help with an array

[Anon]

I'm doing this thing.

I have something like

$a[0][name] = "jack";
$a[0][age] = 10;

$a[1][name] = "some dewd"$a[1][age] = 11;

$a[2][name] = "yet anoter dewd";
$a[2][age] = 19;
Now, I want to do a check. If anyone is inserting a replicated name, it doesn't insert the new name, BUT increments the value of age.
the array_search function is nice for what I want because it returns the key where the value was found.
So, I would do something like

[need a loop here] [from 0 to sizeof ($a)]

if (array_search ( $name, $a[$i] )) {
$key = array_search ( $name, $a );
$a[$key][age] = $a[$key][age]+1;
}
else {
$key = sizeof ($a)+1;
$a[$key][name] = $name;
$a[$key][age] = $age;
}

[end the loop]

But, there are a few considerations make this NOT WORK.

The first is that, in this type of arrays, it doesn't return 0 or 1 (or..), it returns name.
This is something I can fix using the loop's index. I think. The problem is the other consideration.

The other consideration is that will only work if the loop loops. If the value o the array is 0 it aint going to loop.
But I need to loop because the array_search doesn't find the text if I don't specify a key.

Can someone enlight me towards a way of doing this?

Thanks in advance.

[[deleted]]

So you want to loop through all 'name' elements of the $a array, and if you find a certain value, you want to increase the 'age' element?

[Anon]

Yes.
But I would rather do it using PHP's functions.

I don't feel like looping it using a for or while, checking each position, doing strstr for the [name] and then doing a if to increment or add a new name.
And I don't feel like doing that because I think it be really slow compared to what compiled functions could do.

[Anon]

I found a solution.
First I loop the array checking with in_array for the word.
Then, if it founds, it increments. Then it sets a var to TRUE.

I get out of the loop. A If() that far. If that var returns false,

if ( $that_var )

I add a new "record".

Works just fine, but another ideia would be welcome.

This thing is for a webshop system.
Do you think I should do this with a db?Storing the produts in db instead of session array?