[RESOLVED] Foreach() large amount of variables - help with logic needed

[JVassie]

foreach($_POST as $key => $value)
{
        if($key != "submit")
        {
            $$key = mysql_escape_string($value);
            if($$key != "" || $$key != NULL)
            {
        	     $filledin .= $key . ": " . $$key . "<br />";      ##### Builds variable for testing purposes, see below for echo
        	     $fcount += 1;
            }
            if($$key == "" || $$key == NULL)
            {
        	     $empty .= $key . ": " . $$key . "<br />";      ##### Builds variable for testing purposes, see below for echo
        	     $ecount += 1;
            }
        }
}

My code above doesn't quite represent what I want to achieve, but I hope combined with description will explain what I'm hoping to achieve.

---

The page where this code resides on is basically parsing a form.

The form has just under 700 variables, all of which (aside from the submit button, which I have dealt with in the code above) are in the following format:

xx_yyyy_zzz

xx is either 1 or two characters (k, d, h, r1, r2, b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, s, g, o)

yyyy is a shorthand name for an item, for example oven, or sfreezer

zzz is either qty or cmt (quantity or comment)

Two examples:

k_oven_qty
s_bookcase_cmt

---

Basically, variables come in pairs, there will be a qty and a cmt for each item, so using the above example, we have:

k_oven_qty
k_oven_cmt
s_bookcase_qty
s_bookcase_cmt

What I would like to do is to work on two items at a time, the qty and cmt for each item. This i because I want to add to an output string along the following lines: (pseudocode)

if(not empty)
{
     split input into parts by _
     if(first part == k)
     {
          $room = kitchen
          $kcount += 1
          if(third part == 'qty')
          {
               $ktext .= second part ':' qty // qty here is the value of the qty variable
          }
          else // we assume if third part isnt qty it is cmt
          {
               if(third part not empty)
               {
                    $ktext .= '(' cmt ')<br>' // cmt here is the value of the cmt variable
               }
               else
               {
                    $ktext .= '<br>' // if cmt value empty just newline
               }
          }
     }
     elseif(first part == b1)
     {
          repeat above
     }
}

The output I'm aiming for might look something like this:

[U]Room 1[/U]
Item 1: 5 (Comment)
Item 2: 1
Item 3: 3
Item 4: 1 (Comment)
Item 5: 2

I hope this makes sense, if you have any questions please ask away. I realise it is very hard to 'get around' in your head, and hopefully my pseudocode will make it easier to do this.

My question to you is, would the logic behind it work, and is it more feasible to do it a different way?

Also, if the variables are in a guaranteed order of qty, cmt, qty, cmt will the output always appear as expected?

[anakadote]

Are you doing something different depending on the value the first character or two? In your pseudocode it looks like you are, but you write "repeat above"? If there's no difference then you don't need to separate them. I would first create an array in order to group qty and comment of the same item into one array:

// Group item into single array (within an array)
$items = array();
foreach($_POST as $key => $value)
{
        if($key != "submit")
        {
            if($value != "" || $value != NULL)
            {
                $parts = explode('_', $key);
                if(!$items[$parts[1]]) $items[$parts[1]] = array();
                $items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
            }
        }
}


// Then loop through your new array
if($items){
  $output = '';
  foreach($items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }
  echo $output;  

}

[samuelcook]

I honestly don't know if this will work as I didn't test it, but you might get something from it::

<?php
$r = $_POST;
unset($r['submit']);
foreach($r as $k=>$v){
	$parts = explode("_",$k);
	$prefix = $parts[0];
	$section = $parts[1];
	$suffix = $parts[2];

switch($prefix){
	case 'k':
		if(!in_array('kitchen',$room)){
			$room[] = 'kitchen';
		}
		$kdata[]['section'] = 'section';
		$kdata[][$suffix] = $v;
		break;
	case 'b1':
		//...REPEAT
		break;
}
}

for($x=0;$x<count( $room );$x++){
	echo '<u>'.$room[$x].'</u>';
	switch($room[$x]){
		case 'kitchen':
			$data = $kdata;
			break;
		case 'bedroom1':
			$data = $b1data;
	}
	foreach($data as $item){
		echo $item['section'].': '.$item['qty'];
		echo !empty($item['cmt']) ? ' ('.$item['cmt'].')<br />' : '<br />';
	}
}?>

[JVassie]

samuelcook;10973240 wrote:

I honestly don't know if this will work as I didn't test it, but you might get something from it::

Hmm, it doesn;t seem to like your use of in_array(), I get the following error:

Warning: in_array() [function.in-array]: Wrong datatype for second argument in /home/reloburo/public_html/removals/secure/survey_proc.php on line 37

which refers to the following segment:

if(!in_array('kitchen',$room)){
                $room[] = 'kitchen';
            }

Might be because $room hasn't been defined as an array already?

anakadote;10973234 wrote:

Are you doing something different depending on the value the first character or two? In your pseudocode it looks like you are, but you write "repeat above"? If there's no difference then you don't need to separate them. I would first create an array in order to group qty and comment of the same item into one array:

Yeah, depending upon the first character(s), I use it to store the text into further variables, for example $ktext for k items, $b1text for b1 items etc.

