Is there a slick way of embedding HTML that doesn't involve constantly opening and closing the php tags or escaping quotes? It seems I always run into issues when embedding html, particularly when I'm trying to use a php variable inside the html.

You could use the heredoc syntax:
http://www.php.net/manual/en/languag...syntax.heredoc

Personally I don't really have a problem with opening and closing tags. Maybe it's just a matter of taste. Can you give an example of where it is a problem for you?

well, not really having problems, I just find it tedious and annoying.

I prefer opening and closing the php tags, though in order to use a php variable it has to be echo and escaped. (so far as I know)

I've got a MASSIVE table with over 400 input fields, and in order to put the date, and other various auto-fills in some places using a variable, I now have to echo and escape close to 1500 lines of code.

Terribly annoying.

Originally Posted by madnhain

well, not really having problems, I just find it tedious and annoying.

I prefer opening and closing the php tags, though in order to use a php variable it has to be echo and escaped. (so far as I know)

I've got a MASSIVE table with over 400 input fields, and in order to put the date, and other various auto-fills in some places using a variable, I now have to echo and escape close to 1500 lines of code.

Terribly annoying.

Or you could just do it in a function or two, given they're essentially the same lines repeated.

Maybe if you provide some more details someone can come up with a less tedious solution. As Paul pointed out you can use a function to generate the input fields. For example:

PHP Code:

<?php
function text_field($key, $value = null)
{
    if($value === null && isset($_POST[$key]))
        $value = $_POST[$key];
?>
<input type="text" name="<?php echo $key; ?>" value="<?php echo $value; ?>" />
<?php
}
?>

here's a link the the form in question: http://testarea.net78.net/crown/time_sheet.php

it's a constant work in process, and doesn't have any style yet. Basically, it's a time sheet that will be filled out, the input field for CREW will actually end up being a drop down menu dynamically filled by a list of available crews which will be edited by staff. (I could probably implement the function call there)

on the top of each "day" on the right, it says "A_date" that will be auto-filled with the appropriate date for that particular day of the week.

I tried doing something like this:

PHP Code:

<input type="text" name="i_week_ending" size="24" value="<?php include('mylibrary/fridays_date.php'); ?>"/>

but it's not producing the results I want yet...

<edit>

after the employees fill out their time sheets, the staff will need to be able to alter this information, so they will need to view this form with all the contents that the employee provided. each form field will need to have a value=$*** that will be pulled from the database. I think that's going to be the bugger.

You need a major step back and a bit of study on software design! You're undertaking a significant development without the necessary knowledge - you're going to spend an age developing spaghetti code that might work one day if you're lucky!

Take a big step back. Read a little about the s/w design process, read up on functional decomposition - get an idea of program structures, then get an idea of the language features, then plan the code. Old, old saying: The sooner you start writing code the longer it takes.

And I agree 100% on what Paul is saying.

One day of planning the code will save a week of debugging. It may seem tedious intially but it will payoff later.

Also try to work in functions, modules or classes. Each one can be tested as you complete them and it provides a structure to the overall development process.

thanks for the input guys!