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Re: Most efficient way to randomize a quiz from a database [message #170589 is a reply to message #170570]

Tue, 09 November 2010 09:48

Erwin Moller
Messages: 228
Registered: September 2010

Karma:

Senior Member

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.

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.

Regards,
Erwin Moller

--
"There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to
make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the
other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious
deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult."
-- C.A.R. Hoare

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[Message index]

		Most efficient way to randomize a quiz from a database By: Mason Barge on Mon, 08 November 2010 16:08
		Re: Most efficient way to randomize a quiz from a database By: Captain Paralytic on Mon, 08 November 2010 16:26
		Re: Most efficient way to randomize a quiz from a database By: Matthew Leonhardt on Mon, 08 November 2010 16:45
		Re: Most efficient way to randomize a quiz from a database By: Mason Barge on Mon, 08 November 2010 18:52
		Re: Most efficient way to randomize a quiz from a database By: Erwin Moller on Tue, 09 November 2010 09:48
		Re: Most efficient way to randomize a quiz from a database By: Matthew Leonhardt on Tue, 09 November 2010 14:55
		Re: Most efficient way to randomize a quiz from a database By: Erwin Moller on Tue, 09 November 2010 16:09
		Re: Most efficient way to randomize a quiz from a database By: Matthew Leonhardt on Tue, 09 November 2010 18:46

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