Calling funtions from an include in PHP

Adam · 18-05-2006 3:48pm #1

I've written a couple of functions to be contained in a seperate file, which i call with include(). Here's one of them:

[php]function getpremium($def,$indexation, $age, $term, $sex, $smokerstatus, $sum_assured, $premium_freq) {

if($def==3 && $indexation==0) $rate_series="P249";

if($def==6 && $indexation==0) $rate_series="P250";

if($def==12 && $indexation==0) $rate_series="P251";

if($def==3 && $indexation==1) $rate_series="P252";

if($def==6 && $indexation==1) $rate_series="P253";

if($def==12 && $indexation==1) $rate_series="P254";

$rate_to_use=$rate[$rate_series][$age][$term][$sex][$smokerstatus];

if($premium_freq=="12"){

$basic=((11.5*$rate_to_use*$sum_assured/10000)/$premium_freq);

}else{

$basic=((12*$rate_to_use*$sum_assured/10000)/$premium_freq);

}

$premium=($policy_charge+$basic);

Return $premium;[/php]
Now my problem is this. The variables $def, $indexation etc. are entered into a form, call it script1.php, which sends off to script2.php, where i need to call the function to make the calculations. However its not working, and to be honest I don't know why! Here's script2.php:

[php]<?php

$def = $_POST;
$indexation = $_POST;
$age = $_POST;
$term = $_POST;
$sex = $_POST;
$smokerstatus = $_POST;
$sum_assured = $_POST;
$premium_freq = $_POST;

include 'mortgage_phi.php';

validate($age, $term, $sex, $smokerstatus);

echo "You are ". $age . " years old and requested a term of " . $term . " years. Your are ". $sex ." and your smoking status is ". $smokerstatus .".<br />";

getpremium();

echo "You're premium is " .$premium. ".";

?>
</body></html>[/php]
Any help appreciated, cheers!

Gosh · 18-05-2006 4:23pm

change the first piece of code to

function getpremium() {

global $def,$indexation, $age, $term, $sex, $smokerstatus, $sum_assured, $premium_freq;

etc etc etc

Adam · 18-05-2006 4:35pm

Nope, it still doesn't return anything for $premium...

Gosh · 18-05-2006 4:38pm

add $premium on to the end of the global statement

Gosh · 18-05-2006 4:44pm

the $rate array and $policy_charge will have to be declared as global as well

Adam · 18-05-2006 4:52pm

That worked, mind you $premium is coming back as 0 so I'll have to revise my maths!

democrates · 18-05-2006 4:55pm

There's no closing curly brace on the getpremium function,
and you are passing it no arguments while it expects 8.
It needs the $rate 5-dimensional array(!) and $policy_charge passed in too. I assume the include defines $policy_charge and the $rate array, they're not defined in 'script2.php'.

This is about 'variable scope'. Inside a function there is no default access to outside variables, you either pass them in as arguments, or define them inside as globals so the function can access them as gosh suggested. Otherwise the php interpreter sets up a brand new $policy_charge for example within the scope of the function, a totally seperate one to any $policy_charge variable in global scope or within other functions.

seamus · 18-05-2006 5:17pm

don't bother declaring anything global. The problem is that the function getpremium is designed to evaluate to something - in its original form it doesn't alter any global variables.

All you have to write is $premium = getpremium() (and insert the values required).

