How to insert multiple values from form

[Anon]

Hi!

I want users of a web form to be able to type in multiple values into a 'child' mysql table for each entered value in a 'parent' table.

(For example, a number of lat-long positions for each research cruise. The cruise id is entered into a textbox, and underneath I'd like users to enter Lat+Long for each station that was visited during the cruise )

The values are not limited, and thus can't be selected from any listbox. The number of values to be typed in varies, also. Could I use a textarea, extract each row separately and then insert it into the mysql table?

Thanks in advance,
Maria

[kparker]

Regardless of how the values are entered on the form (e.g. multiple rows in a table, with the names ending in [] so you have an array of values, vs putting in a textarea and somehow parsing that), you will need to loop through the values and create multiple INSERT queries to add the rows to the child table.

Ideally, you would wrap the whole thing in a transaction, but if you are using some versions of mysql that isn't possible.

Also, I assume you are assigning some kind of unique ID automatically to the parent row: you can retrieve this value (using mysql_insert_id() or SELECT
currval(sequence) for postresql) and use it to identify the child-table rows.

[Anon]

Thanks Kirk!

I guess what I was really after was how to get multiple row input from users, especially when I don't know how many rows there'll be. Letting them enter rows into a textarea, and then exploding the string into an array of values seems to work, though. I then looped through the array, like you said.

Another way would be to ask the user how many rows they need and then generate a number of textboxes for them.

Thanks again,
Maria

[kparker]

Here's a third way: start with a reasonable number of table rows, but include a button to add more rows if the user fills up the initial ones.