[pmwiki-users] MarkupExpressionsExtensions

Hans design5 at softflow.co.uk
Mon Apr 16 02:28:30 CDT 2007


Sunday, April 15, 2007, 10:41:08 PM, Patrick wrote:

>> >- I think {(server ...)} really ought to use the actual $_SERVER
>> > names instead of introducing its own.  Otherwise authors have
>> > to learn a different set of names for things that already have names.
>> 
>> Perhaps, but an admin that knew enough php to know all the server vars
>> would probably just be doing page variables or setting up their own
>> local extensions. My position as usual is to help those who don't
>> really know php.  

> As Dominique correctly points out, this has nothing to do with PHP.
> These are defined by the CGI protocol and come from the apache server
> (which is why PHP calls its variable $_SERVER).

Is there a need for a {(server ...)} markup expression? Would it not
be more fitting to use page variables for things like the user's browser
name or the ip address? And then I would use terms like {$Browser} and
{$IPAddress}. Just a short while ago Pm gave a definition for use of
"browser" in conditional markup. Who would want to use
{(server HTTP_USER_AGENT)} as wiki markup?

> By suggesting that we use the actual names, I _am_ advocating for
> and thinking of the non-programmers, because when a non-programmer 
> does a Google search for things like "how do I find out the user's 
> browser?" or "how do I find out the address a user is coming from?",
> that non-programmer is going to find references to HTTP_USER_AGENT
> and HTTP_REMOTE_ADDR and not 'browser' or 'ip'.

So a user who does not read much documentation, or does not memorise
it very well, tries to use {(server browser)} and this does not work.
so he will have to look up the meaning of {(server..)}, and finds
mention of HTTP_USER_AGENT. Then he is supposed to "google" on that
term to get more information?

To help a non-programming user it would be good to have a page
variable {$Browser}, which return a simple browser name, and perhaps
also {$BrowserVersion} to return a simple version info, good enough to
do any conditional switching.

Or are the markup expressions made available a backdoor to introduce
pure PHP, and Apache, terminology? A geek's powertool box in other
words, only for the initiated?


  ~Hans




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