And having just tested your code (apologies I did them in reverse order), it works just as expected 😃

Just need to setup an output for each of the b, k groupings, so that I can output it like this:

if(!empty($k_output))
{
echo "<h3>Kitchen</h3><br />" . $k_output . "<br />";
}
if(!empty($s_output))
{
echo "<h3>Study</h3><br />" . $s_output . "<br />";
}
if(!empty($g_output))
{
echo "<h3>Garden</h3><br />" . $g_output . "<br />";
}

What do you think the best way of doing that would be? Seperating them into seperate arrays? Or building up outputs based on the contents?

[anakadote]

Yeah, so instead of one $items array create one for each: $kitchen, $bath, and $garden. Note though that setting up your site like this doesn't make it very easily extensible. You may want to look into an alternative structure, for instance using a numeric id for the category that corresponds to a categories database table, as opposed to "bath" and "kitchen".

[samuelcook]

Most likely, its that $rooms array hasn't been created.

anakadote and I both really do the same thing, just small difference, so you might be able to encorporate both to make one nice post parser

[JVassie]

anakadote;10973243 wrote:

Yeah, so instead of one $items array create one for each: $kitchen, $bath, and $garden. Note though that setting up your site like this doesn't make it very easily extensible. You may want to look into an alternative structure, for instance using a numeric id for the category that corresponds to a categories database table, as opposed to "bath" and "kitchen".

Isn't copying the entire segment of code for each room an unreliable way of doing it? I'll try and see if I can get it to produce multiple output strings, should be fun! :p

The full list of 'rooms' comprises: Kitchen, Dining Room, Hallway & Stairs, Reception Room 1 & 2, Bedroom 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Study, Garden and Other. It's unlikely this will change as it's based on a paper form the company have used for a long time now, but I shall enquire.

[JVassie]

Here is the completed code for anyone interested:

<?php
// Create arrays for each room to hold it's items
$k_items = array();
$d_items = array();
$h_items = array();
$r1_items = array();
$r2_items = array();
$b1_items = array();
$b2_items = array();
$b3_items = array();
$b4_items = array();
$b5_items = array();
$s_items = array();
$g_items = array();
$o_items = array();

foreach($_POST as $key => $value)
{
        if($key != "submit")
        {
            if($value != "" || $value != NULL)
            {
                $parts = explode('_', $key);
                switch ($parts[0])
                {
                  case k:
                    if(!$k_items[$parts[1]]) $k_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $k_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $k_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case d:
                    if(!$d_items[$parts[1]]) $d_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $d_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $d_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case h:
                    if(!$h_items[$parts[1]]) $h_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $h_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $h_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case r1:
                    if(!$r1_items[$parts[1]]) $r1_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $r1_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $r1_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case r2:
                    if(!$r2_items[$parts[1]]) $r2_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $r2_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $r2_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case b1:
                    if(!$b1_items[$parts[1]]) $b1_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $b1_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $b1_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case b2:
                    if(!$b2_items[$parts[1]]) $b2_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $b2_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $b2_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case b3:
                    if(!$b3_items[$parts[1]]) $b3_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $b3_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $b3_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case b4:
                    if(!$b4_items[$parts[1]]) $b4_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $b4_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $b4_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case b5:
                    if(!$b5_items[$parts[1]]) $b5_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $b5_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $b5_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case s:
                    if(!$s_items[$parts[1]]) $s_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $s_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $s_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case g:
                    if(!$g_items[$parts[1]]) $g_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $g_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $g_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  case o:
                    if(!$o_items[$parts[1]]) $o_items[$parts[1]] = array();
                    $o_items[$parts[1]][$parts[2]] = $value; // Example: $k_items['oven']['qty'] = 2;
                    break;
                  default:
                    // Error detected
                    echo "No room found.";
                }
            }
        }
}


// Then loop through your new array
if($k_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Kitchen</h3>';
  foreach($k_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($d_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Dining Room</h3>';
  foreach($d_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($h_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Hallway & stairs</h3>';
  foreach($h_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($r1_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Reception Room 1</h3>';
  foreach($r1_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($r2_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Reception Room 2</h3>';
  foreach($r2_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($b1_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Bedroom 1</h3>';
  foreach($b1_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($b2_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Bedroom 2</h3>';
  foreach($b2_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($b3_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Bedroom 3</h3>';
  foreach($b3_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($b4_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Bedroom 4</h3>';
  foreach($b4_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($b5_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Bedroom 5</h3>';
  foreach($b5_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($s_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Study</h3>';
  foreach($s_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($g_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Garden Items</h3>';
  foreach($g_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}
if($o_items){
  $output .= '<h3>Other Items</h3>';
  foreach($o_items as $item=>$value){
    $output .= $item . ': ' . $value['qty'];
    if($value['cmt']) $output .= ' (' . $value['cmt'] . ')';
    $output .= '<br />';
  }

}

echo $output;

?>

Thank you for your help guys!