Init.php and a Question of Speed
11 posts by 6 authors in: Forums > CMS Builder
Last Post: June 4, 2010 (RSS)
By Perchpole - May 30, 2010
It seems like I've been using CMSB for years. During that time I've become familiar with its many great features and learned - I hope - to take advantage of most of them.
The result is that my CMSB sites are becoming ever more complex. The only downside is that with such complexity comes repetition!
My goal in recent weeks has been to see if I can cram as much CMSB content into as few pages as possible. (With careful planning you can deliver a fairly complex CMSB website through just one page.) One of the ways I've sought to do this is by using an init.php file. Instead of adding variants of the same code to the <head> of each page, I simply put all of the data into one file (the init.php) and call it via a php include.
In effect you're adding the same code to every page - but you only ever need to create it once. Better still, as the site expands you just keep updating the init.php.
From a design viewpoint it seems to work flawlessly. My only concern is I do not know how much of a hit the server is taking every time a new page is loaded.
Obviously there must come a point where the presence of so much data will start to have an adverse effect. I have no idea how to calculate this so wondered if the PHP aficionados amongst the community would provide some information and suggestions.
As an example, the init.php file that I'm currently working with is about 7kb. It includes approximately 10 list() functions along with numerous other snippets of code.
:0)
Perchpole
Re: [Perchpole] Init.php and a Question of Speed
By aev - May 31, 2010
-aev-
Re: [Perchpole] Init.php and a Question of Speed
By Donna - May 31, 2010
Nope, no problem doing that at all -- in fact, we often setup something exactly like that in the sites we create -- our listing/realty/auto templates all use a separate init file just to simplify things a bit. :)
--
support@interactivetools.com
Re: [Donna] Init.php and a Question of Speed
By Perchpole - May 31, 2010
Thanks for your response. From what you tell me it seems I can breath a little easier!
However, in terms of the wider debate, and best practise, I assume there are certain things we should bear in mind to avoid putting uneccesary strain on a server.
For example, I've heard that too many foreach loops can make things slow down considerably.
:o/
Perch
Re: [Perchpole] Init.php and a Question of Speed
By Jason - June 2, 2010
Yes, foreach loops can slow down the server, but you probably wouldn't notice any change in performance unless you are looping through quite a large number of records. .
Hope this helps.
Jason Sauchuk - Project Manager
interactivetools.com
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Re: [Djulia] Init.php and a Question of Speed
By Perchpole - June 3, 2010
Again, thanks for your feedback. I have noticed one of my sites appears to stutter as it loads a menu file - which is crowded with foreach loops.
Like many people (I suspect), I simply have no idea what represents "best practise" when it comes to lean and efficient php code for CMSB. That's one of the reasons why I started this debate. Any more efficiency tips would be most welcome.
:0s
Perchpole
Re: [Perchpole] Init.php and a Question of Speed
By Djulia - June 3, 2010
You can cache [font "Verdana"]foreach loops in files on your server.
Djulia
Re: [Djulia] Init.php and a Question of Speed
By Perchpole - June 3, 2010
Plz tell me more!
:0)
Perch