Adam · 18-05-2006 5:24pm

Sorry, there is a curly bracket closing the function, i just didn't copy it. Yep, $rate and $policy_charge are defined in the include script. I'm still getting nothing for $premium though...when I say nothing I mean '0' as apposed to literally nothing. Here's script1.php and the revised function getpremium:

script1.php
[PHP]<html>
<body>

<form action="test_result.php" method="post">
<table width=95% cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 border=0 class=newtbl>

<tr>
<th width=100% colspan=10>Customers Selection</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Enter Age: </td>
<td><input name=age value=<?=$age?>></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Enter Term: </td>
<td><input name=term value=<?=$term?>></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Enter Sex: </td>
<td>
<select name="sex" value=<?$sex?>>
<option value='M'>M
<option value='F'>F
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Smoking Status: </td>
<td>
<select name="smokerstatus" value=<?$smokerstatus?>>
<option value='Y'>Y
<option value='N'>N
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Sum Assured: </td>
<td><input name=sum_assured value=<?=$sum_assured?>></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Premium Frequency: </td>
<td>
<select name="premium_freq" value=<?$premium_freq?>>
<option value='1'>Month
<option value='2'>Quarter
<option value='3'>Half
<option value='4'>Year
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Deferral: </td>
<td>
<select name="def" value=<?$def?>>
<option value='3'>3
<option value='6'>6
<option value='12'>12
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Indexation: </td>
<td>
<select name="indexation" value=<?$indexation?>>
<option value='1'>Y
<option value='0'>N
</td>
<tr>
<td width=30%> </td>
<td width=70% align=right><input type="submit" /></td>
</tr>
</table>

</body>
</HTML>[/PHP]

function getpremium:
[PHP]function getpremium() {

global $def,$indexation, $age, $term, $sex, $smokerstatus, $sum_assured, $premium_freq, $premium;

if($def==3 && $indexation==0) $rate_series="P249";

if($def==6 && $indexation==0) $rate_series="P250";

if($def==12 && $indexation==0) $rate_series="P251";

if($def==3 && $indexation==1) $rate_series="P252";

if($def==6 && $indexation==1) $rate_series="P253";

if($def==12 && $indexation==1) $rate_series="P254";

if($premium_freq==1) $policy_charge="2.54";

if($premium_freq==2) $policy_charge="7.62";

if($premium_freq==3) $policy_charge="15.24";

if($premium_freq==4) $policy_charge="25.40";

$rate_to_use=$rate[$rate_series][$age][$term][$sex][$smokerstatus];

if($premium_freq=="4"){

$basic=((11.5*$rate_to_use*$sum_assured/10000)/$premium_freq);

}else{

$basic=((12*$rate_to_use*$sum_assured/10000)/$premium_freq);

}

$premium=($policy_charge+$basic);

Return $premium;

}[/PHP]

And when I run through the form i get the policy charge as the premium, which means that $basic is empty...

Adam · 18-05-2006 5:25pm

seamus wrote:

don't bother declaring anything global. The problem is that the function getpremium is designed to evaluate to something - in its original form it doesn't alter any global variables.

All you have to write is $premium = getpremium() (and insert the values required).

What do you mean by insert the values required?

Gosh · 18-05-2006 6:11pm

Gosh wrote:

the $rate array and $policy_charge will have to be declared as global as well

You missed this post - I think that's why your $rate to use is evaluating to zero

Gosh · 18-05-2006 6:24pm

fade_to_grey wrote:

What do you mean by insert the values required?

Go back to your original code and change

getpremium();

to 

$premium = getpremium($def, $indexation, $age, $term, $sex, $smokerstatus, $sum_assured, $premium_freq);

you'll need to add $policy_charge to the function getpremium statement and the call to getpremium statement , and define the $rate array as global since you are using it within the function to retrieve the rate

and remove the global statement

it's your choice which way you want to go - stay as global or go as seamus suggests

seamus · 18-05-2006 7:17pm

^^
What he said

Adam · 18-05-2006 8:07pm

Ok, still no luck...

