[RESOLVED] Series of variables generated using a while statement

Bilbozilla

Hi there,

I am trying to generate a list of $_POST variables that will be named

$var1
$desc1
$var2
$desc2
$var3
$desc3
$var4
$desc4
$...
$var[B]n[/B]
$desc[B]n[/B]

where "n" is based upon a number identified by a user.

For instance, the user is asked "how many vehicles do you own". The user enters "2", and the page automatically puts in 2 text fields, named $textfield1 and $textfield2, both generated using a "while(i<num)" statement.

Any help or insight would be much appreciated.

dagon

variable variables, but there's usually a better way. For me usually multi-dimensional arrays

$foo[$n]=array(...);

bradgrafelman

dagon is right - using arrays is a much better way of doing what you want. For example, you could output the fields using square brackets so that PHP parses them as an array, e.g.:

<p>Name #1: <input type="text" name="name[0]"><br>
Type #1: <input type="text" name="type[0]"></p>

<p>Name #2: <input type="text" name="name[1]"><br>
Type #2: <input type="text" name="type[1]"></p>

Then, in your processing script, you'd handle the elements as arrays, e.g.:

for($i = 0; $i < count($_POST['name']); $i++) {
    // data for current group can be accessed via:
    echo "Name: " . $_POST['name'][$i] . ", Type: " . $_POST['type'][$i] . "<br>";
}

Bilbozilla

Thanks for your help. This is precisely the structure I needed. Thanks.