get unique vars out of array

[mbbout]

I'm haveing a little problem:

By dropdown menu's peolple can choose what car they want.
It's one big database:
Mazda, 626, Gray
Mazda, 626, White
Mazda, 323, Red
Mazda, 323, Blue
BMW, 325, Black

How can i crate a dropdown 'cars' which only shows:
Mazda
BMW

And not :
Mazda
Mazda
Mazda
Mazda
BMW

[drawmack]

where is the information coming from in the first place?

[mbbout]

one big table (table called cars) in a normal mysql database

[zapa]

Example 138. array_unique() and types
copy to clipboard
<?php
$input = array(4,"4","3",4,3,"3");
$result = array_unique($input);
var_dump($result);
?>

This script will output:

copy to clipboard
<?php array(2) {
[0] => int(4)
[2] => string(1) "3"
} ?>

[drawmack]

what are the fields in this table?

[mbbout]

i've tried unique array. but i do not know where to place it in:
this is a part of the script:

while ($carty = mysql_fetch_array($givecars)) {
<OPTION VALUE=\"$carty[type]\">$carty[type]</OPTION>
}

i know this doesn't work:
while ($carty = array_unique(mysql_fetch_array($givecars))) {
<OPTION VALUE=\"$carty[type]\">$carty[type]</OPTION>
}

and switching array_unique and mysql_fetch_array does not work either.

it is a big table:
car, type, color, enigine, price, apk, info

[BuzzLY]

// here's how to do it similar to what you were trying:
while ($carty = array_unique(mysql_fetch_array($givecars))) {
  $cartypes[] = $carty['type'];
}

$unique_cartypes = array_unique($cartypes);
foreach ($cartypes as $type) {
  echo '<OPTION VALUE="'.$type.'">'.$type.'</OPTION>';
}

// here's a faster way that doesn't require a foreach loop:
while ($carty = array_unique(mysql_fetch_array($givecars))) {
  $cartypes[$carty['type']] = 1;
}

$unique_cartypes = array_keys($cartypes);

[mbbout]

I get the same error:

<b>Warning</b>: array_unique(): The argument should be an array in......

[BuzzLY]

post your code. Don't forget to use &#91;php] and [/code] tags.

[mbbout]

// db connect
mysql_connect($dbhost, $loginname, $loginpass) or die("Could not connect");
mysql_select_db($dbname);


echo "<form method=\"POST\" name=\"form_merk\" action=\"auto.php\">";
echo "<select size=\"1\" name=\"merk\" onchange=form_merk.submit()>";
echo "<OPTION VALUE=\"none\">selecteer merk</OPTION>";
$car1 = "SELECT * FROM v_cars ORDER By merk";
$geefcar1 = mysql_query($car1);
while ($ne1 = mysql_fetch_array($geefcar1)) {
	if ($merk==$ne1[merk]) {
	echo "<OPTION VALUE=\"$ne1[merk]\" SELECTED=\"SELECTED\">$ne1[merk]</OPTION>";
	} else {
	echo "<OPTION VALUE=\"$ne1[merk]\">$ne1[merk]</OPTION>";
	}
	}
echo "</select>";

this shows 4x mazda in the pulldown

[zapa]

all your

$ne1[merk]

cahnge to...

$ne1['merk']

[mbbout]

doesnt work either expected T_num bla bla

what are my options?

i have 7 fields in my database.
4 normal fields and 3 variabel fields.

field 5:
eg gasoline -> 1.3 litres
diesel -> 1.4 litres
etc

make 7 tables?

table 1

brands of cars only

table 2

types of car of brand

table 3

color of types of brand etc....

[BuzzLY]

If you want to make it truly relational, you actually have a complex table structure to build. Assuming you have the following data to track:

1. Make

2. Model

3. Type

4. Year

5. Color

You need the following tables:

Cars         Brands    Makes     Models   ModelColors  Colors
-----------  --------  -------   -------  -----------  ------
VIN          ID        ID        ID       Model_ID     ID
Brand_ID     Brand     Make      Model    Color_ID     Color
Make_ID                Brand_ID  Make_ID
Model_ID
Color_ID

There may be more data you need, but that should basically give you an idea of how the data should be put together. You would need to enforce referential integrity between Primary and Foreign keys, for example the brand table's ID and the makes table's Brand_ID field. Models and Colors have a many-many relationship, so the ModelColors tables acts as the connector. In that case, Model_ID and Color_ID together make up the primary key there.

Can you see how the relationship works? If you don't understand relational tables, you should learn before you move much further on this. You can start here.

Now... as far as your code goes, change it to look something like this. Code is untested, but should get you moving in the right direction:

// db connect
mysql_connect($dbhost, $loginname, $loginpass) or die("Could not connect");
mysql_select_db($dbname);
?>
<form method="POST" name="form_merk" action="auto.php">
<select size="1" name="merk" onchange="form_merk.submit();">
<option value="none">selecteer merk</option>
<?php
$car1 = "SELECT * FROM v_cars ORDER By merk";
$geefcar1 = mysql_query($car1);
while ($ne1 = mysql_fetch_array($geefcar1)) {
  if ($merk==$ne1['merk']) {
    $merkunique[$ne1['merk']] = 1; // this is our selected $merk
  } else {
    $merkunique[$ne1['merk']] = 0;
  }
}
foreach ($merkunique as $key=>$value) {
  echo '<option value="'.$key.'"';
  echo ($value===1)?' selected="selected"':'';
  echo '>$key</option>';
}
?>
</select>;