array of check boxes using html and php

Question

I have a chunk of code that is as follows:

<td><?
    $days = array("Sun","Mon","Tue","Wed","Thur","Fri","Sat");
    for($i=1;$i<8;$i++)
    {
        echo $days[$i-1]?><input type="checkbox" name="labDays[]" value="<?=$days[$i]?>" checked="checked"><?
    }?>
</td>

However when I run print_r($_REQUEST['labDays']);

I get Array ( [0] => [1] => [2] => [3] => [4] => [5] => [6] => )

I expected Array ( [0] => Sun[1] => Mon[2] => Tue[3] => Wed[4] => Thur[5] => Fri[6] => Sat)

I'm sure it's something silly but I'm not sure what I am missing...

print_r($_REQUEST) pukes: Array ( [pg] => 12 [msg] => Facility Already Exist [facilityname] => kjgkjhgkjhg [facorgtype] => [facilitytype] => [administratorsname] => [divisionname] => [streetaddress1] => [streetaddress2] => [city] => [state] => [zipcode] => [phonenumber] => [faxnumber] => [email] => [mainstate] => [labDays] => Array ( [0] => [1] => [2] => [3] => [4] => [5] => [6] => ) [facBillingContact] => [facBillingPhone] => [facBillingFax] => [facBillingRep] => [facBillingAccNum] => [facNotes] => [submit] => Create )

var_dump($_REQUEST['labDays']):

array
  0 => string 'Sun' (length=3)
  1 => string 'Mon' (length=3)
  2 => string 'Tue' (length=3)
  3 => string 'Wed' (length=3)
  4 => string 'Thur' (length=4)
  5 => string 'Fri' (length=3)
  6 => string 'Sat' (length=3)

Madara's Ghost · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-20 20:37:53Z

2

I believe this is what you're looking for:

    <?php
    $days = array("Sun", "Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat");
    foreach ($days as $day) {
        echo <<<HTML
    <label>$day
        <input type="checkbox" name="labDays[]" value="$day" checked>
    </label>
HTML;

    }
    ?>

Few notes:

PHP

The use of the shorthand syntax (<? ?> and especially <?= ?>) is not recommended.
For iterating an array, foreach is more suited than a for.
I use PHP's heredoc syntax for strings. This way I avoid the quotes confusion.
Use $_POST or $_GET rather than $_REQUEST, it's considered more secure that way.

HTML

Use labels for form elements in HTML, this associates the text with the form control, plus when you click on the text, it will mark the appropriate checkbox too!
The checked attribute needs no value. It's enough that it's there.

edited Aug 20, 2012 at 20:37

answered Aug 20, 2012 at 19:51

Madara's Ghost

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8 Comments

Bill.Caffery Over a year ago

what is echo <<<HTML?! i have never seen this before

Kalpesh Over a year ago

@Truth, so for every single HTML tag looping you write heredoc?

Kalpesh Over a year ago

@Truth, OP is already confused, you are confusing him more :)

Madara's Ghost Over a year ago

@Bill.Caffery: I see the intended result. Check the result of the entire $_POST variable (not just what you think you should see).

Madara's Ghost Over a year ago

@KalpeshMehta: I'm not confusing him, I'm pointing him at the right direction, with good programming practices. Heredoc is far superior to all other forms of strings when writing HTML blocks (not one-liners) because it's easily visible, evaluates variables while not messing with quotes. So yes, I will use it for every single HTML tag I'm looping. In more complex cases, I would even use DOM.

|

Kalpesh · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-20 19:46:21Z

1

If you want to loop through array, foreach is best option

$days = array("Sun","Mon","Tue","Wed","Thur","Fri","Sat");
foreach($days as $k=>$v)
{
    echo $k?><input type="checkbox" name="labDays[]" value="<?=$v?>" checked="checked"><?
}?>

Using for, you can do like this:

$days = array("Sun","Mon","Tue","Wed","Thur","Fri","Sat");
for($i=0;$i<=6;$i++)
{
    echo $i;?><input type="checkbox" name="labDays[]" value="<?=$days[$i]?>" checked="checked"><?
}?>

RECOMMENDED WAY..

$days = array("Sun","Mon","Tue","Wed","Thur","Fri","Sat");
foreach($days as $k=>$v)
{
    echo $k . ' <input type="checkbox" name="labDays[]" value="'.$v.'" checked="checked">'; //you can give your styles and css ofcourse to make it better..
}

edited Aug 20, 2012 at 19:46

answered Aug 20, 2012 at 19:39

Kalpesh

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5 Comments

Madara's Ghost Over a year ago

This sort of syntax is not recommended.

Kalpesh Over a year ago

@Truth, yes I know, just letting the OP find the mistake.

Bill.Caffery Over a year ago

i dont want it to say 1[] 2[] 3[] i want mon[] tue[] wed[]. but i see the concatenation you did with .$v. so ty i will try that

Kalpesh Over a year ago

if you want like: mon [checkbox], tue [checkbox], just replace $k with $v that's it..

Kalpesh Over a year ago

can you check the html source and confirm if the value field is getting correct values? (mon, sun, etc..)

Federico · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-20 19:52:55Z

-1

Maybe with echo to print the value:

<input type="checkbox" name="labDays[]" value="<?php echo $days[$i]; ?>" checked="checked">

answered Aug 20, 2012 at 19:52

Federico

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5 Comments

Madara's Ghost Over a year ago

This makes no difference. He uses the shorthand syntax <?= $stuff ?> which is equivalent to <?php echo $stuff; ?>.

Federico Over a year ago

Yes but it requires to be configured in php.ini: php.net/manual/en/ini.core.php#ini.short-open-tag

Madara's Ghost Over a year ago

Since PHP 5.4.0, <?= is always available. from the same source you've linked.

Federico Over a year ago

I'm not side by side with Bill, I don't know which version he is using. Maybe is written somewhere but I didn't see it. Or he is using an old php.ini configuration ... how can I know?

Bill.Caffery Over a year ago

ive enable short tags enough squabbling ty

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