Help with Adding Poll to a Website

Ok I am a Total Newbie and I have gone with the hardest Template to work with to begin with.

I bought The .PSD Template.

First up I wanted to get the Poll out of the way.

How do I integrate a Poll into the Website??

What I want is it to show the options and once the user has chosen a option it shows the results but it tracks cookies and ip addresses so that the same user cannot vote twice.

Anyone who can Help please help.

 

Polls require a server-side scripting language to process the results. Because the results of the poll have to be saved somehwere, they are saved on the server, and if you want to write to a file on the server you need a server-side scripting language. I could post an example for you but you have to tell me what language your web server supports (ASP, PHP, CGI, etc.) so I know what language to write it in. Or you can just tell me who your web hosting company is and I can find out on their site.

 

www.estyles.com.au

I wouldnt have a clue as to what lanugage it accepts.

 

Response Headers - http://www.estyles.com.au/

Date: Sat, 03 Jun 2006 06:15:53 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.36 (Unix) mod_auth_passthrough/1.8 mod_log_bytes/1.2 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635.SR1.2 mod_ssl/2.8.27 OpenSSL/0.9.7a PHP-CGI/0.1b
Cache-Control: no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate, post-check=0, pre-check=0
Expires: Thu, 19 Nov 1981 08:52:00 GMT
Pragma: no-cache
X-Powered-By: PHP/4.4.1
Keep-Alive: timeout=15, max=100
Connection: Keep-Alive
Transfer-Encoding: chunked
Content-Type: text/html

200 OK

Code (markup):

PHP, as a CGI? How odd on an Apache server.

cheers,

gary

 

Hi did ya happen to get a example running? Thanks in Advance.

 

you are totally newbie in means, and you make it harder by buying that PSD template, is there no ready-made one ?? i suggest you learn about cms, you are suitable for wysiwyg mode, not made-from-scratch guy.

 

im on a budget I thought I could learn as I go along.

Ive got simple links ect. undercontrol so far thats about it.

See I can download polls but I want it to blend into my website and I duno how to do that.

If I cant do something I will pay someone later on if I have to.

 

BTW reading up on CMS now Thanks just learnt it was

Content management system.

 

Hey chris, sorry it took me so long, here's a little poll I whipped up for you that should get you started...

Demo: http://www.ppcalc.com/test_code/poll/poll.php

In this example you only have to create one small text file called "poll_questions.txt" to keep all of your poll questions and answers in. They must be in this format..

[Question] [TAB] [Answer 1] [TAB] [Answer 2] [TAB] [Answer 3] etc..

With one question on each line. You can have an unlimited number of answers for each question. You can download a sample "poll questions" text file I made here.

Ok, now that you've done that simply copy and paste this code into a new file called "poll.php"

poll.php

<?php

$questions_file_location = './poll_questions.txt';
$responses_file_location = './poll_responses.txt';
$poll_ips_file_location = './poll_ips.txt';

/* *************************************************************************************************** */

/* file_puts_contents() function from PEAR PHP_Compat Package */
/* http://pear.php.net/package/PHP_Compat */
/* Provides missing functionality for older versions of PHP */
if (!defined('FILE_USE_INCLUDE_PATH')) { define('FILE_USE_INCLUDE_PATH', 1); }
if (!defined('LOCK_EX')) { define('LOCK_EX', 2); }
if (!defined('FILE_APPEND')) { define('FILE_APPEND', 8); }
if (!function_exists('file_put_contents')) {
 function file_put_contents($filename, $content, $flags = null, $resource_context = null) {
  // If $content is an array, convert it to a string
  if (is_array($content)) { $content = implode('', $content); }
  // If we don't have a string, throw an error
  if (!is_scalar($content)) {
   user_error('file_put_contents() The 2nd parameter should be either a string or an array',
   E_USER_WARNING);
   return false;
  }
  // Get the length of data to write
  $length = strlen($content);
  // Check what mode we are using
  $mode = ($flags & FILE_APPEND) ? 'a' : 'wb';
  // Check if we're using the include path
  $use_inc_path = ($flags & FILE_USE_INCLUDE_PATH) ? true : false;
  // Open the file for writing
  if (($fh = @fopen($filename, $mode, $use_inc_path)) === false) {
   user_error('file_put_contents() failed to open stream: Permission denied', E_USER_WARNING);
   return false;
  }
  // Attempt to get an exclusive lock
  $use_lock = ($flags & LOCK_EX) ? true : false ;
  if ($use_lock === true) {
   if (!flock($fh, LOCK_EX)) { return false; }
  }
  // Write to the file
  $bytes = 0;
  if (($bytes = @fwrite($fh, $content)) === false) {
   $errormsg = sprintf('file_put_contents() Failed to write %d bytes to %s', $length, $filename);
   user_error($errormsg, E_USER_WARNING);
   return false;
  }
  // Close the handle
  @fclose($fh);
  // Check all the data was written
  if ($bytes != $length) {
   $errormsg = sprintf('file_put_contents() Only %d of %d bytes written, possibly out of free disk space.', $bytes, $length);
   user_error($errormsg, E_USER_WARNING);
   return false;
  }
  // Return length
  return $bytes;
 }
}

