebox"><pre>
489if (isset($forum)) ...
490 </pre></div>
491
492 <p class="good">// Also possible</p>
493 <div class="codebox"><pre>
494if (isset($forum) &amp;&amp; $forum == 5)
495 </pre></div>
496
497 <p>The <code>empty()</code> function is useful if you want to check if a variable is not set or being empty (an empty string, 0 as an integer or string, NULL, false, an empty array or a variable declared, but without a value in a class). Therefore empty should be used in favor of <code>isset($array) &amp;&amp; sizeof($array) &gt; 0</code> - this can be written in a shorter way as <code>!empty($array)</code>.</p>
498
499 <h4>Switch statements:</h4>
500 <p>Switch/case code blocks can get a bit long sometimes. To have some level of notice and being in-line with the opening/closing brace requirement (where they are on the same line for better readability), this also applies to switch/case code blocks and the breaks. An example:</p>
501
502 <p class="bad">// Wrong </p>
503 <div class="codebox"><pre>
504switch ($mode)
505{
506 case 'mode1':
507 // I am doing something here
508 break;
509 case 'mode2':
510 // I am doing something completely different here
511 break;
512}
513 </pre></div>
514
515 <p class="good">// Good </p>
516 <div class="codebox"><pre>
517switch ($mode)
518{
519 case 'mode1':
520 // I am doing something here
521 break;
522
523 case 'mode2':
524 // I am doing something completely different here
525 break;
526
527 default:
528 // Always assume that a case was not caught
529 break;
530}
531 </pre></div>
532
533 <p class="good">// Also good, if you have more code between the case and the break </p>
534 <div class="codebox"><pre>
535switch ($mode)
536{
537 case 'mode1':
538
539 // I am doing something here
540
541 break;
542
543 case 'mode2':
544
545 // I am doing something completely different here
546
547 break;
548
549 default:
550
551 // Always assume that a case was not caught
552
553 break;
554}
555 </pre></div>
556
557 <p>Even if the break for the default case is not needed, it is sometimes better to include it just for readability and completeness.</p>
558
559 <p>If no break is intended, please add a comment instead. An example:</p>
560
561 <p class="good">// Example with no break </p>
562 <div class="codebox"><pre>
563switch ($mode)
564{
565 case 'mode1':
566
567 // I am doing something here
568
569 // no break here
570
571 case 'mode2':
572
573 // I am doing something completely different here
574
575 break;
576
577 default:
578
579 // Always assume that a case was not caught
580
581 break;
582}
583 </pre></div>
584
585 <a name="sql"></a><h3>2.iii. SQL/SQL Layout</h3>
586
587 <h4>Common SQL Guidelines: </h4>
588 <p>All SQL should be cross-DB compatible, if DB specific SQL is used alternatives must be provided which work on all supported DB's (MySQL3/4/5, MSSQL (7.0 and 2000), PostgreSQL (7.0+), Firebird, SQLite, Oracle8, ODBC (generalised if possible)).</p>
589 <p>All SQL commands should utilise the DataBase Abstraction Layer (DBAL)</p>
590
591 <h4>SQL code layout:</h4>
592 <p>SQL Statements are often unreadable without some formatting, since they tend to be big at times. Though the formatting of sql statements adds a lot to the readability of code. SQL statements should be formatted in the following way, basically writing keywords: </p>
593
594 <div class="codebox"><pre>
595$sql = 'SELECT *
596&lt;-one tab-&gt;FROM ' . SOME_TABLE . '
597&lt;-one tab-&gt;WHERE a = 1
598&lt;-two tabs-&gt;AND (b = 2
599&lt;-three tabs-&gt;OR b = 3)
600&lt;-one tab-&gt;ORDER BY b';
601 </pre></div>
602
603 <p>Here the example with the tabs applied:</p>
604
605 <div class="codebox"><pre>
606$sql = 'SELECT *
607 FROM ' . SOME_TABLE . '
608 WHERE a = 1
609 AND (b = 2
610 OR b = 3)
611 ORDER BY b';
612 </pre></div>
613
614 <h4>SQL Quotes: </h4>
615 <p>Double quotes where applicable (The variables in these examples are typecasted to integers before) ... examples: </p>
616
617 <p class="bad">// These are wrong.</p>
618 <div class="codebox"><pre>
619"UPDATE " . SOME_TABLE . " SET something = something_else WHERE a = $b";
620
621'UPDATE ' . SOME_TABLE . ' SET something = ' . $user_id . ' WHERE a = ' . $something;
622 </pre></div>
623
624 <p class="good">// These are right. </p>
625
626 <div class="codebox"><pre>
627'UPDATE ' . SOME_TABLE . " SET something = something_else WHERE a = $b";
628
629'UPDATE ' . SOME_TABLE . " SET something = $user_id WHERE a = $something";
630 </pre></div>
631
632 <p>In other words use single quotes where no variable substitution is required or where the variable involved shouldn't appear within double quotes. Otherwise use double quotes.</p>
633
634 <h4>Avoid DB specific SQL: </h4>
635 <p>The &quot;not equals operator&quot;, as defined by the SQL:2003 standard, is &quot;&lt;&gt;&quot;</p>
636
637 <p class="bad">// This is wrong.</p>
638 <div class="codebox"><pre>
639$sql = 'SELECT *
640 FROM ' . SOME_TABLE . '
641 WHERE a != 2';
642 </pre></div>
643
644 <p class="good">// This is right. </p>
645 <div class="codebox"><pre>
646$sql = 'SELECT *
647 FROM ' . SOME_TABLE . '
648 WHERE a &lt;&gt; 2';
649 </pre></div>
650
651 <h4>Common DBAL methods: </h4>
652
653 <h4>sql_escape():</h4>
654
655 <p>Always use <code>$db-&gt;sql_escape()</code> if you need to check for a string within an SQL statement (even if you are sure the variable cannot contain single quotes - never trust your input), for example:</p>
656
657 <div class="codebox"><pre>
658$sql = 'SELECT *
659 FROM ' . SOME_TABLE . "
660 WHERE username = '" . $db-&gt;sql_escape($username) . "'";
661 </pre></div>
662
663 <h4>sql_query_limit():</h4>
664
665 <p>We do not add limit statements to the sql query, but instead use <code>$db-&gt;sql_query_limit()</code>. You basically pass the query, the total number of lines to retrieve and the offset.</p>
666
667 <p><strong>Note: </strong> Since Oracle handles limits differently and because of how we implemented this handling you need to take special care if you use <code>sql_query_limit</code> with an sql query retrieving data from more than one table.</p>
668
669 <p>Make sure when using something like "SELECT x.*, y.jars" that there is not a column named jars in x; make sure that there is no overlap between an implicit column and the explicit columns.</p>
670
671 <h4>sql_build_array():</h4>
672
673 <p>If you need to UPDATE or INSERT data, make use of the <code>$db-&gt;sql_build_array()</code> function. This function already escapes strings and checks other types, so there is no need to do this here. The data to be inserted should go into an array - <code>$sql_ary</code> - or directly within the statement if one or two variables needs to be inserted/updated. An example of an insert statement would be:</p>
674
675 <div class="codebox"><pre>
676$sql_ary = array(
677 'somedata' =&gt; $my_string,
678 'otherdata' =&gt; $an_int,
679 'moredata' =&gt; $another_int
680);
681
682$db-&gt;sql_query('INSERT INTO ' . SOME_TABLE . ' ' . $db-&gt;sql_build_array('INSERT', $sql_ary));
683 </pre></div>
684
685 <p>To complete the example, this is how an update statement would look like:</p>
686
687 <div class="codebox"><pre>
688$sql_ary = array(
689 'somedata' =&gt; $my_string,
690 'otherdata' =&gt; $an_int,
691 'moredata' =&gt; $another_int
692);
693
694$sql = 'UPDATE ' . SOME_TABLE . '
695 SET ' . $db-&gt;sql_build_array('UPDATE', $sql_ary) . '
696 WHERE user_id = ' . (int) $user_id;
697$db-&gt;sql_query($sql);
698 </pre></div>
699
700 <p>The <code>$db-&gt;sql_build_array()</code> function supports the following modes: <code>INSERT</code> (example above), <code>INSERT_SELECT</code> (building query for <code>INSERT INTO table (...) SELECT value, column ...</code> statements), <code>UPDATE</code> (example above) and <code>SELECT</code> (for building WHERE statement [AND logic]).</p>
701
702 <h4>sql_multi_insert():</h4>
703
704 <p>If you want to insert multiple statements at once, please use the separate <code>sql_multi_insert()</code> method. An example:</p>
705
706 <div class="codebox"><pre>
707$sql_ary = array();
708
709$sql_ary[] = array(
710 'somedata' =&gt; $my_string_1,
711 'otherdata' =&gt; $an_int_1,
712 'moredata' =&gt; $another_int_1,
713);
714
715$sql_ary[] = array(
716 'somedata' =&gt; $my_string_2,
717 'otherdata' =&gt; $an_int_2,
718 'moredata' =&gt; $another_int_2,
719);
720
721$db->sql_multi_insert(SOME_TABLE, $sql_ary);
722 </pre></div>
723
724 <h4>sql_in_set():</h4>
725
726 <p>The <code>$db-&gt;sql_in_set()</code> function should be used for building <code>IN ()</code> and <code>NOT IN ()</code> constructs. Since (specifically) MySQL tend to be faster if for one value to be compared the <code>=</code> and <code>&lt;&gt;</code> operator is used, we let the DBAL decide what to do. A typical example of doing a positive match against a number of values would be:</p>
727
728 <div class="codebox"><pre>
729$sql = 'SELECT *
730 FROM ' . FORUMS_TABLE . '
731 WHERE ' . $db-&gt;sql_in_set('forum_id', $forum_ids);
732$db-&gt;sql_query($sql);
733 </pre></div>
734
735 <p>Based on the number of values in $forum_ids, the query can look differently.</p>
736
737 <p class="good">// SQL Statement if $forum_ids = array(1, 2, 3);</p>
738
739 <div class="codebox"><pre>
740SELECT FROM phpbb_forums WHERE forum_id IN (1, 2, 3)
741 </pre></div>
742
743 <p class="good">// SQL Statement if $forum_ids = array(1) or $forum_ids = 1</p>
744
745 <div class="codebox"><pre>
746SELECT FROM phpbb_forums WHERE forum_id = 1
747 </pre></div>
748
749 <p>Of course the same is possible for doing a negative match against a number of values:</p>
750
751 <div class="codebox"><pre>
752$sql = 'SELECT *
753 FROM ' . FORUMS_TABLE . '
754 WHERE ' . $db-&gt;sql_in_set('forum_id', $forum_ids, <strong>true</strong>);
755$db-&gt;sql_query($sql);
756 </pre></div>
757
758 <p>Based on the number of values in $forum_ids, the query can look differently here too.</p>
759
760 <p class="good">// SQL Statement if $forum_ids = array(1, 2, 3);</p>
761
762 <div class="codebox"><pre>
763SELECT FROM phpbb_forums WHERE forum_id <strong>NOT</strong> IN (1, 2, 3)
764 </pre></div>
765
766 <p class="good">// SQL Statement if $forum_ids = array(1) or $forum_ids = 1</p>
767
768 <div class="codebox"><pre>
769SELECT FROM phpbb_forums WHERE forum_id <strong>&lt;&gt;</strong> 1
770 </pre></div>
771
772 <p>If the given array is empty, an error will be produced.</p>
773
774 <h4>sql_build_query():</h4>
775
776 <p>The <code>$db-&gt;sql_build_query()</code> function is responsible for building sql statements for select and select distinct queries if you need to JOIN on more than one table or retrieving data from more than one table while doing a JOIN. This needs to be used to make sure the resulting statement is working on all supported db's. Instead of explaining every possible combination, i will give a short example:</p>
777
778 <div class="codebox"><pre>
779$sql_array = array(
780 'SELECT' =&gt; 'f.*, ft.mark_time',
781
782 'FROM' =&gt; array(
783 FORUMS_WATCH_TABLE =&gt; 'fw',
784 FORUMS_TABLE =&gt; 'f'
785 ),
786
787 'LEFT_JOIN' =&gt; array(
788 array(
789 'FROM' =&gt; array(FORUMS_TRACK_TABLE =&gt; 'ft'),
790 'ON' =&gt; 'ft.user_id = ' . $user-&gt;data['user_id'] . ' AND ft.forum_id = f.forum_id'
791 )
792 ),
793
794 'WHERE' =&gt; 'fw.user_id = ' . $user-&gt;data['user_id'] . '
795 AND f.forum_id = fw.forum_id',
796
797 'ORDER_BY' =&gt; 'left_id'
798);
799
800$sql = $db-&gt;sql_build_query('SELECT', $sql_array);
801 </pre></div>
802
803 <p>The possible first parameter for sql_build_query() is SELECT or SELECT_DISTINCT. As you can see, the logic is pretty self-explaining. For the LEFT_JOIN key, just add another array if you want to join on to tables for example. The added benefit of using this construct is that you are able to easily build the query statement based on conditions - for example the above LEFT_JOIN is only necessary if server side topic tracking is enabled; a slight adjustement would be:</p>
804
805 <div class="codebox"><pre>
806$sql_array = array(
807 'SELECT' =&gt; 'f.*',
808
809 'FROM' =&gt; array(
810 FORUMS_WATCH_TABLE =&gt; 'fw',
811 FORUMS_TABLE =&gt; 'f'
812 ),
813
814 'WHERE' =&gt; 'fw.user_id = ' . $user-&gt;data['user_id'] . '
815 AND f.forum_id = fw.forum_id',
816
817 'ORDER_BY' =&gt; 'left_id'
818);
819
820if ($config['load_db_lastread'])
821{
822 $sql_array['LEFT_JOIN'] = array(
823 array(
824 'FROM' =&gt; array(FORUMS_TRACK_TABLE =&gt; 'ft'),
825 'ON' =&gt; 'ft.user_id = ' . $user-&gt;data['user_id'] . ' AND ft.forum_id = f.forum_id'
826 )
827 );
828
829 $sql_array['SELECT'] .= ', ft.mark_time ';
830}
831else
832{
