MYSQL/PHP: Inserting data via HTML form, same "input name"

Question

I'm new to MySQL and as a learning project I'd like to make a recipe database. I'd like to the user to be able to enter ingredients through a simple HTML form but I'm stuck in how to label the form so that I can enter several ingredients into the database at once.

I'd like to do something like this:

<form method="post" action="insert.php">
Ingredient 1: <input type="text" name="ingredient"><br />
Ingredient 2: <input type="text" name="ingredient"><br />
Ingredient 3: <input type="text" name="ingredient"><br />
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

When I do this, I add rows to the table but they're all empty. I know it's got something to do with me using "ingredient" (the table value where I want to add the ingredient name) several times in the form, but I just don't know how to solve it.

I would absolutely love some input on how to make it work.

developerCK · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-21 10:17:35Z

2

write it like

Ingredient 1: <input type="text" name="ingredient[]"><br />
Ingredient 2: <input type="text" name="ingredient[]"><br />

and when you will get the REQUEST array in php, you will actually get an array of names

like

$ing = $_POST['ingredient']; // $ing will be indexed array

answered Aug 21, 2014 at 10:17

developerCK

4,5263 gold badges19 silver badges35 bronze badges

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

2 Comments

Camen Over a year ago

Hmm. Thanks for your quick response! How would I configure my PHP page to send it on to the database for this to work? Right now the INSERT part looks like this:

$name = mysqli_real_escape_string($con, $_POST['ingredient']);  $sql="INSERT INTO ingredient (ingredient) VALUES ('$ingredient'), ('$ingredient'), ('$ingredient');";

developerCK Over a year ago

You should run a loop for $_POST['ingredient'] this. b/c it will be an array. and write your query inside the loop.

Jenz · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-21 10:17:59Z

0

You can't use same name for multiple textboxes like you have done. The last input box's value will overwrite all of the other ones' since they have the same name. Either you have to use different names for each input texts or define name as array like :

Ingredient 1: <input type="text" name="ingredient[]"><br />
Ingredient 2: <input type="text" name="ingredient[]"><br />
Ingredient 3: <input type="text" name="ingredient[]"><br />

So $_REQUEST['ingredient'] or $_POST['ingredient'] will be a normal PHP array from which you can get the value of each textbox like $_REQUEST['ingredient'][x] where x is some integer index, which is valid as long as count($_REQUEST['addCart']) > x.

answered Aug 21, 2014 at 10:17

Jenz

8,3718 gold badges50 silver badges82 bronze badges

Comments

Yuva Raj · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-21 10:43:20Z

Working Code :

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title> Recipes </title>
</head>
<body>
<form method="post" action="register.php">
Ingredient 1 : <input type="text" name="ing1"/><br/>
Ingredient 2 : <input type="text" name="ing2"/><br/>
Ingredient 3 : <input type="text" name="ing3"/><br/><br/>
<input type="submit" value="Enter" name="submit"/>
</form>
</body>
</html>

register.php

<?php

// coding to check database connection
$connection = mysqli_connect('localhost','root','adm','recipe');

/*
root -  username
adm -  passowrd
recipe - database name
*/

//checking whether submit button is clicked or not

if(isset($_POST['submit'])) 
{
   // Escaping special char & getting the values we entered in form through POST method
   $ing1 = mysqli_real_escape_string($connection,$_POST['ing1']);
   $ing2 = mysqli_real_escape_string($connection,$_POST['ing2']);
   $ing3 = mysqli_real_escape_string($connection,$_POST['ing3']);

      //data is table name

      $query = "INSERT into data VALUES('','$ing1','$ing2','$ing3')";
      $result = mysqli_query($connection,$query);
    echo "<p>Successfully Entered</p>"; 
    ?>

   <a href="index.html"> Click here to go to home </a>

<?
    }
?>

Create a database and name it as recipe and a table as data. Table data structure:

enter image description here

Output :

enter image description here

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

MYSQL/PHP: Inserting data via HTML form, same "input name"

3 Answers 3

2 Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

3 Answers 3

2 Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related