/* *************************************************************************************************** */

if ((($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'POST') && ($_POST['choice'] != "") && ($_POST['question_number'] != "")) || ($_GET['show_results'] == '1')) {
 $display_results = true;
 if (($_GET['question'] != '') && ($_POST['choice'] == '')) {
  $_POST['question_number'] = $_GET['question'];
 }
}
else {
 $display_results = false;
}

// read the questions file
if(file_exists($questions_file_location) && is_readable($questions_file_location)) {
 $questions_file_exists = true;
 $questions_file_contents = file($questions_file_location);

 if ($_POST['question_number'] != '') {
  $question_number = $_POST['question_number'];
 }
 else if ($_GET['question'] != '') {
  $question_number = $_GET['question'];
 }
 else {
  $question_number = rand(0, count($questions_file_contents)-1);
 }

 if ($question_number == (count($questions_file_contents)-1)) {
  $next_question = 0;
 }
 else {
  if ($_GET['question'] != '') { $next_question = $_GET['question'] + 1; }
  else { $next_question = $question_number + 1; }
 }

 $question_line = rtrim($questions_file_contents[$question_number]);
 $question_line_parts = explode(chr(9), $question_line);
 $questions_to_write = '<b>' . $question_line_parts[0] . '</b><br />' . "\r\n";
 $questions_to_write .= '    <ul id="poll_choices">' . "\r\n";
 $answer_count = count($question_line_parts) - 1;
 for ($i=0; $i<$answer_count; $i++) {
  $questions_to_write .= '     <li><input type="radio" name="choice" value="' . ($i + 1) . '" id="option_' . ($i + 1) . '"';
  if ($i==0) { $questions_to_write .= ' checked="checked"'; }
  $questions_to_write .= ' /><label for="option_' . ($i + 1) . '">' . $question_line_parts[$i+1] . '</label></li>' . "\r\n";
 }
 $questions_to_write .= '    </ul>' . "\r\n";
 $questions_to_write .= '    <input type="hidden" name="question_number" value="' . $question_number . '" />' . "\r\n";
 $questions_to_write .= '    <input type="submit" value="Vote" /> (<a href="?question=' . $question_number . '&amp;show_results=1">Display results</a>)' . "\r\n";
}
else {
 $questions_file_exists = false;
 $questions_to_write = '<span class="not_found">Questions file not found!</span>' . "\r\n";
}

