create select list from complex arrays

Question

Lets say I have an array like:

Array
(
[1] => Array
    (
        [name] => 85 x 55mm
        [options] => Array
            (
                [2] => Array
                    (
                        [2] => Ivory Board
                        [3] => Silk Board
                    )

                [6] => Array
                    (
                        [4] => 330gsm
                        [5] => 400gsm
                    )

            )

    )
)

The inner options could have x number of values. In this example I want a select list that will chain the option ids from the root parent key (could be more than 1 parent but only 1 in this case) and the values excluding the parent name i.e

<h1>85 x 55mm</h1>
<select name="1">
<option value="1,2,4">Ivory Board, 330gsm</option>
<option value="1,3,5">Silk Board, 400gsm</option>
</select>

Tried re-keying the arrays but struggling to combine.

Answer 1

I have a complex array of track information from iTunes where the key value I want to cycle through is called "tracks". the number of properties associated with each track varies.

To cycle through the array I use a foreach loop.

$trackArray = (array_keys)$plist['Tracks']));

This set the key I am interested in. Then I use this loop.

    foreach ($trackArray as $value){
$trackID = ($plist['Tracks'][$value]['TrackID');
$artist = ($plist['Tracks'][$value]['artist']);
}

It took me a lot of playing around to get the right solution and I found the var_dump() and print_r() functions invaluable.

I think with a bit of playing you could get what you wanted using what I used above.

Let me know how you get on. If you still get stuck if I could have a bit more code perhaps I can knock something up.

S

Answer 2

The following restructures your array, grouping option characteristics together:

$arr = array (
    1 => array (
            'name' => '85 x 55mm',
            'options' => array (
                    2 => array (
                            2 => 'Ivory Board',
                            3 => 'Silk Board'),
                    6 => array (
                            4 => '330gsm',
                            5 => '400gsm'))));
$out = array();
foreach ($arr as $key => $value){
    $out[$key]['name'] = $value['name'];
    $ops = $value['options'];
    array_unshift($ops, null);
    $ops = call_user_func_array('array_map', $ops);
    $out[$key]['options'] = $ops;
}

Output:

Array(
    [1] => Array(
            [name] => 85 x 55mm
            [options] => Array(
                    [0] => Array(
                            [0] => Ivory Board
                            [1] => 330gsm
                        )
                    [1] => Array(
                            [0] => Silk Board
                            [1] => 400gsm
                        )
                )
        )
)

The following creates select menus for each item in your array (in your example, there's just one item):

$select = '';
foreach ($out as $key => $value){
    $select .= "<h1>".$value['name']."</h1>\n";
    $select .= "<select name='".$key."'>\n";
    foreach ($out[1]['options'] as $key2 => $value2){
        $select .= "<option value=''>".implode(', ', $value2)."</option>\n";
    }
    $select .= "</select>\n";
}

Output:

<select name='1'>
<h1>85 x 55mm</h1>
<option value=''>Ivory Board, 330gsm</option>
<option value=''>Silk Board, 400gsm</option>
</select>

I couldn't figure out where your values in the option tags were coming from, so I had to leave that part blank.