Php - BGA Stuff

Question 1

What is the purpose of the build_page method in a BGA game view file?

Answer 1

The build_page method generates and modifies the HTML for the game interface. It is called when the game starts or when a player refreshes the page.

public function build_page($viewArgs) {
    // Custom HTML rendering logic goes here
}

Question 2

What does the begin_block() function do in a BGA game view file?

Answer 2

The begin_block() function marks the start of a block in the template file (.tpl), allowing you to dynamically populate it with content.

$this->page->begin_block("reversiturorial_reversiturorial", "square");

This tells the template engine to start populating the “square” block in the reversiturorial_reversiturorial.tpl file.

Question 3

What are the two parameters passed to begin_block() in the build_page method?

Answer 3

The first parameter is the name of the template file (without the .tpl extension), and the second is the name of the block within that template.

$this->page->begin_block("game_view_name", "block_name");

• game_view_name: The template file name (without .tpl).
• block_name: The block to be populated.

Question 4

What does the insert_block() function do in a BGA game view file?

Answer 4

The insert_block() function inserts dynamically calculated values into the block defined in the template file (.tpl), rendering the corresponding HTML.

$this->page->insert_block("square", array(
    'X' => $x,
    'Y' => $y,
    'LEFT' => round(($x - 1) * 64.8 + 10),
    'TOP' => round(($y - 1) * 64.4 + 7)
));

Question 5

In the context of BGA, what are ‘X’, ‘Y’, ‘LEFT’, and ‘TOP’ used for when passed into insert_block()?

Answer 5

‘X’ and ‘Y’ represent the square’s coordinates on the game board, while ‘LEFT’ and ‘TOP’ represent the square’s calculated position in pixels for absolute positioning.

$this->page->insert_block("square", array(
    'X' => 1,  // X coordinate
    'Y' => 2,  // Y coordinate
    'LEFT' => 74,  // Calculated horizontal position
    'TOP' => 128   // Calculated vertical position
));

Question 6

What is an associative array in PHP?

Answer 6

An associative array is a data structure that stores key-value pairs, where each key is associated with a specific value.

$person = array(
    "name" => "Alice",
    "age" => 25,
    "job" => "Engineer"
);

Question 7

How do you access a value from an associative array in PHP?

Answer 7

You access a value from an associative array by referencing its key.

echo $person["name"];  // Outputs: Alice

You access the value “Alice” using the key ‘name’.

Question 8

How do you loop through rows and columns in the build_page method?

Answer 8

for ($x = 1; $x <= 8; $x++) {
    for ($y = 1; $y <= 8; $y++) {
        // Insert each square's data into the template
    }
}

Looping through rows and columns allows the creation of an 8x8 grid, dynamically positioning each square on the game board based on its row and column.

Question 9

How does absolute positioning work in the BGA grid layout?

Answer 9

Absolute positioning uses ‘LEFT’ and ‘TOP’ values in CSS to place each square at its correct location on the board, relative to the board’s top-left corner.

.square {
    position: absolute;
    left: 74px;  /* Horizontal position */
    top: 128px;  /* Vertical position */
}

Question 10

What do hor_scale and ver_scale represent in the build_page method?

Answer 10

hor_scale and ver_scale are constants representing the width and height of each individual square on the game board in pixels.

$hor_scale = 64.8;  // Width of each square
$ver_scale = 64.4;  // Height of each square

Question 11

How are hor_scale and ver_scale used in the build_page method?

Answer 11

They are used to calculate the exact pixel positions (LEFT and TOP) for each square on the board by multiplying the square’s position (X or Y) by the respective scale.

$left = round(($x - 1) * $hor_scale + 10);
$top = round(($y - 1) * $ver_scale + 7);

Question 12

How does the LEFT and TOP calculation work for a specific square (e.g., X=3, Y=5)?

Answer 12

For square (X=3, Y=5), you calculate the pixel position like this:

$left = round((3 - 1) * 64.8 + 10);  // $left = 140px
$top = round((5 - 1) * 64.4 + 7);    // $top = 265px

he square will be positioned at (140px, 265px) on the board.