if (($display_results == true) && ($questions_file_exists == true)) {
 if (file_exists($responses_file_location) == false) { create_empty_response_file(); }
 // read the responses file
 if(file_exists($responses_file_location) && is_readable($responses_file_location)) {
  $responses_file_contents = file($responses_file_location);
  // write to the responses file
  $response_file_to_write = '';
  $already_voted_text = '';
  $question_found = false;
  foreach($responses_file_contents as $line) {
   $line_parts = explode(chr(9), rtrim($line));
   if ($line_parts[0] == $_POST['question_number']) { // update this question
    $question_found = true;
    if ($_POST['choice'] != '') {
     if (file_exists($poll_ips_file_location) == false) { file_put_contents($poll_ips_file_location, ''); }
     // only if their IP is not found, then cast their vote
     $can_vote = true;
     $poll_file_to_write = '';
     $found_poll_question = false;
     $poll_ips_file_contents = file($poll_ips_file_location);
     foreach($poll_ips_file_contents as $poll_line) {
      $poll_line_parts = explode(chr(9), rtrim($poll_line));
      if ($poll_line_parts[0] == $_POST['question_number']) { // found the right question, grab ips
       $found_poll_question = true;
       for ($i=1; $i<count($poll_line_parts); $i++) {
        if ($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] == $poll_line_parts[$i]) { $can_vote = false; }
       }
       if ($can_vote == true) { // add the users ip
        $poll_file_to_write .= implode(chr(9), $poll_line_parts) . chr(9) . $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] . "\r\n";
       }
       else {
        $poll_file_to_write .= implode(chr(9), $poll_line_parts) . "\r\n";
       }
      }
      else {
       $poll_file_to_write .= implode(chr(9), $poll_line_parts) . "\r\n";
      }
     }
     if ($found_poll_question == false) { // add this question
      $poll_file_to_write .= $_POST['question_number'] . chr(9) . $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] . "\r\n";
     }
     file_put_contents($poll_ips_file_location, rtrim($poll_file_to_write));
     if ($can_vote == true) {
      $line_parts[$_POST['choice']] += 1;
     }
     else {
      $already_voted_text = '<span class="already_voted">** Your vote has already been cast in this poll **</span><br />' . "\r\n";
     }
    }
    $total_responses = 0;
    $answer_count = count($line_parts) - 1;
    for ($i=0; $i<$answer_count; $i++) {
     $answer_counts[$i] = $line_parts[$i+1];
     $total_responses += $answer_counts[$i];
    }
   }
   $response_file_to_write .= implode(chr(9), $line_parts) . "\r\n";
  }
  if ($question_found == false) { // append to response file
   $response_file_to_write .= $_POST['question_number'] . chr(9);
   $answer_count = count($question_line_parts) - 1;
   for ($i=0; $i<$answer_count; $i++) {
    if (($i+1) == $_POST['choice']) { $response_file_to_write .= '1'; $answer_counts[$i] = '1'; $total_responses = 1; }
    else { $response_file_to_write .= '0'; $answer_counts[$i] = '0'; }
    if ($i < ($answer_count-1)) { $response_file_to_write .= chr(9); }
   }
  }
  file_put_contents($responses_file_location, rtrim($response_file_to_write));
  $questions_to_write = $already_voted_text . '<b>' . $question_line_parts[0] . '</b><br />' . "\r\n";
  $questions_to_write .= '    <div id="poll_choices">' . "\r\n";
  $answer_count = count($question_line_parts) - 1;
  for ($i=0; $i<$answer_count; $i++) {
   if ($answer_counts[$i] != 1) { $s = 's'; } else { $s = ''; }
   if ($total_responses > 0) {
    $questions_to_write .= '     ' . $question_line_parts[$i+1] . ' (' . round(($answer_counts[$i] / $total_responses) * 100) . '%) (' . $answer_counts[$i] . ' vote' . $s . ')' . '<br />' . "\r\n";
   }
   else {
    $total_responses = 0;
    $questions_to_write .= '     ' . $question_line_parts[$i+1] . ' (0%) (0 votes)' . '<br />' . "\r\n";
   }
  }
  $questions_to_write .= '    </div>' . "\r\n";
  if ($total_responses != 1) { $ppl = 'people have'; } else { $ppl = 'person has'; }
  $questions_to_write .= '    In total, ' . $total_responses . ' ' . $ppl . ' responded to this poll.<br />' . "\r\n";
  $questions_to_write .= '    <input type="button" id="next_button" value="Take another poll" onclick="location.href=\'' . $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] . '?question=' . $next_question . '\'" />' . "\r\n";
 }
 else { // create the responses file
  create_empty_response_file();
 }
}

function create_empty_response_file() {
 global $questions_file_exists, $question_line_parts, $responses_file_location;
 $response_file_to_write = '';
 if ($questions_file_exists == true) {
  $response_file_to_write = $_POST['question_number'] . chr(9);
  $answer_count = count($question_line_parts) - 1;
  for ($i=0; $i<$answer_count; $i++) {
   $response_file_to_write .= '0';
   if ($i < ($answer_count-1)) { $response_file_to_write .= chr(9); }
  }
 }
 file_put_contents($responses_file_location, $response_file_to_write);
}

?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
 <head>
  <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
  <title>Poll Test</title>
  <style type="text/css">
   html, body, p, form, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, div, ol, ul, li { margin: 0px; padding: 0px; }
   body { margin: 8px; font: 10pt verdana, arial, sans-serif; }
   ul#poll_choices, div#poll_choices { margin-top: 7px; margin-bottom: 7px; list-style-type: none; }
   ul#poll_choices li { margin-bottom: 1px; }
   input#next_button { margin-top: 10px; }
   span.not_found { color: red; }
   span.already_voted { color: red; }
  </style>
  <script type="text/javascript">
   function poll_form_onsubmit() {
    if (document.cookie.indexOf('voted=<?php echo $question_number; ?>-1')>=0) { alert('You have already voted in this poll.'); return false; }
    else { document.cookie=document.cookie+'voted=<?php echo $question_number; ?>-1'; return true; }
    return true;
   }
  </script>
 </head>
 <body>
  <form action="" method="post" id="poll_form" onsubmit="return poll_form_onsubmit()">

    <?php echo $questions_to_write; ?>

  </form>
 </body>
</html>

Code (markup):

This code will record everybody's responses (votes) in another text file called "poll_responses.txt". It will also prevent people from voting twice by storing their ip address in "poll_ips.txt". I also use cookies as a second form of protection to prevent people from voting twice. Let me know what you think

 

Brian, thanks a lot for providing the sample. I have a website to include a poll in but it's not in PHP, I only use SSI to include the right navigation on every page so each page has .SHTML extension. My server supports PHP but I'm wondering if I can incorporate this script somehow in my SHTML website. If not possible, is there any alternative way like javascript, etc. because I use a simple javascript for my all my comments and found it quite easy to implement. Thanks in advance!

 

Poll is awesome but I think u might need to pm him the post is 45 days old