Databug

Databug Accepted at phpclasses

2006-08-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

Databug has been accepted at phpclasses.org! The phpclasses listing includes a forum page:

http://www.phpclasses.org/discuss/package/3287/

The source files can be found here:

http://www.phpclasses.org/browse/package/3287.html

New Demo Page

2006-08-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

It looks like the databug class will be appearing on phpclasses.org shortly (just a little issue with my profile photo that needed to be cleared up.)

In anticipation, I've added a new demo page to klenwell.net:

php databug demo page

phpclasses Submission

2006-08-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

Databug has been submitted to phpclasses.org and awaits approval.

Google Hosting

2006-08-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

A project page for Databug has been added to the new Google Code project hosting site. I've just uploaded the latest version of databug.

Databug will also be submitted to phpclasses.org.

Added Street Name to Profile

2006-07-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

Added a function to grab a random street name from a new data file. Only viable file of street names I could find contained street names from Anchorage, Alaska. For the most part, it doesn't really show.

A demo:

Array
(
[first_name] => Othella
[last_name] => Finch
[user_name] => ofinch
[full_name] => Othella Finch
[gender] => f
[email] => ofinch49788@aol.com
[street] => Altoona Drive #654
[zip] => 91360
[city] => Thousand Oaks
[state] => CA
[phone] => (858) 555-9667
)

Method: _databug_thresh_file($fpath, $ratio_denominator=3)

2006-07-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to make the class workable without a database because I'm lazy and find integrating them in my PHP scripts a bit of a nuisance and, well, I just find it tidier not to get MySQL involved sometimes.

There are a couple methods in the class for opening files and pulling data into an array. Most involve some randomization of the result. So I wrote this method to lighten the load. The $ratio_denominator argument indicates the ratio of lines (as in 1 in every $ratio_denominator lines) that will be pulled into the array (i.e. the "threshing"). The same concept is used with set_zip_data_randomly_by_range function.

/**
* @access private
* @return array
*/
function _databug_thresh_file($fpath, $ratio_denominator=3)
{
// *** DATA

# internal
$skip_token = '%';
$_d = $ratio_denominator;
$_i = 0;

# return
$LINES = array();

// *** MANIPULATE

# sanity check
if ( !is_file($source_path) )
{
trigger_error("file [$source_path] not found", E_USER_WARNING);
return 0;
}

# open file (for reading)
$_handle = @fopen($source_path, "r");

# Set Mod Offset
$_mod_offset = mt_rand(0, $_d-1);

# fetch file lines
while ( !feof($_handle) )
{
$_i++;
if ( $_i % $_d <> $_mod_offset )
{
continue;
}

$_buffer = fgets($_handle, 4096);
$_line = trim($_buffer);

# check for skip token
if ( substr($_line,0,1) <> $skip_token && !empty($_line) )
{
$LINES[] = $_line;
}
}

# close file
fclose($_handle);

# DEBUG
#print_r($LINES);

# catch
if ( !count($LINES) )
{
trigger_error('no lines found', E_USER_WARNING);
}
elseif ( count($LINES) == 1 )
{
trigger_error('only 1 line fetched -> check EOL delimiter', E_USER_NOTICE);
}

// *** RETURN

return $LINES;
}

Waldo Kent from Cleveland, OH

2006-07-07T23:37:00.000-07:00

Doing a little more work on Databug.

Test case: Clark Kent's underachieving cousin.

Array
(
[first_name] => Waldo
[last_name] => Kent
[user_name] => wkent
[full_name] => Waldo Kent
[gender] => m
[email] => wkent12609@sbcglobal.net
[zip] => 44110
[city] => Cleveland
[state] => OH
[phone] => (212) 555-0080
)

Barnaby Barfield from Baton Rouge

2006-06-15T23:26:00.000-07:00

Array
(
[first_name] => Barnaby
[last_name] => Barfield
[user_name] => bbarfield
[full_name] => Barnaby Barfield
[gender] => m
[email] => bbarfield43445@sbcglobal.net
[zip] => 70808
[city] => Baton Rouge
[state] => LA
[phone] => (985) 555-4133
[fav_color] => #fb59c1
)

Latest Demo

2006-05-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

Added a random color function:

Array
(
[first_name] => Sly
[last_name] => Eller
[user_name] => seller
[full_name] => Sly Eller
[gender] => m
[email] => seller73003@hotmail.com
[zip] => 19026
[city] => Pilgrim Gardens
[state] => PA
[phone] => (484) 555-0109
[fav_color] => #9d61af
)

Script:

$User = new Databug();
$User->fav_color= $User->get_random_color();
$DATA = $User->get_data();
$DATA['fav_color'] = $User->fav_color;
print_r($DATA);

phpDocumentor Commenting Style

2006-05-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

I'm a vigil (somewhat anal) commentor. A good part of the art in coding for me rests with neat, well formatted, and consistent comments. Over the last couple years I've developed my own style, idiosyncratic perhaps, but neatly formatted and easy to pick up at a glance. (You can see examples of it on my design blog.)

For the sake of this project, however, I am making a concerted effort to use the phpDocumentor style. I'm slowly getting the hang of it. There is extensive online documentation, but I'd trade it all for one complete demo file. (I must have someone on my drive somewhere.)

phpDocumentor organizes comments around DocBlocks. For a class, I count four key DocBlocks.

1. The Page Block

/**
* Package PackageName
* desciption of package here --
*
* @package PackageName
* @author Name
*/

2. The Class Block

/**
* Class ClassName
*
* NOTES
* notes here
*
* @package PackageName
* @author Name
* @version
*/

3. The Variable Block

/**
* @access public
* @var string
*/

4. The Method Block

/**
* Short description of method
* Usage: $result = $_O['data_obj']->Method($string, $integer, $float, $ARRAY);
*
* @access public/private
* @param string $string
* @param integer $integer
* @param float $float
* @param array $ARRAY
* @return string $return
*/

Zip Code and Phone Methods

2006-05-18T23:51:00.000-07:00

I've added methods to generate a random city, state, and zip pulled from a flat file I adapted from US census data. I also have a flat file of select US area codes, useful for generating phone numbers. The area code list includes values for the second three phone number digits (what's the word for that?), but I have a 'safe' flag that automatically sets this to '555' to help avoid publishing real phone numbers.

Both methods can be keyed to state and thus can be coordinated for greater verisimilitude. I have a function somewhere for generating a street name (using the last name database). I'll have to integrate that in order to generate a full street address.

A sample generated data array:

Array
(
[first_name] => averil
[last_name] => malcolm
[user_name] => amalcolm
[full_name] => averil malcolm
[gender] => f
[email] => amalcolm11041@sbcglobal.net
[zip] => 38018
[city] => Cordova
[state] => TN
[phone] => (901) 555-6329
)

Simple Demonstration

2006-05-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

Array created by databug object:

Array
(
[first_name] => waylin
[last_name] => byron
[user_name] => wbyron
[full_name] => waylin byron
[gender] => 2
[email] => wbyron_7bd2@hotmail.com
)

Databug Blog Established

2006-05-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

Databug is a PHP class I've been working on. It creates random user profiles. Sounds lame, but I've found it useful for testing and haven't really seen anything like it.

I'll publish the source code as soon as I've cleaned it up and made it presentable. This blog will demonstrate its usage and may include some notes on its development.