833 // Here we read the cookie data
834}
835
836$sql = $db-&gt;sql_build_query('SELECT', $sql_array);
837 </pre></div>
838
839 <a name="optimizing"></a><h3>2.iv. Optimizations</h3>
840
841 <h4>Operations in loop definition: </h4>
842 <p>Always try to optimize your loops if operations are going on at the comparing part, since this part is executed every time the loop is parsed through. For assignments a descriptive name should be chosen. Example:</p>
843
844 <p class="bad">// On every iteration the sizeof function is called</p>
845 <div class="codebox"><pre>
846for ($i = 0; $i &lt; sizeof($post_data); $i++)
847{
848 do_something();
849}
850 </pre></div>
851
852 <p class="good">// You are able to assign the (not changing) result within the loop itself</p>
853 <div class="codebox"><pre>
854for ($i = 0, $size = sizeof($post_data); $i &lt; $size; $i++)
855{
856 do_something();
857}
858 </pre></div>
859
860 <h4>Use of in_array(): </h4>
861 <p>Try to avoid using in_array() on huge arrays, and try to not place them into loops if the array to check consist of more than 20 entries. in_array() can be very time consuming and uses a lot of cpu processing time. For little checks it is not noticable, but if checked against a huge array within a loop those checks alone can be a bunch of seconds. If you need this functionality, try using isset() on the arrays keys instead, actually shifting the values into keys and vice versa. A call to <code>isset($array[$var])</code> is a lot faster than <code>in_array($var, array_keys($array))</code> for example.</p>
862
863
864 <a name="general"></a><h3>2.v. General Guidelines</h3>
865
866 <h4>General things:</h4>
867 <p>Never trust user input (this also applies to server variables as well as cookies).</p>
868 <p>Try to sanitize values returned from a function.</p>
869 <p>Try to sanitize given function variables within your function.</p>
870 <p>The auth class should be used for all authorisation checking.</p>
871 <p>No attempt should be made to remove any copyright information (either contained within the source or displayed interactively when the source is run/compiled), neither should the copyright information be altered in any way (it may be added to).</p>
872
873 <h4>Variables: </h4>
874 <p>Make use of the <code>request_var()</code> function for anything except for submit or single checking params. </p>
875 <p>The request_var function determines the type to set from the second parameter (which determines the default value too). If you need to get a scalar variable type, you need to tell this the request_var function explicitly. Examples:</p>
876
877 <p class="bad">// Old method, do not use it</p>
878 <div class="codebox"><pre>
879$start = (isset($HTTP_GET_VARS['start'])) ? intval($HTTP_GET_VARS['start']) : intval($HTTP_POST_VARS['start']);
880$submit = (isset($HTTP_POST_VARS['submit'])) ? true : false;
881 </pre></div>
882
883 <p class="good">// Use request var and define a default variable (use the correct type)</p>
884 <div class="codebox"><pre>
885$start = request_var('start', 0);
886$submit = (isset($_POST['submit'])) ? true : false;
887 </pre></div>
888
889 <p class="bad">// $start is an int, the following use of request_var therefore is not allowed</p>
890 <div class="codebox"><pre>
891$start = request_var('start', '0');
892 </pre></div>
893
894 <p class="good">// Getting an array, keys are integers, value defaults to 0</p>
895 <div class="codebox"><pre>
896$mark_array = request_var('mark', array(0));
897 </pre></div>
898
899 <p class="good">// Getting an array, keys are strings, value defaults to 0</p>
900 <div class="codebox"><pre>
901$action_ary = request_var('action', array('' =&gt; 0));
902 </pre></div>
903
904 <h4>Login checks/redirection: </h4>
905 <p>To show a forum login box use <code>login_forum_box($forum_data)</code>, else use the <code>login_box()</code> function.</p>
906
907 <p>The <code>login_box()</code> function can have a redirect as the first parameter. As a thumb of rule, specify an empty string if you want to redirect to the users current location, else do not add the <code>$SID</code> to the redirect string (for example within the ucp/login we redirect to the board index because else the user would be redirected to the login screen).</p>
908
909 <h4>Sensitive Operations: </h4>
910 <p>For sensitive operations always let the user confirm the action. For the confirmation screens, make use of the <code>confirm_box()</code> function.</p>
911
912 <h4>Altering Operations: </h4>
913 <p>For operations altering the state of the database, for instance posting, always verify the form token, unless you are already using <code>confirm_box()</code>. To do so, make use of the <code>add_form_key()</code> and <code>check_form_key()</code> functions. </p>
914 <div class="codebox"><pre>
915 add_form_key('my_form');
916
917 if ($submit)
918 {
919 if (!check_form_key('my_form'))
920 {
921 trigger_error('FORM_INVALID');
922 }
923 }
924 </pre></div>
925
926 <p>The string passed to <code>add_form_key()</code> needs to match the string passed to <code>check_form_key()</code>. Another requirement for this to work correctly is that all forms include the <code>{S_FORM_TOKEN}</code> template variable.</p>
927
928
929 <h4>Sessions: </h4>
930 <p>Sessions should be initiated on each page, as near the top as possible using the following code:</p>
931
932 <div class="codebox"><pre>
933$user-&gt;session_begin();
934$auth-&gt;acl($user-&gt;data);
935$user-&gt;setup();
936 </pre></div>
937
938 <p>The <code>$user-&gt;setup()</code> call can be used to pass on additional language definition and a custom style (used in viewforum).</p>
939
940 <h4>Errors and messages: </h4>
941 <p>All messages/errors should be outputed by calling <code>trigger_error()</code> using the appropriate message type and language string. Example:</p>
942
943 <div class="codebox"><pre>
944trigger_error('NO_FORUM');
945 </pre></div>
946
947 <div class="codebox"><pre>
948trigger_error($user-&gt;lang['NO_FORUM']);
949 </pre></div>
950
951 <div class="codebox"><pre>
952trigger_error('NO_MODE', E_USER_ERROR);
953 </pre></div>
954
955 <h4>Url formatting</h4>
956
957 <p>All urls pointing to internal files need to be prepended by the <code>$phpbb_root_path</code> variable. Within the administration control panel all urls pointing to internal files need to be prepended by the <code>$phpbb_admin_path</code> variable. This makes sure the path is always correct and users being able to just rename the admin folder and the acp still working as intended (though some links will fail and the code need to be slightly adjusted).</p>
958
959 <p>The <code>append_sid()</code> function from 2.0.x is available too, though does not handle url alterations automatically. Please have a look at the code documentation if you want to get more details on how to use append_sid(). A sample call to append_sid() can look like this:</p>
960
961 <div class="codebox"><pre>
962append_sid(&quot;{$phpbb_root_path}memberlist.$phpEx&quot;, 'mode=group&amp;amp;g=' . $row['group_id'])
963 </pre></div>
964
965 <h4>General function usage: </h4>
966
967 <p>Some of these functions are only chosen over others because of personal preference and having no other benefit than to be consistant over the code.</p>
968
969 <ul>
970 <li>
971 <p>Use <code>sizeof</code> instead of <code>count</code></p>
972 </li>
973 <li>
974 <p>Use <code>strpos</code> instead of <code>strstr</code></p>
975 </li>
976 <li>
977 <p>Use <code>else if</code> instead of <code>elseif</code></p>
978 </li>
979 <li>
980 <p>Use <code>false</code> (lowercase) instead of <code>FALSE</code></p>
981 </li>
982 <li>
983 <p>Use <code>true</code> (lowercase) instead of <code>TRUE</code></p>
984 </li>
985 </ul>
986
987 <h4>Exiting</h4>
988
989 <p>Your page should either call <code>page_footer()</code> in the end to trigger output through the template engine and terminate the script, or alternatively at least call the <code>exit_handler()</code>. That call is necessary because it provides a method for external applications embedding phpBB to be called at the end of the script.</p>
990
991 </div>
992
993 <div class="back2top"><a href="#wrap" class="top">Back to Top</a></div>
994
995 <span class="corners-bottom"><span></span></span></div>
996 </div>
997
998 <hr />
999
1000<a name="styling"></a><h2>3. Styling</h2>
1001 <div class="paragraph">
1002 <div class="inner"><span class="corners-top"><span></span></span>
1003
1004 <div class="content">
1005 <a name="cfgfiles"></a><h3>3.i. Style Config Files</h3>
1006 <p>Style cfg files are simple name-value lists with the information necessary for installing a style. Similar cfg files exist for templates, themes and imagesets. These follow the same principle and will not be introduced individually. Styles can use installed components by using the required_theme/required_template/required_imageset entries. The important part of the style configuration file is assigning an unique name.</p>
1007 <div class="codebox"><pre>
1008 # General Information about this style
1009 name = prosilver_duplicate
1010 copyright = &copy; phpBB Group, 2007
1011 version = 3.0.3
1012 required_template = prosilver
1013 required_theme = prosilver
1014 required_imageset = prosilver
1015 </pre></div>
1016 <a name="genstyling"></a><h3>3.2. General Styling Rules</h3>
1017<p>Templates should be produced in a consistent manner. Where appropriate they should be based off an existing copy, e.g. index, viewforum or viewtopic (the combination of which implement a range of conditional and variable forms). Please also note that the intendation and coding guidelines also apply to templates where possible.</p>
1018
1019<p>The outer table class <code>forumline</code> has gone and is replaced with <code>tablebg</code>.</p>
1020<p>When writing <code>&lt;table&gt;</code> the order <code>&lt;table class="" cellspacing="" cellpadding="" border="" align=""&gt;</code> creates consistency and allows everyone to easily see which table produces which "look". The same applies to most other tags for which additional parameters can be set, consistency is the major aim here.</p>
1021<p>Each block level element should be indented by one tab, same for tabular elements, e.g. <code>&lt;tr&gt;</code> <code>&lt;td&gt;</code> etc., whereby the intendiation of <code>&lt;table&gt;</code> and the following/ending <code>&lt;tr&gt;</code> should be on the same line. This applies not to div elements of course.</p>
1022<p>Don't use <code>&lt;span&gt;</code> more than is essential ... the CSS is such that text sizes are dependent on the parent class. So writing <code>&lt;span class="gensmall"&gt;&lt;span class="gensmall"&gt;TEST&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</code> will result in very very small text. Similarly don't use span at all if another element can contain the class definition, e.g.</p>
1023
1024<div class="codebox"><pre>
1025&lt;td&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;gensmall&quot;&gt;TEST&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
1026</pre></div>
1027
1028<p>can just as well become:</p>
1029<div class="codebox"><pre>
1030&lt;td class=&quot;gensmall&quot;&gt;TEST&lt;/td&gt;
1031</pre></div>
1032
1033<p>Try to match text class types with existing useage, e.g. don't use the nav class where viewtopic uses gensmall for example.</p>
1034
1035<p>Row colours/classes are now defined by the template, use an <code>IF S_ROW_COUNT</code> switch, see viewtopic or viewforum for an example.</p>
1036
1037<p>Remember block level ordering is important ... while not all pages validate as XHTML 1.0 Strict compliant it is something we're trying to work too.</p>
1038
1039<p>Use a standard cellpadding of 2 and cellspacing of 0 on outer tables. Inner tables can vary from 0 to 3 or even 4 depending on the need.</p>
1040
1041<p><strong>Use div container/css for styling and table for data representation.</strong></p>
1042
1043<p>The separate catXXXX and thXXX classes are gone. When defining a header cell just use <code>&lt;th&gt;</code> rather than <code>&lt;th class="thHead"&gt;</code> etc. Similarly for cat, don't use <code>&lt;td class="catLeft"&gt;</code> use <code>&lt;td class="cat"&gt;</code> etc.</p>
1044
1045<p>Try to retain consistency of basic layout and class useage, i.e. _EXPLAIN text should generally be placed below the title it explains, e.g. <code>{L_POST_USERNAME}&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span class="gensmall"&gt;{L_POST_USERNAME_EXPLAIN}&lt;/span&gt;</code> is the typical way of handling this ... there may be exceptions and this isn't a hard and fast rule.</p>
