| Re: Most efficient way to randomize a quiz from a database [message #170597 is a reply to message #170589] |
Tue, 09 November 2010 14:55   |
Matthew Leonhardt
Messages: 9
Registered: November 2010
Karma:
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Junior Member |
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"Erwin Moller"
<Since_humans_read_this_I_am_spammed_too_much(at)spamyourself(dot)com> wrote in
message news:4cd91905$0$41103$e4fe514c(at)news(dot)xs4all(dot)nl...
> On 11/8/2010 7:52 PM, Mason Barge wrote:
>> On Mon, 8 Nov 2010 11:45:16 -0500, "Matthew Leonhardt"
>> <matt(at)mattleonhardtmusic(dot)com> wrote:
>>
>>> "Mason Barge"<masonbarge(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote in message
>>> news:s87gd61ldtnkeuuc817uiej2qmv0s4vc88(at)4ax(dot)com...
>>>> I'm creating a quiz using PHP 5.3 and MySQL (mysqli). The database has
>>>> about 1000 questions and answers, in categories, and I want to ask 12
>>>> randomly selected questions, one at a time.
>>>>
>>>> Which would be more efficient:
>>>>
>>>> 1) Make one call to the database and build an array, stored in session
>>>> variables, of 12 randomly chosen rows; or
>>>
>>> Most likely this method. You're talking about a fairly small amount of
>>> data
>>> though, so I highly doubt you need to be worried about efficiency...
>>>
>>>> 2) Make 12 requests to the database?
>>>>
>>>> I'm open to other general approaches if anyone has a suggestion I
>>>> haven't
>>>> considered.
>>>
>>> You could also opt for a hybrid solution...generate a session array
>>> containing 12 primary keys and then with each page load, just pop the
>>> next
>>> question, so to speak :)
>>
>> Yeah that's what I'd do.
>>
>>>> I'd like to avoid reloading the page after every answer and I don't see
>>>> how I could use Ajax with #1. The quiz has to be in PHP because I need
>>>> to
>>>> generate the final score as a PHP variable, not a javascript variable.
>>>
>>> I don't see how #1 prevents an AJAX solution. What's your cause for
>>> worry
>>> about that? Regarding the language in which the final score is
>>> calculated,
>>> look at json_encode() and json_decode() for convenient data-passing
>>> between
>>> the two languages.
>>>
>>
>> Thanks so much, I've been out of touch with PHP for a long time and
>> didn't
>> know about JSON. It solves so many problems with this kind of thing.
>
> Hi Mason Barge,
>
> I don't want to be too negative, but you exaggerate things.
> JSon is just a dataformat definition to exchange data.
Yes...
> You have *your* serverside PHP scripts, and *your* JavaScript in the
> browser.
> So you might as well make up your own format and use that. ;-)
> I don't see how JSON is solving so many problems for you.
....how does it just being a format definition (with provided functions for
performing data conversion) NOT solve problems? Why was it functionalized
into the language if it *didn't* solve problems?
Passing a complex JS object to a PHP AJAX script--problem. Using JSON as an
encoding method--solution.
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