Converting a text list into a html ul-list?

[voxmediagroup]

Hi everyone, this my first post here, so be gentle 🙂

I need a (php) script that can convert a hierarchical text list like this:

• text1
• - subtext1
• - subtext2
• - - subsubtext1
• text2

into a html ul-list with sub-lists like this:

<ul>
<li>text1
<ul>
<li>sub-text1</li>
<li>sub-text1
<ul>
<li>sub-sub-text1</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>text2</li>
</ul>

I have searched high and low for this, with no luck. I realize that is it should be a simple thing to do, and I have tried myself, but it I can't make it work.

So my question is this:
Does anyone know of an existing script that can do this, or do you have any ideas how to go about this?

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks.

[EDIT: Used dashes in stead of space indent.]

[NogDog]

You need to start by asking (and answering) the question: how is your script supposed to be able to determine at what list level each entry belongs? Will there be cues in the text itself (such as the "sub" or "subsub" at the start of the text in your examples)? Or will it be indicated by something about the structure, such as different levels of indentation? Or will it be indicated by something else?

[voxmediagroup]

NogDog wrote:

You need to start by asking (and answering) the question: how is your script supposed to be able to determine at what list level each entry belongs? Will there be cues in the text itself (such as the "sub" or "subsub" at the start of the text in your examples)? Or will it be indicated by something about the structure, such as different levels of indentation? Or will it be indicated by something else?

Hi, I added indents to the original post, but i see now that they were trimmed... yeah sorry about that.

I'll show it using "-" instead...

• text1
• - subtext1
• - subtext2
• - - subsubtext1
• text2

This is what i mean. I would prefer to indicate the levels using tab or space, but any character (like the dash above) would work as well...

PS: Thanks for replying so quickly.

[123456654]

a simple example will be something like this

$lines = file('file.txt');
echo '<ul>';
foreach($lines as $value){
      echo '<li>'.$value.'</li>';
}
echo '</ul>';

then just play with that to get the levels you want, like with str_replace('---','<ul><li>',$value); or something like that.

update: it would be better to use this with a foreach:

if(stristr($value, '-')){ $value = '<li>'.$value.'</li>'; }
 		else if(stristr($value, '--')){ $value = '<ul><li>'.$value.'</li></ul>'; }
 		else if(stristr($value, '---')){ $value = '<ul><li><ul><li>'.$value.'</li></ul></li></ul>'; }
                else { echo 'error: line doens\' contain valid >ul< identifier'; }

i think that would be the easiest way to do it, dunno if the html ul levels are ok in the code, i dont use html too much and i only used simple levels