1046
1047<p>Try to keep template conditional and other statements tabbed in line with the block to which they refer.</p>
1048
1049<p class="good">this is correct</p>
1050<div class="codebox"><pre>
1051<span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN test --&gt;</span>
1052 &lt;tr&gt;
1053 &lt;td&gt;&#123;test.TEXT&#125;&lt;/td&gt;
1054 &lt;/tr&gt;
1055<span class="comment">&lt;!-- END test --&gt;</span>
1056</pre></div>
1057
1058<p class="good">this is also correct:</p>
1059<div class="codebox"><pre>
1060<span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN test --&gt;</span>
1061&lt;tr&gt;
1062 &lt;td&gt;&#123;test.TEXT&#125;&lt;/td&gt;
1063&lt;/tr&gt;
1064<span class="comment">&lt;!-- END test --&gt;</span>
1065</pre></div>
1066
1067<p>it gives immediate feedback on exactly what is looping - decide which way to use based on the readability.</p>
1068
1069 </div>
1070
1071 <div class="back2top"><a href="#wrap" class="top">Back to Top</a></div>
1072
1073 <span class="corners-bottom"><span></span></span></div>
1074 </div>
1075
1076 <hr />
1077
1078<a name="templating"></a><h2>4. Templating</h2>
1079 <div class="paragraph">
1080 <div class="inner"><span class="corners-top"><span></span></span>
1081
1082 <div class="content">
1083 <a name="templates"></a><h3>4.i. General Templating</h3>
1084
1085<h4>File naming</h4>
1086<p>Firstly templates now take the suffix &quot;.html&quot; rather than &quot;.tpl&quot;. This was done simply to make the lifes of some people easier wrt syntax highlighting, etc.</p>
1087
1088<h4>Variables</h4>
1089<p>All template variables should be named appropriately (using underscores for spaces), language entries should be prefixed with L_, system data with S_, urls with U_, javascript urls with UA_, language to be put in javascript statements with LA_, all other variables should be presented 'as is'.</p>
1090
1091<p>L_* template variables are automatically tried to be mapped to the corresponding language entry if the code does not set (and therefore overwrite) this variable specifically. For example <code>{L_USERNAME}</code> maps to <code>$user-&gt;lang['USERNAME']</code>. The LA_* template variables are handled within the same way, but properly escaped to be put in javascript code. This should reduce the need to assign loads of new lang vars in Modifications.
1092</p>
1093
1094<h4>Blocks/Loops</h4>
1095<p>The basic block level loop remains and takes the form:</p>
1096<div class="codebox"><pre>
1097<span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN loopname --&gt;</span>
1098 markup, {loopname&#46;X_YYYYY}, etc&#46;
1099<span class="comment">&lt;!-- END loopname --&gt;</span>
1100</pre></div>
1101
1102<p>A bit later loops will be explained further. To not irritate you we will explain conditionals as well as other statements first.</p>
1103
1104<h4>Including files</h4>
1105<p>Something that existed in 2.0.x which no longer exists in 3.0.x is the ability to assign a template to a variable. This was used (for example) to output the jumpbox. Instead (perhaps better, perhaps not but certainly more flexible) we now have INCLUDE. This takes the simple form:</p>
1106
1107<div class="codebox"><pre>
1108<span class="comment">&lt;!-- INCLUDE filename --&gt;</span>
1109</pre></div>
1110
1111<p>You will note in the 3.0 templates the major sources start with <code>&lt;!-- INCLUDE overall_header.html --&gt;</code> or <code>&lt;!-- INCLUDE simple_header.html --&gt;</code>, etc. In 2.0.x control of &quot;which&quot; header to use was defined entirely within the code. In 3.0.x the template designer can output what they like. Note that you can introduce new templates (i.e. other than those in the default set) using this system and include them as you wish ... perhaps useful for a common &quot;menu&quot; bar or some such. No need to modify loads of files as with 2.0.x.</p>
1112
1113<h4>PHP</h4>
1114<p>A contentious decision has seen the ability to include PHP within the template introduced. This is achieved by enclosing the PHP within relevant tags:</p>
1115
1116<div class="codebox"><pre>
1117<span class="comment">&lt;!-- PHP --&gt;</span>
1118 echo &quot;hello!&quot;;
1119<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDPHP --&gt;</span>
1120</pre></div>
1121
1122<p>You may also include PHP from an external file using:</p>
1123
1124<div class="codebox"><pre>
1125<span class="comment">&lt;!-- INCLUDEPHP somefile&#46;php --&gt;</span>
1126</pre></div>
1127
1128<p>it will be included and executed inline.<br /><br />A note, it is very much encouraged that template designers do not include PHP. The ability to include raw PHP was introduced primarily to allow end users to include banner code, etc. without modifying multiple files (as with 2.0.x). It was not intended for general use ... hence <!-- w --><a href="http://www.phpbb.com">www.phpbb.com</a><!-- w --> will <strong>not</strong> make available template sets which include PHP. And by default templates will have PHP disabled (the admin will need to specifically activate PHP for a template).</p>
1129
1130<h4>Conditionals/Control structures</h4>
1131<p>The most significant addition to 3.0.x are conditions or control structures, &quot;if something then do this else do that&quot;. The system deployed is very similar to Smarty. This may confuse some people at first but it offers great potential and great flexibility with a little imagination. In their most simple form these constructs take the form:</p>
1132
1133<div class="codebox"><pre>
1134<span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF expr --&gt;</span>
1135 markup
1136<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1137</pre></div>
1138
1139<p>expr can take many forms, for example:</p>
1140
1141<div class="codebox"><pre>
1142<span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF loop&#46;S_ROW_COUNT is even --&gt;</span>
1143 markup
1144<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1145</pre></div>
1146
1147<p>This will output the markup if the S_ROW_COUNT variable in the current iteration of loop is an even value (i.e. the expr is TRUE). You can use various comparison methods (standard as well as equivalent textual versions noted in square brackets) including (<code>not, or, and, eq, neq, is</code> should be used if possible for better readability):</p>
1148
1149<div class="codebox"><pre>
1150== [eq]
1151!= [neq, ne]
1152&lt;&gt; (same as !=)
1153!== (not equivalent in value and type)
1154=== (equivalent in value and type)
1155&gt; [gt]
1156&lt; [lt]
1157&gt;= [gte]
1158&lt;= [lte]
1159&amp;&amp; [and]
1160|| [or]
1161% [mod]
1162! [not]
1163+
1164-
1165*
1166/
1167,
1168&lt;&lt; (bitwise shift left)
1169&gt;&gt; (bitwise shift right)
1170| (bitwise or)
1171^ (bitwise xor)
1172&amp; (bitwise and)
1173~ (bitwise not)
1174is (can be used to join comparison operations)
1175</pre></div>
1176
1177<p>Basic parenthesis can also be used to enforce good old BODMAS rules. Additionally some basic comparison types are defined:</p>
1178
1179<div class="codebox"><pre>
1180even
1181odd
1182div
1183</pre></div>
1184
1185<p>Beyond the simple use of IF you can also do a sequence of comparisons using the following:</p>
1186
1187<div class="codebox"><pre>
1188<span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF expr1 --&gt;</span>
1189 markup
1190<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSEIF expr2 --&gt;</span>
1191 markup
1192 &#46;
1193 &#46;
1194 &#46;
1195<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSEIF exprN --&gt;</span>
1196 markup
1197<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSE --&gt;</span>
1198 markup
1199<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1200</pre></div>
1201
1202<p>Each statement will be tested in turn and the relevant output generated when a match (if a match) is found. It is not necessary to always use ELSEIF, ELSE can be used alone to match &quot;everything else&quot;.<br /><br />So what can you do with all this? Well take for example the colouration of rows in viewforum. In 2.0.x row colours were predefined within the source as either row color1, row color2 or row class1, row class2. In 3.0.x this is moved to the template, it may look a little daunting at first but remember control flows from top to bottom and it's not too difficult:</p>
1203
1204<div class="codebox"><pre>
1205&lt;table&gt;
1206 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF loop&#46;S_ROW_COUNT is even --&gt;</span>
1207 &lt;tr class=&quot;row1&quot;&gt;
1208 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSE --&gt;</span>
1209 &lt;tr class=&quot;row2&quot;&gt;
1210 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1211 &lt;td&gt;HELLO!&lt;/td&gt;
1212&lt;/tr&gt;
1213&lt;/table&gt;
1214</pre></div>
1215
1216<p>This will cause the row cell to be output using class row1 when the row count is even, and class row2 otherwise. The S_ROW_COUNT parameter gets assigned to loops by default. Another example would be the following: </p>
1217
1218<div class="codebox"><pre>
1219&lt;table&gt;
1220 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF loop&#46;S_ROW_COUNT &gt; 10 --&gt;</span>
1221 &lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#FF0000&quot;&gt;
1222 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSEIF loop&#46;S_ROW_COUNT &gt; 5 --&gt;</span>
1223 &lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#00FF00&quot;&gt;
1224 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSEIF loop&#46;S_ROW_COUNT &gt; 2 --&gt;</span>
1225 &lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#0000FF&quot;&gt;
1226 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSE --&gt;</span>
1227 &lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#FF00FF&quot;&gt;
1228 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1229 &lt;td&gt;hello!&lt;/td&gt;
1230&lt;/tr&gt;
1231&lt;/table&gt;
1232</pre></div>
1233
1234<p>This will output the row cell in purple for the first two rows, blue for rows 2 to 5, green for rows 5 to 10 and red for remainder. So, you could produce a &quot;nice&quot; gradient effect, for example.<br /><br />What else can you do? Well, you could use IF to do common checks on for example the login state of a user:</p>
1235
1236<div class="codebox"><pre>
1237<span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF S_USER_LOGGED_IN --&gt;</span>
1238 markup
1239<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1240</pre></div>
1241
1242<p>This replaces the existing (fudged) method in 2.0.x using a zero length array and BEGIN/END.</p>
1243
1244<h4>Extended syntax for Blocks/Loops</h4>
1245
1246<p>Back to our loops - they had been extended with the following additions. Firstly you can set the start and end points of the loop. For example:</p>
1247
1248<div class="codebox"><pre>
1249<span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN loopname(2) --&gt;</span>
1250 markup
1251<span class="comment">&lt;!-- END loopname --&gt;</span>
1252</pre></div>
1253
1254<p>Will start the loop on the third entry (note that indexes start at zero). Extensions of this are:
1255<br /><br />
1256<code>loopname(2)</code>: Will start the loop on the 3rd entry<br />
1257<code>loopname(-2)</code>: Will start the loop two entries from the end<br />
1258<code>loopname(3,4)</code>: Will start the loop on the fourth entry and end it on the fifth<br />
1259<code>loopname(3,-4)</code>: Will start the loop on the fourth entry and end it four from last<br />
1260</p>
1261
1262<p>A further extension to begin is BEGINELSE:</p>
1263
1264<div class="codebox"><pre>
1265<span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN loop --&gt;</span>
1266 markup
1267<span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGINELSE --&gt;</span>
1268 markup
1269<span class="comment">&lt;!-- END loop --&gt;</span>
1270</pre></div>
1271
1272<p>This will cause the markup between <code>BEGINELSE</code> and <code>END</code> to be output if the loop contains no values. This is useful for forums with no topics (for example) ... in some ways it replaces &quot;bits of&quot; the existing &quot;switch_&quot; type control (the rest being replaced by conditionals).</p>
1273
1274<p>Another way of checking if a loop contains values is by prefixing the loops name with a dot:</p>
1275
1276<div class="codebox"><pre>
1277<span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF .loop --&gt;</span>
1278 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN loop --&gt;</span>
1279 markup
1280 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- END loop --&gt;</span>
