allow users to update DB from webpage using .csv?

[ioloop]

i can pass data from form fields on a web page and have that data inserted into a DB table therefore it should be possible to upload a csv file (or something similar) in place of the fields and use the contents of that file to insert rows into the DB.. but how can i do it?

thanks for any help 😃

[AstroTeg]

Yes, it can be done.

First you'll need to write some code to upload a file.

Next you'll need to read the file in. I recommend line by line so not to stress out your webserver.

Here's where you can get creative. You can write your own CSV parsing routine. Or you can use PHP's [man]fgetcsv[/man] or you probably can find a library to use instead. Either way, parse the data into something meaningful.

Once parsed, build an insert statement to add the data to your database.

Another approach is to use MySQL's batch load statements (assuming you're using MySQL). There's an "INSERT from file" command, although I don't have the details at the top of my head at the moment (but I'm sure MySQL's website talks about this).

[ioloop]

super duper thanks for the reply, all i need is a point in the right direction 🙂 i actually want a simple way for non technical clients to be able to update the data driving their website.. the insert from file sounds good...