processing javascript array with PHP Options

[joyful]

Hey!

I am dynamically creating form inputs with this script:

CODE

var counter = 1;
var limit = 40;
function addInput(divName){
     if (counter == limit)  {
          alert("You have reached the limit of steps: " + counter);
     }
     else {
          var newdiv = document.createElement('div');
          newdiv.innerHTML = "Entry " + (counter + 1) + " <br><input type='text' name='myInputs[]'>";
          document.getElementById(divName).appendChild(newdiv);
          counter++;
     }
}

(I found the above script here)

This script works great! The issue arises when I attempt to process the data with PHP:

CODE

$myInputs = $_POST["myInputs"];
foreach ($myInputs as $eachInput) {
     echo $eachInput . "<br>";
}

I seem to only be able to get the contents of the first input using the above script. What am I doing wrong? Should this work? I followed the tutorial at www.randomsnippets.com exactly; yet, it seems not to work!

Thanks in advance!

--

[Brian Chandler]

It helps to show the html that is being generated, not the php program generating it. For example, in the middle of the echo we have

...ut(".'"dynamicInput"'.");'>...

which produces

...ut("dynamicInput");'>...

(but which would be easier to read if written

...ut(\"dynamicInput\");'>...


Anyway, I think the problem is that you have three [variable] text inputs with the same name, "myinputs[]". In the case of checkboxes, you can use this PHP (fake) array name to get more than one value for the same _name_ input, but it's not obvious that you can for text input. First thing to do is to check by printing out the complete $_POST array in the PHP form handler. Also print out the raw POST data (can't remember how to do that)...

But I think it's cleaner to avoid the whole business of duplicate _name_ values. Can't you make the javascript generate additional text inputs with name=input2, name=input3, etc?

[Christian J]

I think the problem is that you have three [variable] text inputs with the same name, "myinputs[]". In the case of checkboxes, you can use this PHP (fake) array name to get more than one value for the same _name_ input, but it's not obvious that you can for text input.

It's permitted by PHP, see code example here: http://www.php.net/manual/en/faq.html.php#faq.html.arrays (note that the default TYPE of INPUT is "text").

The following works for me. I changed the ACTION to the same page, so now you'll get a notice and warning when the page is first loaded (because the form is not yet submitted):

CODE

<?php
$myInputs = $_POST["myInputs"];
foreach ($myInputs as $eachInput)
{
     echo $eachInput . "<br>";
}

echo "<form method='POST' action=\"\">";
echo "<div id='dynamicInput'>
            <div>Step 1<br><input type='text' name='myInputs[]' /></div>
      </div>
            <input type='button' value='Add another step' onClick='addInput(".'"dynamicInput"'.");'>
            ";

echo "<div id='submitButtonWrap'><input type='submit' value='Create' name='addSubmit' /></div>";
echo "</form>";
?>
<script type="text/javascript">
var counter = 1;
var limit = 40;
function addInput(divName)
{
     if (counter == limit)
     {
          alert("You have reached the limit of steps: " + counter);
     }
     else
     {
          var newdiv = document.createElement('div');
          newdiv.innerHTML = "Entry " + (counter + 1) + " <br><input type='text' name='myInputs[]'>";
          document.getElementById(divName).appendChild(newdiv);
          counter++;
     }
}
</script>

But I think it's cleaner to avoid the whole business of duplicate _name_ values. Can't you make the javascript generate additional text inputs with name=input2, name=input3, etc?

But then you must tease them apart in the PHP, which seems much messier.

[Brian Chandler]

But I think it's cleaner to avoid the whole business of duplicate _name_ values. Can't you make the javascript generate additional text inputs with name=input2, name=input3, etc?

But then you must tease them apart in the PHP, which seems much messier.

Not really. And there is something profoundly repugnant in programming terms in having [sort-of] variable names including [] characters.

(Handling names like 'input1' 'input2' really is trivial -- something like:

CODE

$i = 1;
while ($text = $_POST['input'. $i++])  // assuming text box must be nonempty
{
...process $text...
}