Putting conditional checkboxes in the database and getting them out again

[jasonmills58]

Ok, so I used to have hard coded checkboxes. The process looked like this:

//setting checkbox values
if ( ! empty( $portPHPCheck ) ) 
{
	$portPHPCheck = "Y";
} else { 
	$portPHPCheck = "N";
}
$portDesc = $_POST[welcomeField];
$query = "INSERT INTO portfolio 
( portSection, portCompleteDate, portClientName, portWeb, portDesc, portPHPCheck )
				VALUES
( '$portSection', '$date', '$portClientName', '$portWeb', '$portDesc', '$portPHPCheck' )";

Nothing mysterious about that. Then I would basically do the reverse to show which boxes were selected during 'edit' mode. No problem. Then, I got the bright idea that my checkboxes should be dynamic. Basically, you're choosing from a list of features in the database, that is managed with the Features table. No problem there. But when you go to select these boxes, I can't figure out how to tell the database what is selected. After this:

<?
$section_data = mysql_query( "SELECT * FROM features ORDER BY featureName" );
while ( $b_row = mysql_fetch_array( $section_data ) ) {
?>
<input type="checkbox" id="feature[]" value="<? print $b_row['featureName']; ?>">
<? print $b_row['featureName']; ?>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
<?
}
?>

So lets say the features listed currently include Flash, Html, XML, PHP, ASP.   When selecting features for a particular portfolio piece (to be included with the portfolio piece's data in the database) I thought I might just build a string based on which features were selected, and put that into a 'features' field in the portfolio table.  
So if Flash, PHP, and HTML were all that was selected, then $string = "Flash PHP HTML" and I can explode the string later to see which features should be checked when I go back to edit that portfolio piece.

But I'm having trouble figuring out how to build that string in the first place. Any ideas?

cheers,
jason

[LordShryku]

Well, it looks like you're creating an array of checkboxes, so [man]implode[/man] seems like the answer for you.

$string = implode(" ",$_POST['feature']);

[jasonmills58]

My implode keeps coming up with a Parse error. Here's what the checkboxes look like:

<input type="checkbox" id="feature[]" value="Flash">Flash&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
<input type="checkbox" id="feature[]" value="HTML">HTML&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
<input type="checkbox" id="feature[]" value="PHP">PHP&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 

And the PHP looks like this:

//setting checkbox values
$features = implode( " ", $_POST[feature] };
print $features;
break;

I keep getting a parse error on the implode line. I tried $POST[feature] and $POST['feature'] and $_POST['feature[]'] with the same Parse Error there.

Any more ideas?

[LordShryku]

Might be something above it. Lemme see some more code....
You may also want to check for existance before doing the implode

[jasonmills58]

Thats pretty much the whole function. It was working great when the checkboxes had static names...

$date = explode( "/", $date );
$month = $date[0];
$day = $date[1];
$year = ( $date[2] );
$date = $year."-".$month."-".$day;

//setting checkbox values
$features = implode( " ", $_POST[feature] };
print $features;
break;
$portDesc = $_POST[welcomeField];
$query = "INSERT INTO portfolio 
( portSection, portCompleteDate, portClientName, portWeb, portDesc, features )
				VALUES
( '$portSection', '$date', '$portClientName', '$portWeb', '$portDesc', '$features' )";

if ( ! mysql_query( $query, $link ) ) {
	$dberror = mysql_error();
	print $dberror;
	return false;
}

I think I won't check for existence, because if nothing is there I want to end up with an empty string in the features field, just for continuity.

Do I have my checkboxes set up right to make an array?

[LordShryku]

I just saw it. You using a bracket instead of a paren on the end of your implode function. The check for existance is to stop notices from popping up...

// so change this
$features = implode( " ", $_POST[feature] }; 

// to this
if(isset($_POST['feature']) && is_array($_POST['feature'])) {
   $features = implode(" ",$_POST['feature']);
}
else {
   $features = "";
}

[jasonmills58]

Thank for all your help, btw. It looks like $POST[feature] is not coming across as an array. Do I need to declare it as such at some point? I thought naming all the checkboxes with [] made them an array automatically. Maybe $POST is the wrong global for an array? I dunno...

thanks again!
jason

[LordShryku]

Well...if the form is using post, that should be right. Try doing a print_r($_POST) at the top of the script to get the raw data. See if it's an array there.

