Sorting Through a Flat-File Database

MaxD

I have created a flat file database of client projects and want to be able to sort and display various entries based on the client's name, the date of the project and the type of work that was done.

I am having trouble pulling out the two fields needed for each (a client ID number and the data to sort) and putting them into an array to sort, and then reference the ID number to pull out the rest of the data in the record.

any suggestions, undocumented functions, or creative ways of doing this.

Roger_Ramjet

fgets() will read the file one line at a time.
explode() will put the line into an array so that you can pull out the bits you want. Take it from there.

A flat file is not a database and if you were not thinking of it as one you probably would not have had so much trouble processing it. A flat file is a flat file and you can only process it sequentially. Stick to that and you wont get so lost next time.

MaxD

I already use all that, the "database" system works flawlessly in other aspects. I can add, modify, and delete any "record" I want. I'm just in a quandary about this specific task. I need to somehow feed the information I pull out of this file to an array and sort through it.

My method so far has been to load all the client names into an array, erase the duplicates by the oldest to the newest, and sort them like that. Then I want to go through the array and look up each client, listed by it's ID number, and display a little info block using the other information listed in that record.

the only problem is: I can't store two separate values in an array and only sort by one of those values. I thought about feeding the array "ID number|Client Name" and then after sifting through them using explode() to get the two values apart again, but I was sincerely hoping there'd be a more efficient way to go about this.

planetsim

You in_array to check for duplicates so e.g. you get one line at a time store information in an Array each one line you may want to make this a multideminsional array depending on what type of data you are storing.

MaxD

I'm having trouble storing the information I need in my array. I'm trying to store the ID number as the key, and the Client Name as the value, but in the output of the script, the keys are sequentially numbered from zero. Bummer.

This is the part of my script that reads the 'database' and feeds it to the array.

<?php  // <-- obligatory start php

$sortArray = Array();                          // Define the Array

$portfolio_db = file('filename');              // Read the file
foreach($portfolio_db as $portfolio_db_line){  // line by line.
  if(!eregi("<\\?",$portfolio_db_line)){         // As long as it's not <?php
    $db = explode("|", $portfolio_db_line);    // open up the line.
    if(!in_array("$db[1]",$sortArray)){        // If the client's name isn't in the array
      $sortArray[$db[0]] = $db[1];             // put it there (key = ID, value = Name)
    }
  }
}
sort($sortArray);                              // sort it
print_r($sortArray);                           // and print it

?>   <!-- all good things... -->

and here's the output:

Array ( [0] => Billy's Lemonade Co, Inc. 
        [1] => Charlie's Computers 
        [2] => Helga's Hospitality Co. 
        [3] => Joe's Cafe 
        [4] => Widget Works, LLC. )

Roger_Ramjet

Yep. I had that problem too when expecting to use integers as the key. The solution I was given was to put quotes around the integers to type them as strings.

MaxD

Yes, yes, I thought that too, and I actually coded that way initially because that was the example in the PHP manual, but when I tested the code, it returned:

$sortArray['$db[0]'] = $db[1];
     ::returns::
Array ( [0] => Helga's Hospitality Co. )

Then I took the quotes out and got all the entries listed. I'm thinking it has something to do with the fact that I'm trying to transfer the values from one array to another. But then again, I'm an artist, not a programmer! LoL!

ideas?

edit:
When I put the line in double quotes,

$sortArray["$db[0]"] = $db[1];

it will display everything I'm expecting, but still no ID number as the key.

cyberlew15

You need a search function first make this array and seperate the two values with a seperator such as my fav | then explode the entry by | and apply the searrch to each of the values however this is a very processor intensive task if you have thousands of clients each with multiple values in their arrays it's crrazy:queasy: . maybe using xml would sort this out or mysql. ALSO one flat file does not constitute a databse only multiple files do and then you need to cconssider the limitations of such a database