1281<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSE --&gt;</span>
1282 markup
1283<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1284</pre></div>
1285
1286<p>You are even able to check the number of items within a loop by comparing it with values within the IF condition:</p>
1287
1288<div class="codebox"><pre>
1289<span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF .loop &gt; 2 --&gt;</span>
1290 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN loop --&gt;</span>
1291 markup
1292 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- END loop --&gt;</span>
1293<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSE --&gt;</span>
1294 markup
1295<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1296</pre></div>
1297
1298<p>Nesting loops cause the conditionals needing prefixed with all loops from the outer one to the inner most. An illustration of this:</p>
1299
1300<div class="codebox"><pre>
1301<span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN firstloop --&gt;</span>
1302 {firstloop.MY_VARIABLE_FROM_FIRSTLOOP}
1303
1304 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN secondloop --&gt;</span>
1305 {firstloop.secondloop.MY_VARIABLE_FROM_SECONDLOOP}
1306 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- END secondloop --&gt;</span>
1307<span class="comment">&lt;!-- END firstloop --&gt;</span>
1308</pre></div>
1309
1310<p>Sometimes it is necessary to break out of nested loops to be able to call another loop within the current iteration. This sounds a little bit confusing and it is not used very often. The following (rather complex) example shows this quite good - it also shows how you test for the first and last row in a loop (i will explain the example in detail further down):</p>
1311
1312<div class="codebox"><pre>
1313<span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN l_block1 --&gt;</span>
1314 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF l_block1.S_SELECTED --&gt;</span>
1315 &lt;strong&gt;{l_block1.L_TITLE}&lt;/strong&gt;
1316 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF S_PRIVMSGS --&gt;</span>
1317
1318 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- the ! at the beginning of the loop name forces the loop to be not a nested one of l_block1 --&gt;</span>
1319 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN !folder --&gt;</span>
1320 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF folder.S_FIRST_ROW --&gt;</span>
1321 &lt;ul class=&quot;nav&quot;&gt;
1322 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1323
1324 &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;{folder.U_FOLDER}&quot;&gt;{folder.FOLDER_NAME}&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
1325
1326 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF folder.S_LAST_ROW --&gt;</span>
1327 &lt;/ul&gt;
1328 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1329 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- END !folder --&gt;</span>
1330
1331 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1332
1333 &lt;ul class=&quot;nav&quot;&gt;
1334 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN l_block2 --&gt;</span>
1335 &lt;li&gt;
1336 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF l_block1.l_block2.S_SELECTED --&gt;</span>
1337 &lt;strong&gt;{l_block1.l_block2.L_TITLE}&lt;/strong&gt;
1338 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSE --&gt;</span>
1339 &lt;a href=&quot;{l_block1.l_block2.U_TITLE}&quot;&gt;{l_block1.l_block2.L_TITLE}&lt;/a&gt;
1340 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1341 &lt;/li&gt;
1342 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- END l_block2 --&gt;</span>
1343 &lt;/ul&gt;
1344 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSE --&gt;</span>
1345 &lt;a class=&quot;nav&quot; href=&quot;{l_block1.U_TITLE}&quot;&gt;{l_block1.L_TITLE}&lt;/a&gt;
1346 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1347<span class="comment">&lt;!-- END l_block1 --&gt;</span>
1348</pre></div>
1349
1350<p>Let us first concentrate on this part of the example:</p>
1351
1352<div class="codebox"><pre>
1353<span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN l_block1 --&gt;</span>
1354 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF l_block1.S_SELECTED --&gt;</span>
1355 markup
1356 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSE --&gt;</span>
1357 &lt;a class=&quot;nav&quot; href=&quot;{l_block1.U_TITLE}&quot;&gt;{l_block1.L_TITLE}&lt;/a&gt;
1358 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1359<span class="comment">&lt;!-- END l_block1 --&gt;</span>
1360</pre></div>
1361
1362<p>Here we open the loop l_block1 and doing some things if the value S_SELECTED within the current loop iteration is true, else we write the blocks link and title. Here, you see <code>{l_block1.L_TITLE}</code> referenced - you remember that L_* variables get automatically assigned the corresponding language entry? This is true, but not within loops. The L_TITLE variable within the loop l_block1 is assigned within the code itself.</p>
1363
1364<p>Let's have a closer look to the markup:</p>
1365
1366<div class="codebox"><pre>
1367<span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN l_block1 --&gt;</span>
1368.
1369.
1370 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF S_PRIVMSGS --&gt;</span>
1371
1372 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN !folder --&gt;</span>
1373 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF folder.S_FIRST_ROW --&gt;</span>
1374 &lt;ul class=&quot;nav&quot;&gt;
1375 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1376
1377 &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;{folder.U_FOLDER}&quot;&gt;{folder.FOLDER_NAME}&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
1378
1379 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF folder.S_LAST_ROW --&gt;</span>
1380 &lt;/ul&gt;
1381 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1382 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- END !folder --&gt;</span>
1383
1384 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1385.
1386.
1387<span class="comment">&lt;!-- END l_block1 --&gt;</span>
1388</pre></div>
1389
1390<p>The <code>&lt;!-- IF S_PRIVMSGS --&gt;</code> statement clearly checks a global variable and not one within the loop, since the loop is not given here. So, if S_PRIVMSGS is true we execute the shown markup. Now, you see the <code>&lt;!-- BEGIN !folder --&gt;</code> statement. The exclamation mark is responsible for instructing the template engine to iterate through the main loop folder. So, we are now within the loop folder - with <code>&lt;!-- BEGIN folder --&gt;</code> we would have been within the loop <code>l_block1.folder</code> automatically as is the case with l_block2:</p>
1391
1392<div class="codebox"><pre>
1393<span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN l_block1 --&gt;</span>
1394.
1395.
1396 &lt;ul class=&quot;nav&quot;&gt;
1397 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- BEGIN l_block2 --&gt;</span>
1398 &lt;li&gt;
1399 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF l_block1.l_block2.S_SELECTED --&gt;</span>
1400 &lt;strong&gt;{l_block1.l_block2.L_TITLE}&lt;/strong&gt;
1401 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSE --&gt;</span>
1402 &lt;a href=&quot;{l_block1.l_block2.U_TITLE}&quot;&gt;{l_block1.l_block2.L_TITLE}&lt;/a&gt;
1403 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1404 &lt;/li&gt;
1405 <span class="comment">&lt;!-- END l_block2 --&gt;</span>
1406 &lt;/ul&gt;
1407.
1408.
1409<span class="comment">&lt;!-- END l_block1 --&gt;</span>
1410</pre></div>
1411
1412<p>You see the difference? The loop l_block2 is a member of the loop l_block1 but the loop folder is a main loop.</p>
1413
1414<p>Now back to our folder loop:</p>
1415
1416<div class="codebox"><pre>
1417<span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF folder.S_FIRST_ROW --&gt;</span>
1418 &lt;ul class=&quot;nav&quot;&gt;
1419<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1420
1421&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;{folder.U_FOLDER}&quot;&gt;{folder.FOLDER_NAME}&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
1422
1423<span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF folder.S_LAST_ROW --&gt;</span>
1424 &lt;/ul&gt;
1425<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1426</pre></div>
1427
1428<p>You may have wondered what the comparison to S_FIRST_ROW and S_LAST_ROW is about. If you haven't guessed already - it is checking for the first iteration of the loop with <code>S_FIRST_ROW</code> and the last iteration with <code>S_LAST_ROW</code>. This can come in handy quite often if you want to open or close design elements, like the above list. Let us imagine a folder loop build with three iterations, it would go this way:</p>
1429
1430<div class="codebox"><pre>
1431&lt;ul class=&quot;nav&quot;&gt; <span class="comment">&lt;!-- written on first iteration --&gt;</span>
1432 &lt;li&gt;first element&lt;/li&gt; <span class="comment">&lt;!-- written on first iteration --&gt;</span>
1433 &lt;li&gt;second element&lt;/li&gt; <span class="comment">&lt;!-- written on second iteration --&gt;</span>
1434 &lt;li&gt;third element&lt;/li&gt; <span class="comment">&lt;!-- written on third iteration --&gt;</span>
1435&lt;/ul&gt; <span class="comment">&lt;!-- written on third iteration --&gt;</span>
1436</pre></div>
1437
1438<p>As you can see, all three elements are written down as well as the markup for the first iteration and the last one. Sometimes you want to omit writing the general markup - for example:</p>
1439
1440<div class="codebox"><pre>
1441<span class="comment">&lt;!-- IF folder.S_FIRST_ROW --&gt;</span>
1442 &lt;ul class=&quot;nav&quot;&gt;
1443<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSEIF folder.S_LAST_ROW --&gt;</span>
1444 &lt;/ul&gt;
1445<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ELSE --&gt;</span>
1446 &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;{folder.U_FOLDER}&quot;&gt;{folder.FOLDER_NAME}&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
1447<span class="comment">&lt;!-- ENDIF --&gt;</span>
1448</pre></div>
1449
1450<p>would result in the following markup:</p>
1451
1452<div class="codebox"><pre>
1453&lt;ul class=&quot;nav&quot;&gt; <span class="comment">&lt;!-- written on first iteration --&gt;</span>
1454 &lt;li&gt;second element&lt;/li&gt; <span class="comment">&lt;!-- written on second iteration --&gt;</span>
1455&lt;/ul&gt; <span class="comment">&lt;!-- written on third iteration --&gt;</span>
1456</pre></div>
1457
1458<p>Just always remember that processing is taking place from up to down.</p>
1459
1460 <h4>Forms</h4>
1461 <p>If a form is used for a non-trivial operation (i.e. more than a jumpbox), then it should include the <code>{S_FORM_TOKEN}</code> template variable.</p>
1462 <div class="codebox"><pre>
1463&lt;form method=&quot;post&quot; id=&quot;mcp&quot; action=&quot;{U_POST_ACTION}&quot;&gt;
1464
1465 &lt;fieldset class="submit-buttons"&gt;
1466 &lt;input type=&quot;reset&quot; value=&quot;{L_RESET}&quot; name=&quot;reset&quot; class=&quot;button2&quot; /&gt&nbsp;
1467 &lt;input type=&quot;submit&quot; name=&quot;action[add_warning]&quot; value=&quot;{L_SUBMIT}&quot; class=&quot;button1&quot; /&gt
1468 {S_FORM_TOKEN}
1469 &lt;/fieldset&gt
1470&lt;/form&gt
1471 </pre></div><br />
1472
1473 <a name="inheritance"></a><h3>4.ii. Template Inheritance</h3>
1474 <p>When basing a new template on an existing one, it is not necessary to provide all template files. By declaring the template to be &quot;<strong>inheriting</strong>&quot; in the template configuration file.</p>
1475
1476 <p>The limitation on this is that the base style has to be installed and complete, meaning that it is not itself inheriting.</p>
1477
1478 <p>The effect of doing so is that the template engine will use the files in the new template where they exist, but fall back to files in the base template otherwise. Declaring a style to be inheriting also causes it to use some of the configuration settings of the base style, notably database storage.</p>
1479
1480 <p>We strongly encourage the use of inheritance for styles based on the bundled styles, as it will ease the update procedure.</p>
1481
1482 <div class="codebox"><pre>
1483 # General Information about this template
1484 name = inherits
1485 copyright = &copy; phpBB Group, 2007
1486 version = 3.0.3
1487
1488 # Defining a different template bitfield
1489 template_bitfield = lNg=
1490
1491 # Are we inheriting?
