array problem

nigelbashford

Hi everyone I am a newbie and have this problem with the results of an array. I hope someone can help me please.

The mysql database returns the results from a dynamic field into an array.

The output looks like this:

buscarbikeboat

What I want to be able to do is take the array and add to it so I get a result like this and put that result into a variable

bus || car || bike || boat

then later call the variable like this:

if (!$somevariable){
echo something
}else{
somethingelse
}

Any help would be appreciated, I've been reading the manual and books the last 24 hours but how to do it escapes me..

laserlight

um, I'm not sure what you are trying to do.

Maybe it might help if you gave an example of what your 'dynamic field' is, and describe more clearly what you intend to do.

When you say an array, I would think that your database table has say, 4 fields, one for bus, one for car, one for bike and one for boat.
Then these fields might contain, say, numeric values of how many of each kind.
If that is the case, then "if (!$somevariable)" does not make sense.
Not only that, but isnt the array already a variable for you to use?

nigelbashford

Hi.

Ok.... I have a form on one page that users can fill in which inserts the data into the database. I then have a script that returns the results from the field vehicle.

vehicle returns the results. So for example say 4 people have visited the page and each person has made an input.

The database returns the results from these inputs and using a do loop they are now in the array

$result['vehicle'] ;

If I echo this result I get

buscarbikeboat

What I would like to do is take this result and manipulate it so I can turn it into something like

bus || car || bike || boat

and run this through and if statement.

I hope this makes it clearer.... but I am a newbie and this is giving me a headache...

sgoku01

Can you do something like this?:

$query = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM database");

$x = 1;

while ( $r = mysql_fetch_row($query) )
{
$vehicle = $r['vehicle'];

if ( $vehicle = 'auto' )
{
echo "User " . $x . " goes with: " . $vehicle;
}
else if ( $vehicle = 'bus' )
{
echo "User " . $x . " goes with: " . $vehicle;
}
else
{
echo "User " . $x . " didn't select any vehicle..";
}

$x++;
} // END WHILE

laserlight

Let's say you have an array, and want to run through it to check

<?php
$my_array = array('bus', 'car', 'bike', boat');
foreach ($my_array as $element) {
	if ($element == 'bus') {
		echo 'Pay the bus fare!';
	} elseif ($element == 'boat') {
		echo 'Hope you dont get seasick';
	} else {
		echo 'Cars and bikes are boring';
	}
	echo '<br>';
}
?>

<?php
$my_array = array('bus', 'car', 'bike', boat');
foreach ($my_array as $element) {
	switch($element) {
	case 'bus':
		echo 'Pay the bus fare!';
		break;
	case 'boat':
		echo 'Hope you dont get seasick';
		break;
	default:
		echo 'Cars and bikes are boring';
	}
	echo '<br>';
}
?>

Now, what interests me is "If I echo this result I get".
Are you really storing the data in an array, or in a string?
If it is a string, it will be impossible, since you cannot be 100% sure that the data is as expected.
If it is an array, then why bother making it a string?
It will already be an array of strings, and you can do the comparisons right away like what I gave in my example.

sgoku01

Hmmm, I thought he got those results from a database.
All the results are stored to 1 string and that string has to be seperated so it can be verified by if statements..

Is that correct or do you want to do something else??

laserlight

If that is the case, then there must be some way to differentiate the component parts of the string.

As such, one would use explode() to turn it into an array.

Your code will not work if it is only 1 string.
Also, you should watch out for your assignment and logical comparison operators, you use '=' when you should use '=='

sgoku01

About that '=' sign you're right. I wrote the code very quickly and this is the result. :rolleyes: 😃
Hmm, my code doesn't get a string, it takes all the data from the db, and does this if statement for every result.

laserlight

Actually, your code does not select data from the whole database, it selects all the rows from a particular table.

"my code doesn't get a string"
that is precisely why it would not work if nigelbashford stores the data as a single string.

if the data is stored in a particular column in as many rows as there are users, yours should work, but then he apparently wants the data to be in an array first.

nigelbashford

Hi Guys

Thanks for the input so far and I can see what you are suggesting. It might be I'm not explaining this too well.

I am pulling the results from a database so I can't actually define each element of the array because it will be dynamic depending on how many people input via the form and how many unique vehicles they come up with.

What I'm really after is

I have got the results from the vehicle field and it has produced this many rows(how ever many are returned).

Now I want check whether any or all the results are true if someone was to input the data via another form. For example

If (!bus || boat || car || helicopter || plane || tricycle){

echo you may proceed

}else{

echo sorry these vehicles have been banned

}

Hope this makes it clearer

thanx again by the way

laserlight

ah, you mean you want to check for duplicate entries?
fi so, we can avoid all this business of extracting data, going through loops and arrays, etc by doing the check as the user submits the suggestion.

For example,

<?php
$query = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM vehicles WHERE vehicle='$vehicle_suggestion'");
if (mysql_num_rows($query) == 0) {
	//insert into vehicles table or let user proceed
} else {
	echo 'Sorry, vehicle "' . $vehicle_suggestion . '" has been suggested';
}
?>