LittleJoe Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 People always say that if you have JavaScript code which is used by multiple pages then it should be in an external page but if it is only used by a single page in should be internal. People also say that external JavaScript code can make the browsing slower since additional PHP requests are made but that when it is internal less bandwidth is used. Is it a good idea to put JavaScript code into PHP files and then include them like any other PHP files? I've been thinking about this because then I can minimise the HTTP requests and at the same time use the same JavaScript files in many PHP files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niche Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 Please provide a little more context. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleJoe Posted May 19, 2013 Author Share Posted May 19, 2013 (edited) I'm talking about storing the JavaScript code inside PHP files (.php) and including it in your HTML/PHP files (include "javascript/menu.php") so that the contents of it appear to belong to the HTML page itself. Edited May 19, 2013 by LittleJoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niche Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 Someone else will need to address your specific speed question. IMO, any speed advantage would be minimal and probablly not noticable to users re: internal v external js. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffman Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 You have maybe forgotten about caching. Once a user has downloaded a js file, it will stay cached, and subsequent requests won't be made. The browser will used the cached version instead. Back in the 90s, when everyone had crappy modems and servers lived on 512K routers instead of T3 routers, small bandwidth savings mattered. Today, even if we didn't have caching, a normal HTTP request is nothing to worry about. You won't save any noticeable time at all. Most of the latency I see these days comes from slow DNS look-ups and Google Analytics. YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justsomeguy Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Most of the latency I see these days comes from slow DNS look-ups and Google Analytics. YMMVAnd Facebook buttons. And Google +1 buttons. And Digg/Reddit/Yelp/any other third party buttons. And advertisements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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