In the modest program I am trying to put together using PHP and an MySQL database, I find myself unable to envision what kind of form the user will use to retrieve his or her own data. I know what the form for entering data will look like, but I'm at a loss as to what the data retrieval form will look like.
I would like to offer multiple options for retrieving data according to dates, days, parts of days, weeks and months, and varieties of same (e.g., all Tuesdays in November; all mornings between August 1 and August 15).
My question has two parts, I guess: (1) what would such a form look like; and (2) how would a form with so many indeterminate parts tell PHP what kind of data to get?
I'd love to be able to find some information along these lines on the Internet, but just haven't succeeded in doing so. I can't find the type of form that I want, one that would allow for these kinds of parameters. And since I'm unable to find the form, I guess that affects my ability, or lack thereof, to find examples of the kind of code I want.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
On edit: As I think about it, I'm getting worried that the only kind of data-retrieval form available would be a drop-down menu type. Is that correct? It would take an awful lot of drop-down menus to do what I want, so I'm hoping that there are other, more elegant ways!
Thanks for any help you can give me.
