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I have the following html submit form. This form is a PHP_SELF and stores the input data as an array in $_POST.

<html>
<body>
<form method="post" action="<?php echo htmlentities($PHP_SELF); ?>">
<fieldset>
<legend>Direct Bill Information:</legend>
DB #: <input type="int" name="db_num[]" /> DB Amount: <input type="int" name="db_amnt[]" /> </br>
DB #: <input type="int" name="db_num[]" /> DB Amount: <input type="int" name="db_amnt[]" /> </br>
DB #: <input type="int" name="db_num[]" /> DB Amount: <input type="int" name="db_amnt[]" /> </br>
DB #: <input type="int" name="db_num[]" /> DB Amount: <input type="int" name="db_amnt[]" /> </br>
DB #: <input type="int" name="db_num[]" /> DB Amount: <input type="int" name="db_amnt[]" /> </br>
DB #: <input type="int" name="db_num[]" /> DB Amount: <input type="int" name="db_amnt[]" /> </br>
DB #: <input type="int" name="db_num[]" /> DB Amount: <input type="int" name="db_amnt[]" /> </br>
DB #: <input type="int" name="db_num[]" /> DB Amount: <input type="int" name="db_amnt[]" /> </br>
DB #: <input type="int" name="db_num[]" /> DB Amount: <input type="int" name="db_amnt[]" /> </br>
DB #: <input type="int" name="db_num[]" /> DB Amount: <input type="int" name="db_amnt[]" />
</fieldset>
<input type="submit" value="submit" name="submit" />
</form>
</body>
</html>

I have a MySQL table that has the fields 'db_num' and 'db_amnt', and I want to insert all the input data in the array into the table. I've looked around and 'implode' seems to be the best way, but after much research I still can't get it to work. The entire PHP executes and finishes without error, however, instead of displaying all 10 rows of both columns, it just displays 2 rows of the two columns with values = 0 for all entries. This is the code I'm using:

$sql2 = array();
foreach($_POST as key=>$value)
{
    if(key != 'submit')
    {   
        if($value != '')
        {   
            $sql2[] = '("'.mysql_real_escape_string($value['db_num']).'", "'.$value['db_amnt'].'")';
        }   
    }
}
mysql_query('INSERT INTO ' .$tablename_db. '(db_num, db_amnt) VALUES '.implode(',', $sql2));

I did a little debugging and echoed the $value in the foreach loop, and it turns out that it's only displaying three terms; 'Array', 'Array', and 'submit'. Further checks showed that the only way I can get the values from the submit form to show is if I do a foreach loop through $_POST[db_num] and $_POST[db_amnt] instead of just $_POST. I'm not really sure why it's doing this and how to fix it. This is my first code in PHP and I'm learning as I go. I really appreciate any help that I can get!

share|improve this question
You are making false assumptions on the structure of $_POST. Do print_r($_POST) to study it and see if you can work out how to fix the script. – Summoner Jul 30 '12 at 11:55
Arrays end up in POST data where, say, checkboxes are submitted. Also, key should presumably be $key. Lastly, it's a bad idea to dump post data into a MySQL query. What if someone changed the DOM or otherwise interfered with the form? You're allowing them to potentially break your query, or worse. Do proper checks and validation. – Utkanos Jul 30 '12 at 11:56
Tip: remove "name" attribute from submit. It doesn't carry much useful information, therefore you will not meet it in your $_POST. – Paul T. Rawkeen Jul 30 '12 at 12:15

1 Answer

up vote 0 down vote accepted

try this 

$db_num = $_POST['db_num'];
$db_amnt = $_POST['db_amnt'];

$items = array_combine($db_num,$db_amnt);

$pairs = array();

foreach($items as $key=>$value){
  $pairs[] = '('.intval($key).','.intval($value).')';
}

mysql_query('INSERT INTO ' .$tablename_db. '(db_num, db_amnt) VALUES '.implode(',',$pairs));
share|improve this answer
Thank you! That works like a charm! – user1562781 Jul 30 '12 at 20:24

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