1492 inherit_from = prosilver
1493 </pre></div>
1494
1495 </div>
1496
1497 <div class="back2top"><a href="#wrap" class="top">Back to Top</a></div>
1498
1499 <span class="corners-bottom"><span></span></span></div>
1500 </div>
1501
1502 <hr />
1503
1504
1505
1506<a name="charsets"></a><h2>5. Character Sets and Encodings</h2>
1507
1508 <div class="paragraph">
1509 <div class="inner"><span class="corners-top"><span></span></span>
1510
1511 <div class="content">
1512
1513
1514
1515<h4>What are Unicode, UCS and UTF-8?</h4>
1516<p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Character_Set">Universal Character Set (UCS)</a> described in ISO/IEC 10646 consists of a large amount of characters. Each of them has a unique name and a code point which is an integer number. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode">Unicode</a> - which is an industry standard - complements the Universal Character Set with further information about the characters' properties and alternative character encodings. More information on Unicode can be found on the <a href="http://www.unicode.org/">Unicode Consortium's website</a>. One of the Unicode encodings is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8">8-bit Unicode Transformation Format (UTF-8)</a>. It encodes characters with up to four bytes aiming for maximum compatibility with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII">American Standard Code for Information Interchange</a> which is a 7-bit encoding of a relatively small subset of the UCS.</p>
1517
1518<h4>phpBB's use of Unicode</h4>
1519<p>Unfortunately PHP does not faciliate the use of Unicode prior to version 6. Most functions simply treat strings as sequences of bytes assuming that each character takes up exactly one byte. This behaviour still allows for storing UTF-8 encoded text in PHP strings but many operations on strings have unexpected results. To circumvent this problem we have created some alternative functions to PHP's native string operations which use code points instead of bytes. These functions can be found in <code>/includes/utf/utf_tools.php</code>. They are also covered in the <a href="http://area51.phpbb.com/docs/code/">phpBB3 Sourcecode Documentation</a>. A lot of native PHP functions still work with UTF-8 as long as you stick to certain restrictions. For example <code>explode</code> still works as long as the first and the last character of the delimiter string are ASCII characters.</p>
1520
1521<p>phpBB only uses the ASCII and the UTF-8 character encodings. Still all Strings are UTF-8 encoded because ASCII is a subset of UTF-8. The only exceptions to this rule are code sections which deal with external systems which use other encodings and character sets. Such external data should be converted to UTF-8 using the <code>utf8_recode()</code> function supplied with phpBB. It supports a variety of other character sets and encodings, a full list can be found below.</p>
1522
1523<p>With <code>request_var()</code> you can either allow all UCS characters in user input or restrict user input to ASCII characters. This feature is controlled by the function's third parameter called <code>$multibyte</code>. You should allow multibyte characters in posts, PMs, topic titles, forum names, etc. but it's not necessary for internal uses like a <code>$mode</code> variable which should only hold a predefined list of ASCII strings anyway.</p>
1524
1525<div class="codebox"><pre>
1526// an input string containing a multibyte character
1527$_REQUEST['multibyte_string'] = 'K&#228;se';
1528
1529// print request variable as a UTF-8 string allowing multibyte characters
1530echo request_var('multibyte_string', '', true);
1531// print request variable as ASCII string
1532echo request_var('multibyte_string', '');
1533</pre></div>
1534
1535<p>This code snippet will generate the following output:</p>
1536
1537<div class="codebox"><pre>
1538K&#228;se
1539K??se
1540</pre></div>
1541
1542<h4>Unicode Normalization</h4>
1543
1544<p>If you retrieve user input with multibyte characters you should additionally normalize the string using <code>utf8_normalize_nfc()</code> before you work with it. This is necessary to make sure that equal characters can only occur in one particular binary representation. For example the character &#197; can be represented either as <code>U+00C5</code> (LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE) or as <code>U+212B</code> (ANGSTROM SIGN). phpBB uses Normalization Form Canonical Composition (NFC) for all text. So the correct version of the above example would look like this:</p>
1545
1546<div class="codebox"><pre>
1547$_REQUEST['multibyte_string'] = 'K&#228;se';
1548
1549// normalize multibyte strings
1550echo utf8_normalize_nfc(request_var('multibyte_string', '', true));
1551// ASCII strings do not need to be normalized
1552echo request_var('multibyte_string', '');
1553</pre></div>
1554
1555<h4>Case Folding</h4>
1556
1557<p>Case insensitive comparison of strings is no longer possible with <code>strtolower</code> or <code>strtoupper</code> as some characters have multiple lower case or multiple upper case forms depending on their position in a word. The <code>utf8_strtolower</code> and the <code>utf8_strtoupper</code> functions suffer from the same problem so they can only be used to display upper/lower case versions of a string but they cannot be used for case insensitive comparisons either. So instead you should use case folding which gives you a case insensitive version of the string which can be used for case insensitive comparisons. An NFC normalized string can be case folded using <code>utf8_case_fold_nfc()</code>.</p>
1558
1559<p class="bad">// Bad - The strings might be the same even if strtolower differs</p>
1560
1561<div class="codebox"><pre>
1562if (strtolower($string1) == strtolower($string2))
1563{
1564 echo '$string1 and $string2 are equal or differ in case';
1565}
1566</pre></div>
1567
1568<p class="good">// Good - Case folding is really case insensitive</p>
1569
1570<div class="codebox"><pre>
1571if (utf8_case_fold_nfc($string1) == utf8_case_fold_nfc($string2))
1572{
1573 echo '$string1 and $string2 are equal or differ in case';
1574}
1575</pre></div>
1576
1577<h4>Confusables Detection</h4>
1578
1579<p>phpBB offers a special method <code>utf8_clean_string</code> which can be used to make sure string identifiers are unique. This method uses Normalization Form Compatibility Composition (NFKC) instead of NFC and replaces similarly looking characters with a particular representative of the equivalence class. This method is currently used for usernames and group names to avoid confusion with similarly looking names.</p>
1580
1581 </div>
1582
1583 <div class="back2top"><a href="#wrap" class="top">Back to Top</a></div>
1584
1585 <span class="corners-bottom"><span></span></span></div>
1586 </div>
1587
1588 <hr />
1589
1590<a name="translation"></a><h2>6. Translation (<abbr title="Internationalisation">i18n</abbr>/<abbr title="Localisation">L10n</abbr>) Guidelines</h2>
1591
1592 <div class="paragraph">
1593 <div class="inner"><span class="corners-top"><span></span></span>
1594
1595 <div class="content">
1596
1597 <a name="standardisation"></a><h3>6.i. Standardisation</h3>
1598
1599 <h4>Reason:</h4>
1600
1601 <p>phpBB is one of the most translated open-source projects, with the current stable version being available in over 60 localisations. Whilst the ad hoc approach to the naming of language packs has worked, for phpBB3 and beyond we hope to make this process saner which will allow for better interoperation with current and future web browsers.</p>
1602
1603 <h4>Encoding:</h4>
1604
1605 <p>With phpBB3, the output encoding for the forum in now UTF-8, a Universal Character Encoding by the Unicode Consortium that is by design a superset to US-ASCII and ISO-8859-1. By using one character set which simultaenously supports all scripts which previously would have required different encodings (eg: ISO-8859-1 to ISO-8859-15 (Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Thai, Hebrew, Arabic); GB2312 (Simplified Chinese); Big5 (Traditional Chinese), EUC-JP (Japanese), EUC-KR (Korean), VISCII (Vietnamese); et cetera), this removes the need to convert between encodings and improves the accessibility of multilingual forums.</p>
1606
1607 <p>The impact is that the language files for phpBB must now also be encoded as UTF-8, with a caveat that the files must <strong>not contain</strong> a <acronym title="Byte-Order-Mark">BOM</acronym> for compatibility reasons with non-Unicode aware versions of PHP. For those with forums using the Latin character set (ie: most European languages), this change is transparent since UTF-8 is superset to US-ASCII and ISO-8859-1.</p>
1608
1609 <h4>Language Tag:</h4>
1610
1611 <p>The <abbr title="Internet Engineering Task Force">IETF</abbr> recently published <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4646">RFC 4646</a> for tags used to identify languages, which in combination with <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4647">RFC 4647</a> obseletes the older <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3066">RFC 3006</a> and older-still <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1766">RFC 1766</a>. <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4646">RFC 4646</a> uses <a href="http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/English_list.php">ISO 639-1/ISO 639-2</a>, <a href="http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/02iso-3166-code-lists/list-en1.html">ISO 3166-1 alpha-2</a>, <a href="http://www.unicode.org/iso15924/iso15924-codes.html">ISO 15924</a> and <a href="http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm">UN M.49</a> to define a language tag. Each complete tag is composed of subtags which are not case sensitive and can also be empty.</p>
1612
1613 <p>Ordering of the subtags in the case that they are all non-empty is: <code>language</code>-<code>script</code>-<code>region</code>-<code>variant</code>-<code>extension</code>-<code>privateuse</code>. Should any subtag be empty, its corresponding hyphen would also be ommited. Thus, the language tag for English will be <code>en</code> <strong>and not</strong> <code>en-----</code>.</p>
1614
1615 <p>Most language tags consist of a two- or three-letter language subtag (from <a href="http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/English_list.php">ISO 639-1/ISO 639-2</a>). Sometimes, this is followed by a two-letter or three-digit region subtag (from <a href="http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/02iso-3166-code-lists/list-en1.html">ISO 3166-1 alpha-2</a> or <a href="http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm">UN M.49</a>). Some examples are:</p>
1616
1617 <table summary="Examples of various possible language tags as described by RFC 4646 and RFC 4647">
1618 <caption>Language tag examples</caption>
1619 <thead>
1620 <tr>
1621 <th scope="col">Language tag</th>
1622 <th scope="col">Description</th>
1623 <th scope="col">Component subtags</th>
1624 </tr>
1625 </thead>
1626 <tbody>
1627 <tr>
1628 <td><code>en</code></td>
1629 <td>English</td>
1630 <td><code>language</code></td>
1631 </tr>
1632 <tr>
1633 <td><code>mas</code></td>
1634 <td>Masai</td>
