
<h4>Using custom PHP code</h4>
<p>If you know how to script in PHP, Drupal gives you the power to embed any script you like. It will be executed when the page is viewed and dynamically embedded into the page. This gives you amazing flexibility and power, but of course with that comes danger and insecurity if you do not write good code. If you are not familiar with PHP, SQL or with the site engine, avoid experimenting with PHP because you can corrupt your database or render your site insecure or even unusable! If you do not plan to do fancy stuff with your content then you are probably better off with straight HTML.</p>
<p>Remember that the code within each PHP item must be valid PHP code - including things like correctly terminating statements with a semicolon. It is highly recommended that you develop your code separately using a simple test script on top of a test database before migrating to your production environment.</p>
<p>Notes:</p><ul><li>You can use global variables, such as configuration parameters, within the scope of your PHP code but remember that global variables which have been given values in your code will retain these values in the engine afterwards.</li><li>register_globals is now set to <strong>off</strong> by default. If you need form information you need to get it from the "superglobals" $_POST, $_GET, etc.</li><li>You can either use the <code>print</code> or <code>return</code> statement to output the actual content for your item.</li></ul>
<p>A basic example:</p>
<blockquote><p>You want to have a box with the title "Welcome" that you use to greet your visitors. The content for this box could be created by going:</p>
<pre>
  print t("Welcome visitor, ... welcome message goes here ...");
</pre>
<p>If we are however dealing with a registered user, we can customize the message by using:</p>
<pre>
  global $user;
  if ($user->uid) {
    print t("Welcome $user->name, ... welcome message goes here ...");
  }
  else {
    print t("Welcome visitor, ... welcome message goes here ...");
  }
</pre></blockquote>
<p>For more in-depth examples, we recommend that you check the existing Drupal code and use it as a starting point, especially for sidebar boxes.</p>