A PHP/MySQL HierMenus Generation Interface - WebReference.com

A PHP - MySQL Interface for HierMenus 4

J. Chakrabarty

HierMenus is a powerful and flexible hierarchical menu script written by Peter Belesis and available at WebReference.com. It is going through a constant process of evolution and now we have Version 4.1, which addresses many of the limitations of previous versions and is compatible with a wider variety of browsers.

HierMenus requires hard coded external JavaScript arrays that contain details of the menu trees as well as menu parameters. This article presents an interface to HierMenus intended to combine the power and flexibility of HierMenus with that of a database driven by this interface. The database will store the menu trees and parameters and a small but powerful script will access the database and dynamically generate the arrays required by HierMenus.

Use of the database will make it possible to expand this interface for generating context sensitive hierarchical menus on the fly. Some potential applications are discussed at the end of the article.

The interface program is written in PHP and uses a MySQL database. Incidentally, both MySQL and PHP are open-source programs and a majority of the hosts now provide support for these due to the increasing popularity of the PHP / MySQL combination.

Requirements

Whatever HierMenus needs with a few changes that will be explained shortly. HierMenus is available at http://www.webreference.com/dhtml/hiermenus/.

Server that runs PHP3 or PHP4.

MySQL support on the server.

The PHP interface, which can be downloaded from the author's site at http://www.creativephp.com/php/Downloads/php-Download.html.

This program can be easily adapted for use with other types of databases e.g. mSQL, Microsoft SQL, Oracle, Sybase, Access, PostgreSQL, InterBase etc. for which support is available in PHP.

It is assumed that you are already initiated in the use of HierMenus. You don't need to understand exactly how the program works or need to be an expert in the JavaScript that HierMenus uses in order to make use of the PHP/MySQL interface described here. You do, however, have to know how to use the program and need to have a basic understanding of the various parameters in the menu arrays and for what each is required.