I think i've done everything advised here...

script1.php:

[PHP]<html>
<body>

<form action="test_result.php" method="post">
<table width=95% cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 border=0 class=newtbl>

<tr>
<th width=100% colspan=10>Customers Selection</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Enter Age: </td>
<td><input name=age value=<?=$age?>></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Enter Term: </td>
<td><input name=term value=<?=$term?>></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Enter Sex: </td>
<td>
<select name="sex" value=<?$sex?>>
<option value='M'>M
<option value='F'>F
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Smoking Status: </td>
<td>
<select name="smokerstatus" value=<?$smokerstatus?>>
<option value='Y'>Y
<option value='N'>N
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Sum Assured: </td>
<td><input name=sum_assured value=<?=$sum_assured?>></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Premium Frequency: </td>
<td>
<select name="premium_freq" value=<?$premium_freq?>>
<option value='1'>Month
<option value='2'>Quarter
<option value='3'>Half
<option value='4'>Year
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Deferral: </td>
<td>
<select name="def" value=<?$def?>>
<option value='3'>3
<option value='6'>6
<option value='12'>12
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=20%> Indexation: </td>
<td>
<select name="indexation" value=<?$indexation?>>
<option value='1'>Y
<option value='0'>N
</td>
<tr>
<td width=30%> </td>
<td width=70% align=right><input type="submit" /></td>
</tr>
</table>

</body>
</HTML>[/PHP]

script2.php:

[PHP]<?php

$def = $_POST;
$indexation = $_POST;
$age = $_POST;
$term = $_POST;
$sex = $_POST;
$smokerstatus = $_POST;
$sum_assured = $_POST;
$premium_freq = $_POST;

include 'mortgage_phi.php';

validate($age, $term, $sex, $smokerstatus);

echo "You are ". $age . " years old and requested a term of " . $term . " years. Your are ". $sex ." and your smoking status is ". $smokerstatus .".<br />";

$premium = getpremium($def, $indexation, $age, $term, $sex, $smokerstatus, $sum_assured, $premium_freq, $premium, $basic, $policy_charge);

echo "You're premium is " .$premium. ".";

?>
</body></html>[/PHP]

function getpremium:

[PHP]function getpremium($def, $indexation, $age, $term, $sex, $smokerstatus, $sum_assured, $premium_freq, $premium, $basic, $rate) {

if($def==3 && $indexation==0) $rate_series="P249";

if($def==6 && $indexation==0) $rate_series="P250";

if($def==12 && $indexation==0) $rate_series="P251";

if($def==3 && $indexation==1) $rate_series="P252";

if($def==6 && $indexation==1) $rate_series="P253";

if($def==12 && $indexation==1) $rate_series="P254";

if($premium_freq==1) $policy_charge="2.54";

if($premium_freq==2) $policy_charge="7.62";

if($premium_freq==3) $policy_charge="15.24";

if($premium_freq==4) $policy_charge="25.40";

$rate_to_use=$rate[$rate_series][$age][$term][$sex][$smokerstatus];

if($premium_freq=="4"){

$basic=((11.5*$rate_to_use*$sum_assured/10000)/$premium_freq);

}else{

$basic=((12*$rate_to_use*$sum_assured/10000)/$premium_freq);

}

$premium=($policy_charge+$basic);

Return $premium;

}[/PHP]

Going a little bit crazy.....

democrates · 18-05-2006 9:28pm

That returned a premium for me ok, had to comment the call to the validate function of course, could there be something cooky going on with that one as happened with getPremium?

Adam · 18-05-2006 9:30pm

Yeah, probably gotta have a look at validate now too, should manage now with the pointers from ya'll on getpremium, cheers!

Adam · 18-05-2006 9:37pm

Ok even commenting out validate i cant get it to work...

I mean I do get a premium, but its just the value of which ever policy charge applies from the choice of premium frequency in the form...

So $basic is still coming back empty....

Just as a matter of interest, what did you use for $rate?

seamus · 18-05-2006 9:47pm

For future reference (although I'm not sure if this'll be more confusing than helpful

)

There are two types of functions: Those that return values and those that don't.
In general, if you're writing a function which returns a value, you make it as non-specific as possible. That is, you should be able to lift the function from one script and drop it into another, with no "variable not defined" errors, etc.

