[RESOLVED] How to pass an array from dynamic input text box?

mellow

Trying to pass an array via a dynamically generated form. The array would be iterated on the next page load to construct a mysql UPDATE query.

Here is the code I am using:

//USING GET METHOD TO DEBUG 
<form method="get" name="update" action="<?php echo $reload;?>">
<?
for ($i=0; $i < $numfields; $i++) 
// DISPLAY HEADER OF TABLE WITH COL NAMES
{ echo '<th>'.mysql_field_name($results, $i).'</th>'; }

echo "</tr><tr>\n";


$edit = mysql_fetch_row($results);
foreach ($edit as $key => $field){
 // INPUT FIELDS GENERATED HERE

//THIS IN THE PROBLEM AREA
echo '<td><input type="text" name="data[' . $key . ']" value="' . htmlspecialchars($field) . '"</td>';
}
?>

		<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Update">
		<input type="hidden" name="table" value="<?php echo "$table";?>">
</form>

The "$_GET" is returned this way:

data[0]=3&data[1]=Yes&data[2]=1

Rather than an array, it is passed as individual arrays. I have tried all sorts of variants:
using name="data" ... returns: data=3&data=Yes&data=1.
using name="data[]" ... returns data[]=3&data[]=Yes&data[]=1.

How can I code it to return data[]=array or data=array so I can loop through it and construct the query??

bradgrafelman

If the query string ends up looking like "data[0]=3&data[1]=Yes&data[2]=1", then it should work fine - $_GET['data'] will be an array.

djjjozsi

You should use POST method in your form instead, and $_POST["data"] holds the selection as an array:
foreach() is the function to get the key=>value pairs on a submit.

mellow

Thanks to both of you. That fixed it. I didn't realize that the $GET would treat the array differently (taking the easy way I thought to debug) and that $POST would glue them all together. Thanks much!!! 🙂

bradgrafelman

Using the GET method doesn't treat the array any differently than POST would...

test.php

<?php
print_r($_GET);
?>

test.php?data[0]=zero&data[1]=one&data[2]=two yeilds:

Array
(
    [data] => Array
        (
            [0] => zero
            [1] => one
            [2] => two
        )

)

Likewise, you could use "test.php?data[]=zero&data[]=one&data[]=two" to get the same results.

igorek

<html>
<pre>
<?php
print_r($_GET);
?>
</pre>
</html>

$POST && $GET are arrays, you can get the same data from $_REQUEST no matter which method was used.

therefore:::

$_REQUEST['inputname'];

mellow

I was using the $REQUEST var to extract the information from the $GET (So I wouldn't have to change that when I changed the form method to POST; but when I would loop though it using foreach it didn't extract the info correctly. I should have used the print_r to see what was there because I think that somehow it was a "two layer deep" array and i needed to loop through the next level.? Using $_POST it worked perfectly the first time. :? Thanks so much to all of you who replied.