[RESOLVED] combining arrays?

[duckduckgoose]

Hi,

I have a form that posts information. I'm trying to join the $POST values into an array all by itself. For example, if I print_r($POST), I'll get this:

example => Tree
testing => Green
example => Flower
testing=> Red
example => Mountain
testing => Brown
example => Ocean
testing => Blue

I'm trying to figure out how to join these values so that I'll get:

Tree => Green
Flower => Red
Mountain => Brown
Ocean => Blue

I looked at array_merge, but I don't know that this is what I would need to use :/

Help?

[NogDog]

For example, if I print_r($_POST), I'll get this:

example => Tree
testing => Green
example => Flower
testing=> Red
example => Mountain
testing => Brown
example => Ocean
testing => Blue

I hope that's not exactly what you get. You can't have multiple elements in the same array with the same key. Are you sure it's not something more like:

Array
(
    [0] => Array
        (
            [example] => tree
            [testing] => green
        )

[1] => Array
    (
        [example] => flower
        [testing] => red
    )

)

Or, more likely, this:

Array
(
    [exmaple] => Array
        (
            [0] => tree
            [1] => flower
        )

[testing] => Array
    (
        [0] => green
        [1] => red
    )

)

[duckduckgoose]

Technically, I get this:

Array ([example1] => tree [testing1] => green [example2] => flower [testing2] => red [example3] => mountain [testing3] => brown [example4] => ocean [testing4] => blue )

I want this:

Array ([tree] => green [flower] => red [mountain] => brown [ocean] => blue )

[ClarkF1]

foreach ($_POST as $key => $value)
{
if (substr_count($key,'example') > 0 || substr_count($key,'testing' > 0)
{
$input[$key] = $value;
}
}

//the above strips out any non relevant form data

$count = count($input)/2; //find out the number of pairs

$output = array(); //initialise new array

for (i=1;$i <=$count;$i++)
{
$key = $input["example$i"];
$value = $input["testing$i"];
$output[$key] = $value;
} 

//$output contains the correctly formatted array

[bradgrafelman]

I would say something like this should suffice:

for($i = 1, $merged_array = array(); isset($_POST['example'.$i]) && isset($_POST['testing'.$i]); $i++) {
    $merged_array[$_POST['example'.$i]] = $_POST['testing'.$i];
}

EDIT: Second time tonight that someone else has posted while I'm typing out a reply! :p

[NogDog]

Frankly, I'd prefer to refactor whatever it is you do to get into this situation. But pending that, you could do something kludgy like:

$newArray = array();
for($ix = 1; array_key_exists("example$ix", $oldArray); $ix++)
{
  $newArray[$oldArray["example$ix"]] = $oldArray["testing$ix"];
}
print_r($newArray); // see if it worked

[ClarkF1]

I'd just like to thank you two for teaching me something new about for loops.

Now I'll have to go through all my code and see if I can make it nicer....... 😃

[duckduckgoose]

Ah, thanks for the replies. I wound up using this:

$key = '';
$i = 0;
$output = array();
foreach($array as $val)
{
if( ($i++ % 2) == 0 ) $key = $val;
else $output[$key] = $val;
}