Come to think of it, you should maybe change the isset($POST['feature']) to isset($POST['feature'][0]), sice it's a multidimentional array that is never actually declared anywhere.

[jasonmills58]

Well, I experiemented with cutting out the isset just to test the array bit and it still returned the else.

I also just tried print_r and it didn't even acknowledge the checkboxes - it showed all the other form elements as empty, which was right, but I had checked the boxes. Nothin.

[jasonmills58]

[BLOCK DELETE PARAGRAPH OF EXLEPTIVES]

You have to put feature[] in the name attribute, not the id attribute....

So <input type="checkbox" id="feature[]" value="Flash">Flash

should be <input type="checkbox" name="feature[]" value="Flash">Flash

man...

You interested in the next part? Opening this up in 'edit' mode, it has to print these checkboxes and see if they match any of those values in the string.

[LordShryku]

Well, I'm not exactly sure why you're putting them in a string, but if you run into a problem, you know where I am 🙂

[jasonmills58]

cheers 🙂

How would you store them? I can't store them in their own fields cuz the number of / names of the features can change any time. I suppose I could add in fields each time they change, and delete fields as needed, but these are used in a few different places and that could get messy. However, I am open to suggestions. Lord knows I don't have the answers! LOL :rolleyes:

And with this it seems like we just have to add a little logic to it:

<?
$features = explode(" ", $a_row['features']);
$section_data = mysql_query( "SELECT * FROM features ORDER BY featureName" );
while ( $b_row = mysql_fetch_array( $section_data ) ) {

And then add a bit of logic here that says if any piece of the exploded $features equals one of these check boxes, then $checked = "checked=\"checked\""

?>
<input type="checkbox" name="feature[]" value="<? print $b_row['featureName']." ".$checked; ?>"><? print $b_row['featureName']; ?>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
<?
}
?>

What do you think?

[LordShryku]

If this is a database, I'd probably be storing these in a seperate table, linking by the user id. Normilization type stuff.

[jasonmills58]

Yeah, I had pondered on that, but you still run up against the problem of "how do you have fields for these?"

Here's an example of the layout:

features:
featureid
featureName

portfolio:
portid
portSection
portCompleteDate
portClientName
portWeb
portDesc
portFeatures

There's no user id cuz this is all admin side.

I can't figure out how you would have a variable size database based on features' featureName.

[jasonmills58]

Should this: $features = explode(" ", $a_row['features']);
be: $features = array(explode(" ", $a_row['features']));

Or does explode turn $features in to an array automatically?

[LordShryku]

explode turns it into an array automatically

[jasonmills58]

Guess I shoulda checked the manual first, eh? Um, so how do I walk through that array, checking to see if anything in it matches the checkbox being printed?

if( "anything in $features" = $b_row['features']) {
    $checked = "checked=\"checked\""
}else{
    $checked = ""
} 

Thanks for all your help!
cheers

[LordShryku]

So many variables...my head's spinning :p
I'm thinking all you'd need to do is loop through the array, and check using [man]in_array[/man]...

[jasonmills58]

Here's my finished product for this:

'Add'
The blank check boxes:

<?
$section_data = mysql_query( "SELECT * FROM features ORDER BY featureName" );
while ( $b_row = mysql_fetch_array( $section_data ) ) {
?>
<input type="checkbox" name="feature[]" value="<? print $b_row['featureName']; ?>"><? print $b_row['featureName']; ?>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
<?
}
?>

'Edit'
Populating the checkboxes if they were checked before:

<?
$features = explode(" ", $a_row['portFeatures']);
$section_data = mysql_query( "SELECT * FROM features ORDER BY featureName" );
while ( $b_row = mysql_fetch_array( $section_data ) ) {
	if (in_array($b_row['featureName'], $features)) {
		$checked = "checked=\"checked\"";
	} else {
		$checked = "";
	}
?>
	<input type="checkbox" name="feature[]" value="<? print $b_row['featureName'] ?>" <? print $checked; ?>>
	<? print $b_row['featureName']; ?>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
<?
}
?>

'Query'
And they both use the same query:

//setting checkbox values
if(isset($_POST['feature']) && is_array($_POST['feature'])) { 
   $features = implode(" ",$_POST['feature']); 
} 
else { 
   $features = ""; 
}

Thanks again for all the help!
cheers!
Jason