XHTML Output with PHP

[jadiebrown]

I am using Aptana for an exercise coming directly from a php study guide. The idea is to create a very basic table to understand more about creating XHTML output in the PHP language.

I am using the output method. I have also tried the same exercise using Heredocs but still have the same problem.

Problem: When viewed in a browser the table is only one cell. There should be four cells (two rows, two columns). But all the text is just evenly spaced in one cell - no table as such.

Here is the code I have used which comes directly from the guidebook I am using for study:

<?php
$name = "John";
$address = "123 Main Str.";
$output = " ";
$output .= "<table style= \"border: 1px solid black\ "> \n";
$output .= " <tr> \n";
$output .= " <td>Name</td> \n";
$output .= " <td>$name</td> \n";
$output .= " </tr> \n";
$output .= " <tr> \n";
$output .= " <td>Address</td> \n";
$output .= " <td>$address</td> \n";
$output .= " </tr>
$output .= "</table>

print $output

PS if anybody knows what the third line of the code (output = " " is for, that would be great!

 

[jadiebrown]

Apologies, my coding was a little messy; here is the correct coding I used:

<?php
$name = "John";
$address = "123 Main Str.";
$output = " ";
$output .= "<table style= \"border: 1px solid black\ "> \n;
$output .= " <tr> \n";
$output .= " <td>Name</td> \n";
$output .= " <td>$name</td> \n";
$output .= " </tr> \n";
$output .= " <tr> \n";
$output .= " <td>Address</td> \n";
$output .= " <td>$address</td> \n";
$output .= " </tr> \n";
$output .= "</table>\n";

print $output
?>

 

[jadiebrown]

I have figured out the reason:

I needed to code the table tag like this in order to actually see the cells. Effectively I had created a border value of "0".

<table border="1">