ulib.php

A collection of PHP utility functions for common web development tasks.

Autoloading & Setup

The library automatically registers a class autoloader and starts the profiler:

// Auto-loads classes from lib/{classname}.class.php
require_once 'lib/ulib.php';

Asset Management

include_js('js/script.js')          // Outputs <script> tag with cache busting
include_css('css/style.css')        // Outputs <link> tag with cache busting
get_file_location($file)            // Find file in include paths

Assets are automatically versioned with filemtime() for cache busting.

HTML/Security Functions

safe($text)                         // HTML escape for content
asafe($text)                        // HTML escape for attributes (strips newlines)
jsafe($data)                        // JSON encode (alias for json_encode)

Configuration

cfg('database/host')                // Get config value with slash notation
cfg('url/root')                     // Access nested config arrays

Reads from $GLOBALS['config'] with support for nested keys using / separator.

Utility Functions

first($a, $b, $c)                   // Return first non-empty value
alnum($text, '_', true)             // Keep only alphanumeric + spaces
write_to_file($file, $content)      // Append content to file

first() Examples

$name = first($user_input, $default_name, 'Anonymous');
$config = first($_GET['theme'], $_COOKIE['theme'], 'default');

String Processing

String Parsing

nibble(':', $path, $found)          // Extract substring before delimiter
// Example: nibble(':', 'user:pass', $found) → 'user', $path becomes 'pass'

Date/Time

age_to_string($timestamp)           // Human-friendly time differences
// Examples: "just now", "5 min ago", "2 h ago", "Mon 14:30"

Hash Generation

make_hash()                         // Generate random hash (10 chars)
make_hash($input, 20)               // Hash specific input (20 chars)

Base Conversion

base_convert_any($num, $from, $to)  // Convert between any number bases
// Example: base_convert_any('FF', '0123456789ABCDEF', '0123456789') → '255'

Advanced Features

Include Path Resolution: Searches multiple paths for files
Automatic Permissions: Sets 0777 on written files
Cache Busting: Automatic versioning for JS/CSS
Reference Parameters: Functions like nibble() modify input variables
Flexible Base Conversion: Support for custom character sets

Common Usage Patterns

// Configuration-driven asset loading
include_css(cfg('theme/css_file'));

// Safe template output
echo '<div title="' . asafe($user_input) . '">' . safe($content) . '</div>';

// Fallback values
$title = first($_POST['title'], $default_title, 'Untitled');

// URL parsing
$protocol = nibble('://', $url);  // Extract 'http' from 'http://example.com'

// Time display
echo 'Posted ' . age_to_string($post_timestamp);

Error Handling

Functions include built-in error handling:

get_file_location() dies with error message if file not found
write_to_file() uses error suppression for chmod
Most functions return safe defaults for invalid input

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