PHP include file multiple times in one page

Question

I have a php-file called kal_test.php which gives a value to the variable $vbl. This variable is needed in the file called kal_generator.php which produces a table from that variable (I'll spare you the details). It goes like this:

[kal_test.php]

<?php
$vbl = "14/09/2011";
include ("kal_generator.php");
?>

[kal_test.php]

<?php
// Long code converts the $vbl into a 2-dimensional array called $output
// I'll spare you the details (it works fine by the way)
?>

<table>
  <tr><th>bla</th><th>blabla</th></tr>

<?php
foreach ($output as $v1) {
    echo "<tr>";
    foreach ($v1 as $v2) {
        echo "<td>$v2</td>";
    }
    echo "</tr>\n";
}
?>

</table>

This set-up works fine but I can't make two of those appear on the same page, like this:

[kal_test.php]

<?php
$vbl = "14/09/2011";
include ("kal_generator.php");
$vbl = "21/09/2011";
include ("kal_generator.php");
?>

This will give the following result:

//here comes the header

<table> // table created with $vbl = "14/09/2011"
  <tr><th>bla</th><th>blabla</th></tr>
  <tr><td>this</td><td>works</td></tr>
  <tr><td>this</td><td>works</td></tr>
</table>

//here should the second table be and also the rest of the page (footer), this is completely missing

What am I doing wrong? Thanks!

Don't do this. Put a function in that include and call the function every time you need it. — Brad
– Brad, Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 13:57
I'd love to do that but the long code is (surprise!) really long — gieldops
– gieldops, Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 13:58
Who cares.... What is so hard about wrapping it up with the function keyword and a couple brackets? Perhaps you should consider breaking that function into a few functions while you're at it. — Brad
– Brad, Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 14:01

Lekensteyn · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-13 14:12:23Z

15

You're likely defining a function or class in kal_generator.php. PHP aborts when you try to redefine such a function or class. Consider putting your code in a function, include that function once and then run the function instead of including a file.

kal_test.php

<?php
require_once 'kal_generator.php';
kal_generator("14/09/2011");
kal_generator("21/09/2011");
?>

kal_generator.php

<?php
function kal_generator($vbl) {
    /**
     * Here, you should be creating $output
     */
    echo <<EOF
<table>
  <tr><th>bla</th><th>blabla</th></tr>

EOF;
    foreach ($output as $v1) {
        echo "<tr>";
        foreach ($v1 as $v2) {
            echo "<td>$v2</td>";
        }
        echo "</tr>\n";
    }

    echo "</table>\n";
}
?>

edited Sep 13, 2011 at 14:12

answered Sep 13, 2011 at 13:58

Lekensteyn

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6 Comments

gieldops Over a year ago

Brad said the same, I'll try this but it will take a long time to rewrite the code. I should have thought about this earlier :(

Brad Over a year ago

@gieldl, what rewriting is there to do?

Lekensteyn Over a year ago

If it's that long, you've done something wrong. Break the code down in parts (functions, methods, whatever).

Spudley Over a year ago

With the code we've been given in the example, then Brad is correct; there's virtually zero rewriting. However, I have had to work with badly written code in the past which worked very much as per the question, and it was very hard to rewrite so I know it can be painful. But I would still say you should do it. If the code is bad enough that it is hard to rewrite per this answer, then that is a sure sign that it needs to be rewritten!

Spudley Over a year ago

by the way -- one other thing: if you're going to use this answer, you might want to use the include_once() function rather than include(). (it won't make any difference, but might save you from errors later if you accidentally try to include it twice)

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