Pulling data using WHILE

Anon

Hi,

Here's my problem. I've setup the following bit of code to display a checkbox list from a database:

while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($sql_result)) {
$areaid = $row["certid"];
$description = $row["description"];
$option_block .= "<INPUT TYPE=CHECKBOX NAME=\"description[]\"
VALUE=\"$description\">
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME=\"areaid\" value=\"$areaid\">$description
<b>$$areaid</b></br>";

This displays properly with output similar to this:

Description ID

Vocational Education |21

Chemistry |22

English |23

The user can check as many boxes as are applicable.

I want to take only the ID values that the user selects from the above and enter them into a different database table. Here's where it gets messed up:

while($x = each($description))

echo "$x[1] <b>$areaid</b><BR>";
$query = "INSERT INTO tblapplicantcerts (ApplicantID, CertID)
VALUES ('$val', '$areaid')";
$sql_result = mysql_query( $query )
or die("Couldn't execute tempdone query.");

The $val is a user ID variable.What happens is that no matter which checkbox the user selects (English, Vo-Ed, etc.) the $areaid value that gets inserted into the database is the last ID number in the list. So, if a user selects Chemistry the ID number shows as 23, not 22.

I'm new at this, so could someone show me how to write the WHILE statement so it executes properly?

Thanks,
John

van__

It's not your loop -- though I really frown upon while loops ...

Your problem is that hidden field in that form:
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME=\"areaid\" value=\"$areaid\">
The POST/GET doesn't keep track of multiple form items by the same name, it just overwrites that value with the next one encountered and thus, you wind up with the last value recieved by the server.

What you'll have to do is enumerate like so:
"<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME=\"areaid" . $loopNum . "\" value=\"$areaid\">"

and then associate that by ripping apart it's name since it will be areaid1, you'd have to look for that as $HTTP_POST_VARS['areaid'.$loopNum] and then grab it's value
the loopNum var can be generated in your while statement by adding an $i++ at the end
and instantiating it with an $i=0 before it is declared.