1635 <td><code>language</code></td>
1636 </tr>
1637 <tr>
1638 <td><code>fr-CA</code></td>
1639 <td>French as used in Canada</td>
1640 <td><code>language</code>+<code>region</code></td>
1641 </tr>
1642 <tr>
1643 <td><code>en-833</code></td>
1644 <td>English as used in the Isle of Man</td>
1645 <td><code>language</code>+<code>region</code></td>
1646 </tr>
1647 <tr>
1648 <td><code>zh-Hans</code></td>
1649 <td>Chinese written with Simplified script</td>
1650 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code></td>
1651 </tr>
1652 <tr>
1653 <td><code>zh-Hant-HK</code></td>
1654 <td>Chinese written with Traditional script as used in Hong Kong</td>
1655 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code>+<code>region</code></td>
1656 </tr>
1657 <tr>
1658 <td><code>de-AT-1996</code></td>
1659 <td>German as used in Austria with 1996 orthography</td>
1660 <td><code>language</code>+<code>region</code>+<code>variant</code></td>
1661 </tr>
1662 </tbody>
1663 </table>
1664
1665 <p>The ultimate aim of a language tag is to convey the needed <strong>useful distingushing information</strong>, whilst keeping it as <strong>short as possible</strong>. So for example, use <code>en</code>, <code>fr</code> and <code>ja</code> as opposed to <code>en-GB</code>, <code>fr-FR</code> and <code>ja-JP</code>, since we know English, French and Japanese are the native language of Great Britain, France and Japan respectively.</p>
1666
1667 <p>Next is the <a href="http://www.unicode.org/iso15924/iso15924-codes.html">ISO 15924</a> language script code and when one should or shouldn't use it. For example, whilst <code>en-Latn</code> is syntaxically correct for describing English written with Latin script, real world English writing is <strong>more-or-less exclusively in the Latin script</strong>. For such languages like English that are written in a single script, the <a href="http://www.iana.org/assignments/language-subtag-registry"><abbr title="Internet Assigned Numbers Authority">IANA</abbr> Language Subtag Registry</a> has a "Suppress-Script" field meaning the script code <strong>should be ommitted</strong> unless a specific language tag requires a specific script code. Some languages are <strong>written in more than one script</strong> and in such cases, the script code <strong>is encouraged</strong> since an end-user may be able to read their language in one script, but not the other. Some examples are:</p>
1668
1669 <table summary="Examples of using a language subtag in combination with a script subtag">
1670 <caption>Language subtag + script subtag examples</caption>
1671 <thead>
1672 <tr>
1673 <th scope="col">Language tag</th>
1674 <th scope="col">Description</th>
1675 <th scope="col">Component subtags</th>
1676 </tr>
1677 </thead>
1678 <tbody>
1679 <tr>
1680 <td><code>en-Brai</code></td>
1681 <td>English written in Braille script</td>
1682 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code></td>
1683 </tr>
1684 <tr>
1685 <td><code>en-Dsrt</code></td>
1686 <td>English written in Deseret (Mormon) script</td>
1687 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code></td>
1688 </tr>
1689 <tr>
1690 <td><code>sr-Latn</code></td>
1691 <td>Serbian written in Latin script</td>
1692 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code></td>
1693 </tr>
1694 <tr>
1695 <td><code>sr-Cyrl</code></td>
1696 <td>Serbian written in Cyrillic script</td>
1697 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code></td>
1698 </tr>
1699 <tr>
1700 <td><code>mn-Mong</code></td>
1701 <td>Mongolian written in Mongolian script</td>
1702 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code></td>
1703 </tr>
1704 <tr>
1705 <td><code>mn-Cyrl</code></td>
1706 <td>Mongolian written in Cyrillic script</td>
1707 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code></td>
1708 </tr>
1709 <tr>
1710 <td><code>mn-Phag</code></td>
1711 <td>Mongolian written in Phags-pa script</td>
1712 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code></td>
1713 </tr>
1714 <tr>
1715 <td><code>az-Cyrl-AZ</code></td>
1716 <td>Azerbaijani written in Cyrillic script as used in Azerbaijan</td>
1717 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code>+<code>region</code></td>
1718 </tr>
1719 <tr>
1720 <td><code>az-Latn-AZ</code></td>
1721 <td>Azerbaijani written in Latin script as used in Azerbaijan</td>
1722 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code>+<code>region</code></td>
1723 </tr>
1724 <tr>
1725 <td><code>az-Arab-IR</code></td>
1726 <td>Azerbaijani written in Arabic script as used in Iran</td>
1727 <td><code>language</code>+<code>script</code>+<code>region</code></td>
1728 </tr>
1729 </tbody>
1730 </table>
1731
1732 <p>Usage of the three-digit <a href="http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm">UN M.49</a> code over the two-letter <a href="http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/02iso-3166-code-lists/list-en1.html">ISO 3166-1 alpha-2</a> code should hapen if a macro-geographical entity is required and/or the <a href="http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/02iso-3166-code-lists/list-en1.html">ISO 3166-1 alpha-2</a> is ambiguous.</p>
1733
1734 <p>Examples of English using marco-geographical regions:</p>
1735
1736 <table summary="Examples for English of ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 vs. UN M.49 code">
1737 <caption>Coding for English using macro-geographical regions</caption>
1738 <thead>
1739 <tr>
1740 <th scope="col">ISO 639-1/ISO 639-2 + ISO 3166-1 alpha-2</th>
1741 <th scope="col" colspan="2">ISO 639-1/ISO 639-2 + UN M.49 (Example macro regions)</th>
1742 </tr>
1743 </thead>
1744 <tbody>
1745 <tr>
1746 <td><dl><dt><code>en-AU</code></dt><dd>English as used in <strong>Australia</strong></dd></dl></td>
1747 <td rowspan="2"><dl><dt><code>en-053</code></dt><dd>English as used in <strong>Australia &amp; New Zealand</strong></dd></dl></td>
1748 <td rowspan="3"><dl><dt><code>en-009</code></dt><dd>English as used in <strong>Oceania</strong></dd></dl></td>
1749 </tr>
1750 <tr>
1751 <td><dl><dt><code>en-NZ</code></dt><dd>English as used in <strong>New Zealand</strong></dd></dl></td>
1752 </tr>
1753 <tr>
1754 <td><dl><dt><code>en-FJ</code></dt><dd>English as used in <strong>Fiji</strong></dd></dl></td>
1755 <td><dl><dt><code>en-054 </code></dt><dd>English as used in <strong>Melanesia</strong></dd></dl></td>
1756 </tr>
1757 </tbody>
1758 </table>
1759
1760 <p>Examples of Spanish using marco-geographical regions:</p>
1761
1762 <table summary="Examples for Spanish of ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 vs. UN M.49 code">
1763 <caption>Coding for Spanish macro-geographical regions</caption>
1764 <thead>
1765 <tr>
1766 <th scope="col">ISO 639-1/ISO 639-2 + ISO 3166-1 alpha-2</th>
1767 <th scope="col" colspan="2">ISO 639-1/ISO 639-2 + UN M.49 (Example macro regions)</th>
1768 </tr>
1769 </thead>
1770 <tbody>
1771 <tr>
1772 <td><dl><dt><code>es-PR</code></dt><dd>Spanish as used in <strong>Puerto Rico</strong></dd></dl></td>
1773 <td rowspan="3"><dl><dt><code>es-419</code></dt><dd>Spanish as used in <strong>Latin America &amp; the Caribbean</strong></dd></dl></td>
1774 <td rowspan="4"><dl><dt><code>es-019</code></dt><dd>Spanish as used in <strong>the Americas</strong></dd></dl></td>
1775 </tr>
1776 <tr>
1777 <td><dl><dt><code>es-HN</code></dt><dd>Spanish as used in <strong>Honduras</strong></dd></dl></td>
1778 </tr>
1779 <tr>
1780 <td><dl><dt><code>es-AR</code></dt><dd>Spanish as used in <strong>Argentina</strong></dd></dl></td>
1781 </tr>
1782 <tr>
1783 <td><dl><dt><code>es-US</code></dt><dd>Spanish as used in <strong>United States of America</strong></dd></dl></td>
1784 <td><dl><dt><code>es-021</code></dt><dd>Spanish as used in <strong>North America</strong></dd></dl></td>
1785 </tr>
1786 </tbody>
1787 </table>
1788
1789 <p>Example of where the <a href="http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/02iso-3166-code-lists/list-en1.html">ISO 3166-1 alpha-2</a> is ambiguous and why <a href="http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm">UN M.49</a> might be preferred:</p>
1790
1791 <table summary="Example where the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 is ambiguous">
1792 <caption>Coding for ambiguous ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 regions</caption>
1793 <thead>
1794 <tr>
1795 <th scope="col" colspan="2"><code>CS</code> assignment pre-1994</th>
1796 <th scope="col" colspan="2"><code>CS</code> assignment post-1994</th>
1797 </tr>
1798 </thead>
1799 <tbody>
1800 <tr>
1801 <td colspan="2">
1802 <dl>
1803 <dt><code>CS</code></dt><dd><strong>Czechoslovakia</strong> (ISO 3166-1)</dd>
1804 <dt><code>200</code></dt><dd><strong>Czechoslovakia</strong> (UN M.49)</dd>
1805 </dl>
1806 </td>
1807 <td colspan="2">
1808 <dl>
1809 <dt><code>CS</code></dt><dd><strong>Serbian &amp; Montenegro</strong> (ISO 3166-1)</dd>
1810 <dt><code>891</code></dt><dd><strong>Serbian &amp; Montenegro</strong> (UN M.49)</dd>
1811 </dl>
1812 </td>
1813 </tr>
1814 <tr>
1815 <td>
1816 <dl>
1817 <dt><code>CZ</code></dt><dd><strong>Czech Republic</strong> (ISO 3166-1)</dd>
1818 <dt><code>203</code></dt><dd><strong>Czech Republic</strong> (UN M.49)</dd>
1819 </dl>
1820 </td>
1821 <td>
1822 <dl>
1823 <dt><code>SK</code></dt><dd><strong>Slovakia</strong> (ISO 3166-1)</dd>
1824 <dt><code>703</code></dt><dd><strong>Slovakia</strong> (UN M.49)</dd>
1825 </dl>
1826 </td>
1827 <td>
1828 <dl>
1829 <dt><code>RS</code></dt><dd><strong>Serbia</strong> (ISO 3166-1)</dd>
1830 <dt><code>688</code></dt><dd><strong>Serbia</strong> (UN M.49)</dd>
1831 </dl>
1832 </td>
1833 <td>
1834 <dl>
1835 <dt><code>ME</code></dt><dd><strong>Montenegro</strong> (ISO 3166-1)</dd>
1836 <dt><code>499</code></dt><dd><strong>Montenegro</strong> (UN M.49)</dd>
1837 </dl>
1838 </td>
1839 </tr>
1840 </tbody>
1841 </table>
1842
1843 <h4>Macro-languages &amp; Topolects:</h4>
1844
1845 <p><a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4646">RFC 4646</a> anticipates features which shall be available in (currently draft) <a href="http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/">ISO 639-3</a> which aims to provide as complete enumeration of languages as possible, including living, extinct, ancient and constructed languages, whether majour, minor or unwritten. A new feature of <a href="http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/">ISO 639-3</a> compared to the previous two revisions is the concept of <a href="http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/macrolanguages.asp">macrolanguages</a> where Arabic and Chinese are two such examples. In such cases, their respective codes of <code>ar</code> and <code>zh</code> is very vague as to which dialect/topolect is used or perhaps some terse classical variant which may be difficult for all but very educated users. For such macrolanguages, it is recommended that the sub-language tag is used as a suffix to the macrolanguage tag, eg:</p>
1846
1847 <table summary="Examples of macrolanguages used with sub-language subtags">
1848 <caption>Macrolanguage subtag + sub-language subtag examples</caption>
1849 <thead>
1850 <tr>
1851 <th scope="col">Language tag</th>
1852 <th scope="col">Description</th>
1853 <th scope="col">Component subtags</th>
1854 </tr>