For example, imagine you are working with files. You want to write a function which saves and closes a file that you have open. You also want this function to return "true" or "false", based on whether you successfully closed the file. Ignore anything you know about files or php - I'm talking in general programming terms here ::)
So you could just call the function closeFile(). Inside this function, you have the handle/name of the file which you will close. It all works hunky dory. But what if in another script you want to use this in, opens a different file? You either have to write a new function (e.g. closeFile2), or you have to change the text of the function and copy and paste it into the other script. Right?
Or you could write the function and take the file handle as an argument - e.g. closeFile($filehandle). Now you've got a function that can close any file, anywhere, and tell you if it was successful or not.

Functions which don't return values are generally used for things specific to your scripts or set of scripts. For example, if I'm writing an application based on a Database backend, I'll have a function called init(), which will set up global variables, include extra files, etc etc. It doesn't return any value.

democrates · 18-05-2006 10:45pm

fade_to_grey wrote:

Just as a matter of interest, what did you use for $rate?

Oops!
You need to be able to see what's in each variable at each step in the process.
The simple method is to echo them, but you risk forgetting to remove these before you go live opening a security risk.
I now have a function which stores debug statements in a seperate db which only exists on my dev box, and I've a php script to view them. Worth developing when you get the time.

Adam · 18-05-2006 11:19pm

Yeah I know what you mean.

But anyway, an example of $rate would be:

[PHP]$rate=148.53;[/PHP]

There are literally thousands of these, for all the variations of age, term, sex, and smoker status, and the correct one should be selected depending on the criteria specified in the form. I know the getpremium function works, as i tested it using just one example of $rate and hardcoding the variables age, term etc. into the test script, and I got back a premium.

The problem arises with using the form variables but I cant see why... it is receiving the variables, as $policy_charge is based on the form selection and that will come out as my premium when i run the script, because $premium=($policy_charge + $basic), therefore if i get the policy back as my premium that would imply that $basic isn't being calculated...

Gosh · 18-05-2006 11:26pm

If the value of $rate_to_use is zero then the value of $basic will be zero.

$rate_to_use=$rate/COLOR][COLOR=#0000bb]$rate_series[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700 /COLOR][COLOR=#0000bb]$age[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700 /COLOR][COLOR=#0000bb]$term[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700 /COLOR][COLOR=#0000bb]$sex[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700 /COLOR][COLOR=#0000bb]$smokerstatus[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700;

it is the $rate array that is causing the problem it has a local scope in getpremium - you need to define this as a global so that getpremium can get the values from outside of it's scope.

Adam · 18-05-2006 11:30pm

Define $rate or getpremium as global? That confused me.... yes, I am new to defining functions!

Gosh · 18-05-2006 11:32pm

in getpremium add

global $rate;

Gosh · 18-05-2006 11:50pm

One final check before you set $rate_to_use would be to check that you actually have an entry in the $rate array. If it didn't exist you would get a value of zero for $rate_to_use.

To check if the rate combination exists do the following

if (!isset($rate[$rate_series][$age][$term][$sex][$smokerstatus])) {
   $invalid_rate="Y";
}else{
  // carry on with your setting $rate_to_use and calculation
}

The invalid rate flag would have to be added to the list of parameters on the function and the call to the function and set to "N" before calling the function.

After $premium=getpremium(..... you can test the value of $invalid_rate to see if you had a valid rate to use in the function.

All of this, goes to show that using global is probably better (IMO) - you would not have to add variables to the function or function call. If you had used the function many times in your script then you would have to go and change every call to the function, whereas using global only needs it to be defined in the function itself.

Adam · 19-05-2006 12:00am

That works! Sort of... heh

No, your advice was brilliant. There's obviously a problem elsewhere, it wont calculate at all for a smoker... any criteria with a non smoker works, but the same criteria for a smoker wont, but should...

Gosh · 19-05-2006 12:17am

PM sent

Calling funtions from an include in PHP

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