Best place to decode bbcode

[sned]

I'm curious about people's opinions on where in code to do the actual preg_replace that turns bbcode back into html code.

For example, I have a few fields in a database that store text and bbcode. Right now, I call my bb_decode function anytime I want to display that text on a page (which means the function is scattered all over the place).

Is this how webmasterworld does this kind of thing? Or are there other ways to this?

Thanks!
-sned

[eelixduppy]

There is less processing if you replace the bbcode with its html counterpart before you add it to the database. This way you only need to do it once.

[sned]

I've thought about decoding it before it's entered into the database, then do you just recode the text back to bbcode if the user wants to edit their text and re-submit?

[Mohamed]

You can parse and replace bbcode on fly before you display the page though it requires more processing than the other methods.

[edited by: Mohamed at 9:48 am (utc) on Feb. 16, 2008]

[RonPK]

Right now, I call my bb_decode function anytime I want to display that text on a page (which means the function is scattered all over the place).

If that is the issue, why not put the function in a file which can then be include()d everywhere?