Question

I use the JQuery Cycle slideshow a lot in a bunch of different stuff. It’s always the same deal in the head:

<script type="text/javascript">
  $(document).ready(function() {
    $('.slideshow').cycle({
      fx: 'fade',
      etc...'
    });
  });
</script>

Then the pics in the body:

<div class='slideshow'>
  <img src='photo1.jpg' width height />
  <img src='photo1.jpg' width height />
  <img src='photo1.jpg' width height />
  etc...
</div>

This time though, I’m building a search engine for vendors. Each vendor returned needs to have a little slideshow in their display box. I’m using the vendor_id to keep the slideshow classes unique, but I had to move the javascript down into the body, actually part of my query results:

while($rst = mysql_fetch_array( SQL is happening... )) {
print("
  <script type='text/javascript'>
  $(document).ready(function() {
    $('.s$rst[vendor_id]').cycle({ 
    fx:     'fade', 
    etc...
    });
  });
  </script> 
  <div class='s$rst[vendor_id]'>
    <img src='$rst[prime_image]' width height />
    <img src='$rst[second_image]' width height />
    <img src='$rst[third_image]' width height />
    etc...
  </div>
");}

Works just fine, can anyone think of a problem with this method before I button it up and move on to something else? Burning up unnecessary memory or something like that?

Thanks,
J

Answer 1

Why not wrap those calls to cycle() in a function?

You’d save count($rst) times strlen() – strlen(functionname+parameters) and it would look and be alot more clean.
You can even keep your cycle() in the header.. or better.. in a dedicated file.js. (which could even be containing a jquery plugin that wraps the call if you fancy that!)

while($rst = mysql_fetch_array( SQL is happening... )) {
print("
  <script type='text/javascript'>
  $(document).ready(function() {
    $('.s$rst[vendor_id]').cyclecaller(cycleoptions);
  });
......