storing an array in the db for future use

chriswheat

Hello,

I have an array tkts

I would like to store in the db for future use. How would I store it in the db and then call it from the db and reassign it?

Chris

kellog

Well, you can't actualy store an array in the database, but you can store the contents that make up the array into the database.

So, let's assume you have an array as such:

$var = array ("Name" => "Steve", "Address" => "1234 A st", "Phone" => "567-345-4563");

You can break this apart and store it in a database that has the following structure:

!Name !Address ! Phone !
+-----------------+--------------------+---------------------+

!Steve !1234 A st ! 567-345-4563 !

The SQL would look something like:
INSERT INTO People (Name, Address, Phone) VALUES ('$var["Name"]', '$var["Address"]', '$var["Phone"]')

danyprundus

You can use serialize and unseralize

superwormy

If you have to store an array in a database, then your database is more than likely poorly designed.

BUT, regardless, you can serialize() it to turn it into a string, then unserialize() it back into an array later.

swr

Google for "database normalization" to read about how to properly associate multiple values with a record. It may seem complicated at first, but once you get used to it it's pretty simple. It can also give far better performance when you can use an index (potentially thousands of times faster).