Output a php multi-dimensional array to a html table

Question

I have a form that has 8 columns and a variable number of rows which I need to email to the client in a nicely formatted email. The form submits the needed fields as a multidimensional array. Rough example is below:

<input name="order[0][topdiameter]" type="text" id="topdiameter0" value="1" size="5" />
<input name="order[0][bottomdiameter]" type="text" id="bottomdiameter0" value="1" size="5" />
<input name="order[0][slantheight]" type="text" id="slantheight0" value="1" size="5" />
<select name="order[0][fittertype]" id="fittertype0">
    <option value="harp">Harp</option>
    <option value="euro">Euro</option>
    <option value="bulbclip">Regular</option>
</select>
<input name="order[0][washerdrop]" type="text" id="washerdrop0" value="1" size="5" />
<select name="order[0][fabrictype]" id="fabrictype">
    <option value="linen">Linen</option>
    <option value="pleated">Pleated</option>
</select>
<select name="order[0][colours]" id="colours0">
    <option value="beige">Beige</option>
    <option value="white">White</option>
    <option value="eggshell">Eggshell</option>
    <option value="parchment">Parchment</option>
</select>
<input name="order[0][quantity]" type="text" id="quantity0" value="1" size="5" />

This form is formatted in a table, and rows can be added to it dynamically. What I've been unable to do is get a properly formatted table out of the array.

This is what I'm using now (grabbed from the net).

<?php
if (isset($_POST["submit"])) {
$arr= $_POST['order']
echo '<table>';
foreach($arr as $arrs)
    {
    echo '<tr>';
    foreach($arrs as $item)
    {
        echo "<td>$item</td>";
    }
    echo '</tr>';
    }

echo '</table>;
};
?>

This works perfectly for a single row of data. If I try submitting 2 or more rows from the form then one of the columns disappears. I'd like the table to be formatted as:

| top | Bottom | Slant | Fitter | Washer | Fabric | Colours | Quantity |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|value| value  | value | value  | value  | value  |  value  |  value   |

with additional rows as needed. But, I can't find any examples that will generate that type of table!

It seems like this should be something fairly straightforward, but I just can't locate an example that works the way I need it too.

A couple of things - first it looks like you have a syntax error on your last lines of PHP - perhaps you're looking for echo '</table>'; } Secondly, when you have multiple rows, which column disappears? When you add more rows, do you change the order[0] to order[1] in the HTML? — thetaiko
– thetaiko, Commented Mar 17, 2010 at 19:08
What are the names of the inputs for the second, third, fourth, etc. row? — Jordan S. Jones
– Jordan S. Jones, Commented Mar 17, 2010 at 19:09

St. John Johnson · Accepted Answer · 2010-03-17 19:08:28Z

7

How about this?

$keys = array_keys($_POST['order'][0]);
echo "<table><tr><th>".implode("</th><th>", $keys)."</th></tr>";
foreach ($_POST['order'] as $order) {
  if (!is_array($order))
    continue;
  echo "<tr><td>".implode("</td><td>", $order )."</td></tr>";
}
echo "</table>

answered Mar 17, 2010 at 19:08

St. John Johnson

6,6607 gold badges37 silver badges57 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

5 Comments

mskfisher Over a year ago

+1 for terseness - though this could provide incorrect output if any of the rows have different/additional columns (or if the keys are sorted differently).

St. John Johnson Over a year ago

@mskfisher good point. You could replace line 6 with a for loop that iterates the $keys array and outputs accordingly. That would guarantee the output was in the correct order and only the keys we expect.

mskfisher Over a year ago

If you're relatively confident in the number of columns, you could also call ksort() on the array to ensure it's in the right order. php.net/manual/en/function.ksort.php

milovanderlinden Over a year ago

excelent! You made my day with this effective, great structured snippet!

Ben Sullins Over a year ago

Is there anyway you could post that example to only output valid output using the $keys array? thanks!

Powertieke · Accepted Answer · 2010-03-18 09:52:04Z

A Table class I wrote some time ago

<?php
class Table {
    protected $opentable = "\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n";
    protected $closetable = "</table>\n";
    protected $openrow = "\t<tr>\n";
    protected $closerow = "\t</tr>\n";

    function __construct($data) {
        $this->string = $this->opentable;
        foreach ($data as $row) {
            $this->string .= $this->buildrow($row);
        }
        $this->string .= $this->closetable;
    }

    function addfield($field, $style = "null") {
        if ($style == "null") {
            $html =  "\t\t<td>" . $field . "</td>\n";
        } else {
            $html = "\t\t<td class=\"" . $style . "\">"  . $field . "</td>\n";
        }
        return $html;
    }

    function buildrow($row) {
        $html .= $this->openrow;
        foreach ($row as $field) {
            $html .= $this->addfield($field);
        }
        $html .= $this->closerow;
        return $html;
    }

    function draw() {
        echo $this->string;
    }
}
?>

To be used like this :

<body>
<?php
$multiDimArray = []; # Turn the form array into a matrix
for ($i = 0; $i < count($_POST['order']); $i++) {
        $multiDimArray[] = [];
    foreach ($_POST['order'][$i] as $key=>$value) {
        if ($i == 0) {
            $multiDimArray[$i][] = $key;
        }
        $multiDimArray[$i][] = $value;
    }
}

$table = new Table($multiDimArray); # Create and draw the table
$table->draw();
?>
</body>

Jason Swett · Accepted Answer · 2010-03-17 19:17:10Z

5

In your HTML, try something like this:

<table>
<tr>
  <th>Bottom</th>
  <th>Slant</th>
  <th>Fitter</th>
</tr>
<?php foreach ($_POST['order'] as $order): ?>
  <tr>
    <td><?php echo $order['bottomdiameter'] ?></td>
    <td><?php echo $order['slantheight'] ?></td>
    <td><?php echo $order['fittertype'] ?></td>
  </tr>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</table>

Obviously, I'm not including all your attributes there, but hopefully you get the idea.

answered Mar 17, 2010 at 19:17

Jason Swett

45.4k70 gold badges231 silver badges360 bronze badges

2 Comments

St. John Johnson Over a year ago

Wow, I've never seen someone use the alternate syntax for foreach loops. Neat!

Fireflight Over a year ago

Thanks! St. John Johnson's solution also works, but your code is easier for me to read and tweak.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Output a php multi-dimensional array to a html table

3 Answers 3

5 Comments

Comments

2 Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

3 Answers 3

5 Comments

Comments

2 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related