1855 </thead>
1856 <tbody>
1857 <tr>
1858 <td><code>zh-cmn</code></td>
1859 <td>Mandarin (Putonghau/Guoyu) Chinese</td>
1860 <td><code>macrolanguage</code>+<code>sublanguage</code></td>
1861 </tr>
1862 <tr>
1863 <td><code>zh-yue</code></td>
1864 <td>Yue (Cantonese) Chinese</td>
1865 <td><code>macrolanguage</code>+<code>sublanguage</code></td>
1866 </tr>
1867 <tr>
1868 <td><code>zh-cmn-Hans</code></td>
1869 <td>Mandarin (Putonghau/Guoyu) Chinese written in Simplified script</td>
1870 <td><code>macrolanguage</code>+<code>sublanguage</code>+<code>script</code></td>
1871 </tr>
1872 <tr>
1873 <td><code>zh-cmn-Hant</code></td>
1874 <td>Mandarin (Putonghau/Guoyu) Chinese written in Traditional script</td>
1875 <td><code>macrolanguage</code>+<code>sublanguage</code>+<code>script</code></td>
1876 </tr>
1877 <tr>
1878 <td><code>zh-nan-Latn-TW</code></td>
1879 <td>Minnan (Hoklo) Chinese written in Latin script (POJ Romanisation) as used in Taiwan</td>
1880 <td><code>macrolanguage</code>+<code>sublanguage</code>+<code>script</code>+<code>region</code></td>
1881 </tr>
1882 </tbody>
1883 </table>
1884
1885 <a name="otherconsiderations"></a><h3>6.ii. Other considerations</h3>
1886
1887 <h4>Normalisation of language tags for phpBB:</h4>
1888
1889 <p>For phpBB, the language tags are <strong>not</strong> used in their raw form and instead converted to all lower-case and have the hyphen <code>-</code> replaced with an underscore <code>_</code> where appropriate, with some examples below:</p>
1890
1891 <table summary="Normalisation of language tags for usage in phpBB">
1892 <caption>Language tag normalisation examples</caption>
1893 <thead>
1894 <tr>
1895 <th scope="col">Raw language tag</th>
1896 <th scope="col">Description</th>
1897 <th scope="col">Value of <code>USER_LANG</code><br />in <code>./common.php</code></th>
1898 <th scope="col">Language pack directory<br />name in <code>/language/</code></th>
1899 </tr>
1900 </thead>
1901 <tbody>
1902 <tr>
1903 <td><code>en</code></td>
1904 <td>British English</td>
1905 <td><code>en</code></td>
1906 <td><code>en</code></td>
1907 </tr>
1908 <tr>
1909 <td><code>de-AT</code></td>
1910 <td>German as used in Austria</td>
1911 <td><code>de-at</code></td>
1912 <td><code>de_at</code></td>
1913 </tr>
1914 <tr>
1915 <td><code>es-419</code></td>
1916 <td>Spanish as used in Latin America &amp; Caribbean</td>
1917 <td><code>en-419</code></td>
1918 <td><code>en_419</code></td>
1919 </tr>
1920 <tr>
1921 <td><code>zh-yue-Hant-HK</code></td>
1922 <td>Cantonese written in Traditional script as used in Hong Kong</td>
1923 <td><code>zh-yue-hant-hk</code></td>
1924 <td><code>zh_yue_hant_hk</code></td>
1925 </tr>
1926 </tbody>
1927 </table>
1928
1929 <h4>How to use <code>iso.txt</code>:</h4>
1930
1931 <p>The <code>iso.txt</code> file is a small UTF-8 encoded plain-text file which consists of three lines:</p>
1932
1933 <ol>
1934 <li><code>Language's English name</code></li>
1935 <li><code>Language's local name</code></li>
1936 <li><code>Authors information</code></li>
1937 </ol>
1938
1939 <p><code>iso.txt</code> is automatically generated by the language pack submission system on phpBB.com. You don't have to create this file yourself if you plan on releasing your language pack on phpBB.com, but do keep in mind that phpBB itself does require this file to be present.</p>
1940
1941 <p>Because language tags themselves are meant to be machine read, they can be rather obtuse to humans and why descriptive strings as provided by <code>iso.txt</code> are needed. Whilst <code>en-US</code> could be fairly easily deduced to be "English as used in the United States", <code>de-CH</code> is more difficult less one happens to know that <code>de</code> is from "<span lang="de">Deutsch</span>", German for "German" and <code>CH</code> is the abbreviation of the official Latin name for Switzerland, "<span lang="la">Confoederatio Helvetica</span>".</p>
1942
1943 <p>For the English language description, the language name is always first and any additional attributes required to describe the subtags within the language code are then listed in order separated with commas and enclosed within parentheses, eg:</p>
1944
1945 <table summary="English language description examples of iso.txt for usage in phpBB">
1946 <caption>English language description examples for iso.txt</caption>
1947 <thead>
1948 <tr>
1949 <th scope="col">Raw language tag</th>
1950 <th scope="col">English description within <code>iso.txt</code></th>
1951 </tr>
1952 </thead>
1953 <tbody>
1954 <tr>
1955 <td><code>en</code></td>
1956 <td>British English</td>
1957 </tr>
1958 <tr>
1959 <td><code>en-US</code></td>
1960 <td>English (United States)</td>
1961 </tr>
1962 <tr>
1963 <td><code>en-053</code></td>
1964 <td>English (Australia &amp; New Zealand)</td>
1965 </tr>
1966 <tr>
1967 <td><code>de</code></td>
1968 <td>German</td>
1969 </tr>
1970 <tr>
1971 <td><code>de-CH-1996</code></td>
1972 <td>German (Switzerland, 1996 orthography)</td>
1973 </tr>
1974 <tr>
1975 <td><code>gws-1996</code></td>
1976 <td>Swiss German (1996 orthography)</td>
1977 </tr>
1978 <tr>
1979 <td><code>zh-cmn-Hans-CN</code></td>
1980 <td>Mandarin Chinese (Simplified, Mainland China)</td>
1981 </tr>
1982 <tr>
1983 <td><code>zh-yue-Hant-HK</code></td>
1984 <td>Cantonese Chinese (Traditional, Hong Kong)</td>
1985 </tr>
1986 </tbody>
1987 </table>
1988
1989 <p>For the localised language description, just translate the English version though use whatever appropriate punctuation typical for your own locale, assuming the language uses punctuation at all.</p>
1990
1991 <h4>Unicode bi-directional considerations:</h4>
1992
1993 <p>Because phpBB is now UTF-8, all translators must take into account that certain strings may be shown when the directionality of the document is either opposite to normal or is ambiguous.</p>
1994
1995 <p>The various Unicode control characters for bi-directional text and their HTML enquivalents where appropriate are as follows:</p>
1996
1997 <table summary="Table of the various Unicode bidirectional control characters">
1998 <caption>Unicode bidirectional control characters &amp; HTML elements/entities</caption>
1999 <thead>
2000 <tr>
2001 <th scope="col">Unicode character<br />abbreviation</th>
2002 <th scope="col">Unicode<br />code-point</th>
2003 <th scope="col">Unicode character<br />name</th>
2004 <th scope="col">Equivalent HTML<br />markup/entity</th>
2005 <th scope="col">Raw character<br />(enclosed between '')</th>
2006 </tr>
2007 </thead>
2008 <tbody>
2009 <tr>
2010 <td><code>LRM</code></td>
2011 <td><code>U+200E</code></td>
2012 <td>Left-to-Right Mark</td>
2013 <td><code>&amp;lrm;</code></td>
2014 <td>'&#x200E;'</td>
2015 </tr>
2016 <tr>
2017 <td><code>RLM</code></td>
2018 <td><code>U+200F</code></td>
2019 <td>Right-to-Left Mark</td>
2020 <td><code>&amp;rlm;</code></td>
2021 <td>'&#x200F;'</td>
2022 </tr>
2023 <tr>
2024 <td><code>LRE</code></td>
2025 <td><code>U+202A</code></td>
2026 <td>Left-to-Right Embedding</td>
2027 <td><code>dir=&quot;ltr&quot;</code></td>
2028 <td>'&#x202A;'</td>
2029 </tr>
2030 <tr>
2031 <td><code>RLE</code></td>
2032 <td><code>U+202B</code></td>
2033 <td>Right-to-Left Embedding</td>
2034 <td><code>dir=&quot;rtl&quot;</code></td>
2035 <td>'&#x202B;'</td>
2036 </tr>
2037 <tr>
2038 <td><code>PDF</code></td>
2039 <td><code>U+202C</code></td>
2040 <td>Pop Directional Formatting</td>
2041 <td><code>&lt;/bdo&gt;</code></td>
2042 <td>'&#x202C;'</td>
2043 </tr>
2044 <tr>
2045 <td><code>LRO</code></td>
2046 <td><code>U+202D</code></td>
2047 <td>Left-to-Right Override</td>
2048 <td><code>&lt;bdo dir=&quot;ltr&quot;&gt;</code></td>
2049 <td>'&#x202D;'</td>
2050 </tr>
2051 <tr>
2052 <td><code>RLO</code></td>
2053 <td><code>U+202E</code></td>
2054 <td>Right-to-Left Override</td>
2055 <td><code>&lt;bdo dir=&quot;rtl&quot;&gt;</code></td>
2056 <td>'&#x202E;'</td>
2057 </tr>
2058 </tbody>
2059 </table>
2060
2061 <p>For <code>iso.txt</code>, the directionality of the text can be explicitly set using special Unicode characters via any of the three methods provided by left-to-right/right-to-left markers/embeds/overrides, as without them, the ordering of characters will be incorrect, eg:</p>
2062
2063 <table summary="Effect of using Unicode bidirectional control characters within iso.txt">
2064 <caption>Unicode bidirectional control characters iso.txt</caption>
2065 <thead>
2066 <tr>
2067 <th scope="col">Directionality</th>
2068 <th scope="col">Raw character view</th>
2069 <th scope="col">Display of localised<br />description in <code>iso.txt</code></th>
2070 <th scope="col">Ordering</th>
2071 </tr>
2072 </thead>
2073 <tbody>
2074 <tr>
2075 <td><code>dir=&quot;ltr&quot;</code></td>
2076 <td>English (Australia &amp; New Zealand)</td>
2077 <td dir="ltr">English (Australia &amp; New Zealand)</td>
2078 <td class="good">Correct</td>
2079 </tr>
2080 <tr>
2081 <td><code>dir=&quot;rtl&quot;</code></td>
2082 <td>English (Australia &amp; New Zealand)</td>
2083 <td dir="rtl">English (Australia &amp; New Zealand)</td>
2084 <td class="bad">Incorrect</td>
2085 </tr>
2086 <tr>
2087 <td><code>dir=&quot;rtl&quot;</code> with <code>LRM</code></td>
2088 <td>English (Australia &amp; New Zealand)<code>U+200E</code></td>
2089 <td dir="rtl">English (Australia &amp; New Zealand)&#x200E;</td>
2090 <td class="good">Correct</td>
2091 </tr>
2092 <tr>
2093 <td><code>dir=&quot;rtl&quot;</code> with <code>LRE</code> &amp; <code>PDF</code></td>
2094 <td><code>U+202A</code>English (Australia &amp; New Zealand)<code>U+202C</code></td>
2095 <td dir="rtl">&#x202A;English (Australia &amp; New Zealand)&#x202C;</td>
2096 <td class="good">Correct</td>
2097 </tr>
2098 <tr>
2099 <td><code>dir=&quot;rtl&quot;</code> with <code>LRO</code> &amp; <code>PDF</code></td>
2100 <td><code>U+202D</code>English (Australia &amp; New Zealand)<code>U+202C</code></td>
2101 <td dir="rtl">&#x202D;English (Australia &amp; New Zealand)&#x202C;</td>
2102 <td class="good">Correct</td>
2103 </tr>
2104 </tbody>
2105 </table>
2106
2107 <p>In choosing which of the three methods to use, in the majority of cases, the <code>LRM</code> or <code>RLM</code> to put a &quot;strong&quot; character to fully enclose an ambiguous punctuation character and thus make it inherit the correct directionality is sufficient.</p>
2108 <p>Within some cases, there may be mixed scripts of a left-to-right and right-to-left direction, so using <code>LRE</code> &amp; <code>RLE</code> with <code>PDF</code> may be more appropriate. Lastly, in very rare instances where directionality must be forced, then use <code>LRO</code> &amp; <code>RLO</code> with <code>PDF</code>.</p>
2109 <p>For further information on authoring techniques of bi-directional text, please see the W3C tutorial on <a href="http://www.w3.org/International/tutorials/bidi-xhtml/">authoring techniques for XHTML pages with bi-directional text</a>.</p>
2110
2111 <h4>Working with placeholders:</h4>
2112
2113 <p>As phpBB is translated into languages with different ordering rules to that of English, it is possible to show specific values in any order deemed appropriate. Take for example the extremely simple &quot;Page <em>X</em> of <em>Y</em>&quot;, whilst in English this could just be coded as:</p>
2114
2115 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2116 ...
