write form data to a conditional array

Mikester

I am trying to submit one piece of form information to an array that is part of a conditional expression. I'd like to have everything one page if possible. Submit to self, etc.

For example:

user enters ticket number and submits (there are 10 winning numbers out of 100). Each ticket has a specific prize, so the prize array will have 2 parts - ticket number/prize.

form passes value to php script

if ticket number is a winner, user gets a "you won" message, and has to then fill out the new form that appears with their address, etc. that will get emailed to me, along with what they won.

when they submit their information, I want the ticket number to be added to an array called "$alreadyWon".

Then, the next time that same ticket number is entered, the script will compare the number against the $alreadyWon array to see if the prize has been claimed, and if so, they get a "you already won, please enter a different ticket number".

else
the ticket number is compared against the winning ticket number array (not worried about duplicates here, since if they already won, that should have been captured in condition 1 - the $alreadyWon array.

else
the ticket number is not a winner, and the user will get a polite, "sorry, not a winner, better luck next time" message.

I have tried passing the ticket number from a form to a script and doing an echo to see the array, but it only shows the value that I just entered. I need the array to be written to, so that any winning ticket cannot be won twice.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mike

Installer

Here's an untested possible way to do it

session_start();

if (!isset($_POST['submit'])) {
    if (!isset($_SESSION['prize_array'])) {
        connect_to_database();
        $result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM prize_table");
        while ($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result)) {
            $_SESSION['prize_array'][] = array($row['number'], $row['prize']);
            if ($row['won'] == 'won') {
                $_SESSION['alreadyWon'][] = $row['number'];
            }
        }
    }
    echo '<form action="' . $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] . '" method="post">' .
         'Enter ticket number: <input type="text" name="ticket_number" />' .
         '<input type="submit" name="submit" value="ticket_submit" />' .
         '</form>';
} elseif ($_POST['submit'] == 'ticket_submit') {
    $already_won = false;
    foreach ($_SESSION['alreadyWon'] as $value) {
        if ($_POST['ticket_number'] == $value) {
            echo 'You already won, please enter a different ticket number.' . '<br />';
            echo '<a href="' . $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] . '">Click here</a> to submit another number.';
            $already_won = true;
            break;
        }
    }
    if (!$already_won) {
        $winner = false;
        foreach ($_SESSION['prize_array'] as $value) {
            if ($_POST['ticket_number'] == $value['number']) {
                $what_they_won = $value['prize'];
                $winner = true;
                break;
            }
        }
        if ($winner) {
            connect_to_database();
            $query = "UPDATE prize_table SET won='won' WHERE number=" . $_POST['number'];
            $result = mysql_query($query);
            echo 'You won.' . '<br />';
            echo '<form action="' . $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] . '" method="post">' .
                 'Enter address: <input type="text" name="address_etc" />' .
                 '<input type="hidden" name="what_they_won" value="' . $what_they_won . . '" />' .
                 '<input type="submit" name="submit" value="address_submit" />' .
                 '</form>';
        } else {
            echo 'Sorry, not a winner, better luck next time.'
        }
    }
} elseif ($_POST['submit'] == 'address_submit') {
    send_email($_POST['address'], $_POST['what_they_won']);
    echo 'Thank you.';
} else {
    echo 'This shouldn\'t be happening. Contact the programmer.';
}

Mikester

Thank you for your reply, and for the sample code. I'll give it a try at the office in the morning.

I was hoping to do this without a database, but it may make the most sense in the end, and would be best for pulling reports of prizes won to date, etc.

Thanks again - I'll let you know when I get it running.

Mike

Installer

Glad to help. You could use a text file instead of a database, of course. The coding wouldn't really be much different.

A couple of corrections, though: change this line:

$query = "UPDATE prize_table SET won='won' WHERE number=" . $_POST['number'];

$query = "UPDATE prize_table SET won='won' WHERE number='" . $_POST['number'] . "'";

and add this line:

$_SESSION['alreadyWon'][] = $_POST['ticket_number'];

somewhere inside the "if ($winner)" block.

And remember it's untested, so you might need to correct a syntax error or two.

Mikester

I have used text files to store/retrieve information on quite a few occasions, however, I did not realize that I could setup a table in a text file, write values to it, query it, etc.

I can still make my arrays for the ticket number and the prize associated with those numbers (there's actually 104 winners total in the real model) - but writing values to a table is something I thought could only be done with a database.

If I can create a table as a text file and have it do all the things in the above code, and still be able to pull reports of prizes won to date, etc., then all the better.

To me, it looks like there is more going on that is database driven than just a couple of lines - but I'll have to go through it to see what I can come up with.

Excellent help - thanks again - do you do any freelance work?

Installer

This part

connect_to_database(); 
$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM prize_table"); 
while ($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result)) { 
    $_SESSION['prize_array'][] = array($row['number'], $row['prize']); 
    if ($row['won'] == 'won') { 
        $_SESSION['alreadyWon'][] = $row['number']; 
    } 
}

and this part:

connect_to_database(); 
$query = "UPDATE prize_table SET won='won' WHERE number=" . $_POST['number']; 
$result = mysql_query($query);

are all that would need to be replaced for using a text file, and the code wouldn't be any longer, maybe even a little simpler.