UBB.Developers Forums Community Development Programming PHP and Server-side Scripting CGI Assistance, Any and All help is Appreciated !

I have the following in my CGI script. If customfield1 is blank then I want customfield1 to change its value and equal $vars_config{NonCGIURL}/avatar-generic.gif. But if customfield1 is NOT blank then I do not want customfield1 to change at all.

$CustomField1 = $user_profile[20]

if( $CustomField1 eq '') {
$CustomField1 = qq($vars_config{NonCGIURL}/avatar-generic.gif);
} else {
$CustomField1 = $user_profile[20];
}

I tried the above perl code but it seems to not be working. My AIM is JZollo66 and I will be on throughout the day attempting to solve this problem.

This is for a new Avatar hack that allows users to define their own avatar from a URL. Anyone who helps me gets the hack first.

[ May 05, 2001 09:52 AM: Message edited by: JZollo66 ]

That code looks correct, assuming that $vars_config{NonCGIURL} is defined, and that the missing semicolon is just a typo here.

What does "seems to not be working" mean?

You could simplify it a little:

Allow me to explain, my seems to be ignoring that "if" statement and just going with $CustomField1 = $user_profile[20];

$user_profile[20] is defined. If the user doesn't put something down when they sign up then it is blank. If they do not put a URL down for their custom avatar then I want a generic image to appear.

In my HTML it looks like this - If the user did define their value then their value should show up, if they didn't then a generic image should show up.

Basically, if $user_profile[20] is blank, then I want to change its value to $vars_config{NonCGIURL}/avatar-generic.gif

Is this possible ?

This sounds like it may be more of a UBB mod question than a Perl question, so maybe posting it in the mod questions forum would get a more accurate response.

If an 'if' doesn't appear to be having an effect, the way to troubleshoot it is to add 'print' or 'warn' statements around the problem area to see exactly what the variables are getting set to.

Another possibility is that your code isn't located in the right place in the script, so the change you're making isn't getting saved.

If it's really $user_profile[20] that needs to be updated, perhaps you meant to do this:

Simply remove: $CustomField1 = $user_profile[20]

Your code set a variable and then checks to see if it equals nothing? Either move that line to the beginning to serve as a default if code later on sets it. Or, kill it as I suggest and let the if/else statements set it accordingly. It's the positioning that matters if your code is used (btw, add a semi-colon on the end of that 1st line).

I always advise setting a default at the beginning of source to compensate for any missing future file or user input errors/conditions. Later on, check for values and set conditionally. If no conditions are met, the value is the default. Your else condition essentially does that, so either method will work, but your method obviously cannot.

When you define defaults for variables, think ahead as to possible mistakes. The default should always be a "fallback" setting if literally, all else fails. You can even use defaults to see if other routines failed. Defaults are good, if used properly. But positioning is the key.

-Jim

Don't you get a server error? as you forgot the semi colan on the end of the first line
$CustomField1 = $user_profile[20]