2117'PAGE_OF' =&gt; 'Page %s of %s',
2118 /* Just grabbing the replacements as they
2119 come and hope they are in the right order */
2120 ...
2121 </pre></div>
2122
2123 <p>&hellip; a clearer way to show explicit replacement ordering is to do:</p>
2124
2125 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2126 ...
2127'PAGE_OF' =&gt; 'Page %1$s of %2$s',
2128 /* Explicit ordering of the replacements,
2129 even if they are the same order as English */
2130 ...
2131 </pre></div>
2132
2133 <p>Why bother at all? Because some languages, the string transliterated back to English might read something like:</p>
2134
2135 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2136 ...
2137'PAGE_OF' =&gt; 'Total of %2$s pages, currently on page %1$s',
2138 /* Explicit ordering of the replacements,
2139 reversed compared to English as the total comes first */
2140 ...
2141 </pre></div>
2142
2143 <a name="writingstyle"></a><h3>6.iii. Writing Style</h3>
2144
2145 <h4>Miscellaneous tips &amp; hints:</h4>
2146
2147 <p>As the language files are PHP files, where the various strings for phpBB are stored within an array which in turn are used for display within an HTML page, rules of syntax for both must be considered. Potentially problematic characters are: <code>'</code> (straight quote/apostrophe), <code>&quot;</code> (straight double quote), <code>&lt;</code> (less-than sign), <code>&gt;</code> (greater-than sign) and <code>&amp;</code> (ampersand).</p>
2148
2149 <p class="bad">// Bad - The un-escapsed straight-quote/apostrophe will throw a PHP parse error</p>
2150
2151 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2152 ...
2153'CONV_ERROR_NO_AVATAR_PATH'
2154 =&gt; 'Note to developer: you must specify $convertor['avatar_path'] to use %s.',
2155 ...
2156 </pre></div>
2157
2158 <p class="good">// Good - Literal straight quotes should be escaped with a backslash, ie: \</p>
2159
2160 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2161 ...
2162'CONV_ERROR_NO_AVATAR_PATH'
2163 =&gt; 'Note to developer: you must specify $convertor[\'avatar_path\'] to use %s.',
2164 ...
2165 </pre></div>
2166
2167 <p>However, because phpBB3 now uses UTF-8 as its sole encoding, we can actually use this to our advantage and not have to remember to escape a straight quote when we don't have to:</p>
2168
2169 <p class="bad">// Bad - The un-escapsed straight-quote/apostrophe will throw a PHP parse error</p>
2170
2171 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2172 ...
2173'USE_PERMISSIONS' =&gt; 'Test out user's permissions',
2174 ...
2175 </pre></div>
2176
2177 <p class="good">// Okay - However, non-programmers wouldn't type "user\'s" automatically</p>
2178
2179 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2180 ...
2181'USE_PERMISSIONS' =&gt; 'Test out user\'s permissions',
2182 ...
2183 </pre></div>
2184
2185 <p class="good">// Best - Use the Unicode Right-Single-Quotation-Mark character</p>
2186
2187 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2188 ...
2189'USE_PERMISSIONS' =&gt; 'Test out user&rsquo;s permissions',
2190 ...
2191 </pre></div>
2192
2193 <p>The <code>&quot;</code> (straight double quote), <code>&lt;</code> (less-than sign) and <code>&gt;</code> (greater-than sign) characters can all be used as displayed glyphs or as part of HTML markup, for example:</p>
2194
2195 <p class="bad">// Bad - Invalid HTML, as segments not part of elements are not entitised</p>
2196
2197 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2198 ...
2199'FOO_BAR' =&gt; 'PHP version &lt; 4.3.3.&lt;br /&gt;
2200 Visit &quot;Downloads&quot; at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.php.net/&quot;&gt;www.php.net&lt;/a&gt;.',
2201 ...
2202 </pre></div>
2203
2204 <p class="good">// Okay - No more invalid HTML, but &quot;&amp;quot;&quot; is rather clumsy</p>
2205
2206 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2207 ...
2208'FOO_BAR' =&gt; 'PHP version &amp;lt; 4.3.3.&lt;br /&gt;
2209 Visit &amp;quot;Downloads&amp;quot; at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.php.net/&quot;&gt;www.php.net&lt;/a&gt;.',
2210 ...
2211 </pre></div>
2212
2213 <p class="good">// Best - No more invalid HTML, and usage of correct typographical quotation marks</p>
2214
2215 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2216 ...
2217'FOO_BAR' =&gt; 'PHP version &amp;lt; 4.3.3.&lt;br /&gt;
2218 Visit &ldquo;Downloads&rdquo; at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.php.net/&quot;&gt;www.php.net&lt;/a&gt;.',
2219 ...
2220 </pre></div>
2221
2222 <p>Lastly, the <code>&amp;</code> (ampersand) must always be entitised regardless of where it is used:</p>
2223
2224 <p class="bad">// Bad - Invalid HTML, none of the ampersands are entitised</p>
2225
2226 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2227 ...
2228'FOO_BAR' =&gt; '&lt;a href=&quot;http://somedomain.tld/?foo=1&amp;bar=2&quot;&gt;Foo &amp; Bar&lt;/a&gt;.',
2229 ...
2230 </pre></div>
2231
2232 <p class="good">// Good - Valid HTML, amperands are correctly entitised in all cases</p>
2233
2234 <div class="codebox"><pre>
2235 ...
2236'FOO_BAR' =&gt; '&lt;a href=&quot;http://somedomain.tld/?foo=1&amp;amp;bar=2&quot;&gt;Foo &amp;amp; Bar&lt;/a&gt;.',
2237 ...
2238 </pre></div>
2239
2240 <p>As for how these charcters are entered depends very much on choice of Operating System, current language locale/keyboard configuration and native abilities of the text editor used to edit phpBB language files. Please see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode#Input_methods">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode#Input_methods</a> for more information.</p>
2241
2242 <h4>Spelling, punctuation, grammar, et cetera:</h4>
2243
2244 <p>The default language pack bundled with phpBB is <strong>British English</strong> using <a href="http://www.cambridge.org/">Cambridge University Press</a> spelling and is assigned the language code <code>en</code>. The style and tone of writing tends towards formal and translations <strong>should</strong> emulate this style, at least for the variant using the most compact language code. Less formal translations or those with colloquialisms <strong>must</strong> be denoted as such via either an <code>extension</code> or <code>privateuse</code> tag within its language code.</p>
2245
2246 </div>
2247
2248 <div class="back2top"><a href="#wrap" class="top">Back to Top</a></div>
2249
2250 <span class="corners-bottom"><span></span></span></div>
2251 </div>
2252
2253 <hr />
2254
2255<a name="changes"></a><h2>7. Guidelines Changelog</h2>
2256 <div class="paragraph">
2257 <div class="inner"><span class="corners-top"><span></span></span>
2258
2259 <div class="content">
2260
2261
2262<h3>Revision 8732</h3>
2263
2264<ul>
2265 <li>Added cfg files.</li>
2266 <li>Added template <a href="#inheritance">inheritance</a>.</li>
2267</ul>
2268
2269<h3>Revision 8596+</h3>
2270
2271<ul>
2272 <li>Removed sql_build_array('MULTI_INSERT'... statements.</li>
2273 <li>Added sql_multi_insert() explanation.</li>
2274</ul>
2275
2276<h3>Revision 1.31</h3>
2277
2278<ul>
2279 <li>Added add_form_key and check_form_key. </li>
2280</ul>
2281
2282<h3>Revision 1.24</h3>
2283
2284<ul>
2285 <li>Added <a href="#translation">5. Character Sets and Encodings</a> section to explain the recommended treatment of strings in phpBB.</li>
2286</ul>
2287
2288<h3>Revision 1.16</h3>
2289
2290<ul>
2291 <li>Added <a href="#translation">6. Translation (<abbr title="Internationalisation">i18n</abbr>/<abbr title="Localisation">L10n</abbr>) Guidelines</a> section to explain expected format and authoring considerations for language packs that are to be created for phpBB.</li>
2292</ul>
2293
2294<h3>Revision 1.11-1.15</h3>
2295
2296<ul>
2297 <li>Various document formatting, spelling, punctuation, grammar bugs.</li>
2298</ul>
2299
2300<h3>Revision 1.9-1.10</h3>
2301
2302<ul>
2303 <li>Added sql_query_limit to <a href="#sql">2.iii. SQL/SQL Layout</a>.</li>
2304</ul>
2305
2306<h3>Revision 1.8</h3>
2307
2308<ul>
2309 <li>Some adjustements to wordings</li>
2310 <li>Updated paragraph <a href="#locations">1.iii. File Locations</a> to reflect recent changes</li>
2311 <li>Extended paragraph <a href="#codelayout">2.ii. Code Layout</a>.</li>
2312 <li>Added sql_in_set and sql_build_query explanation to <a href="#sql">2.iii. SQL/SQL Layout</a>.</li>
2313 <li>Updated paragraph <a href="#styling">3. Styling</a>.</li>
2314 <li>Updated paragraph <a href="#templating">4. Templating</a> to explain loop checking, loop breaking and other changes we recently made.</li>
2315</ul>
2316
2317<h3>Revision 1.5</h3>
2318
2319<ul>
2320 <li>Changed General function usage paragraph in <a href="#general">2.v. General Guidelines</a></li>
2321</ul>
2322
2323
2324 </div>
2325
2326 <div class="back2top"><a href="#wrap" class="top">Back to Top</a></div>
2327
2328 <span class="corners-bottom"><span></span></span></div>
2329 </div>
2330
2331 <hr />
2332
2333<a name="disclaimer"></a><h2>8. Copyright and disclaimer</h2>
2334
2335 <div class="paragraph">
2336 <div class="inner"><span class="corners-top"><span></span></span>
2337
2338 <div class="content">
2339
2340 <p>This application is opensource software released under the <a href="http://opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php">GPL</a>. Please see source code and the docs directory for more details. This package and its contents are Copyright (c) 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 <a href="http://www.phpbb.com/">phpBB Group</a>, All Rights Reserved.</p>
2341
2342 </div>
2343
2344 <div class="back2top"><a href="#wrap" class="top">Back to Top</a></div>
2345
2346 <span class="corners-bottom"><span></span></span></div>
2347 </div>
2348
2349<!-- END DOCUMENT -->
2350
2351 <div id="page-footer">
2352 <div class="version"> $Id: coding-guidelines.html 9036 2008-10-25 14:16:17Z acydburn $ </div>
2353 </div>
2354</div></div>
2355
2356<div>
2357 <a id="bottom" name="bottom" accesskey="z"></a>
2358</div>
2359
2360</body>
2361</html>
Note: See TracBrowser for help on using the repository browser.