Substr ($variable,x,x) In Echo Statement

[jamesjmann]

echo("<p class=\"commentboxContainer\"><table width=100% border=0>
                      <tr>
                        <td bgcolor=\"#EEE\"><strong><p class=fltlft>$name </strong>says:</p></td>
                      </tr>
                    </table>
                    <table width=100% border=0 bgcolor=\"#EEE\">
                      <tr>
                        <td width=40%><img src=../images/Icons/People/Anonymous.png width=64 height=64 border=1 /></td>
                        <td width=60%>$comment',0,6</td>
                      </tr>
                    </table>
                    <table width=100% border=0>
                      <tr>
                        <td bgcolor=\"#EEE\" ><p class=fltlft><em>$email</em></p></td>
                      </tr>
                      <tr>
                        <td bgcolor=\"#EEE\" ><p class=fltlft>added on $time</p></td>
                      </tr>
                    </table></p><br>"); 

 

Here's my echo statement for displaying comments by users.  I want to add a substr (); function to limit the amount of characters of the $comment field. That way if a user makes a long comment it doesn't push the page down.

 

I tried putting it after the echo ();  but that didn't work. I also tried putting it before $comment and that didn't even work. I know that if I make two separate echo statements, this can be done, but the field "$comment" is displayed within a table that is part of the original echo statement, so what do I do?

[jamesjmann]

Ok, half of it is no longer an issue, i.e., breaking it up into three different echo statements doesn't mess up the css.

 

Here's the new code:

echo("<p class=\"commentboxContainer\"><table width=100% border=0>
                      <tr>
                        <td bgcolor=\"#EEE\"><strong><p class=fltlft>$name </strong>says:</p></td>
                      </tr>
                    </table>
                    <table width=100% border=0 bgcolor=\"#EEE\">
                      <tr>
                        <td width=40%><img src=../images/Icons/People/Anonymous.png width=64 height=64 border=1 /></td>
                        <td width=60%>"); 
                        echo substr ("$comment,6");
                        echo ("</td>
                      </tr>
                    </table>
                    <table width=100% border=0>
                      <tr>
                        <td bgcolor=\"#EEE\" ><p class=fltlft><em>$email</em></p></td>
                      </tr>
                      <tr>
                        <td bgcolor=\"#EEE\" ><p class=fltlft>added on $time</p></td>
                      </tr>
                    </table></p><br>"); 

 

The problem I'm having now, though, is with the Substr ();

 

I get the error:

Warning: Wrong parameter count for substr()

 

What did I do wrong?

[Zurev]

You're using the substr function in the context of string,6 - Meaning it's just skipping the first 5 characters?

 

Just make sort of like an excerpt, determine a length you want the maximum to be seen, and have a link to read the rest.

 

Something like:

http://danlamanna.com/portfolio/?p=24

[jamesjmann]

Problem solved.

 

I realized that I shouldn't have double quoted the inside of the "echo substr();".

 

I tried using single quotes around the variable next, but I learned that when you add single quotes, your telling the echo statement to display precisely what you write within them, whereas if you leave the variable single/double quote free, it outputs the data contained within the variable.

 

I also scripted the numerical values within the function wrong. I only put ($comment, 6); but it should've been ($comment, 0, 50);