pass correct multidimensional array values to function (without duplicates) - php

Question

I am trying to get away from doing things manually and repetitively by correctly utilizing loops and functions (methods) in oop programming; but I have hit a major stumbling block as it regards to multidimensional array groups, in passing the correct values to the necessary abstracted function (method) responsible for a database action.
Any help at all is very much welcomed and will enable me to move on from this stumbling block that I have been trying to push away for days upon days but without progress and it is out of true frustration and much agony that I am here begging for help.
Below is the code that for simplicity I have shortened as much as possible (can be easily tested locally by copying and pasting):
// array with table properties and form values - start
$form_fields_arr = [
'group' => [
'anime' => [ // genre
'table_prop' => [ // for update query - table properties
'table_name' => 'anime_tbl',
'account_id' => 2,
'visible' => 'yes'
],
'form_data' => [ // for update query - form values
'2' => 'Attack on Titan',
'4' => 'RWBY',
'6' => 'Rurouni Kenshin',
'8' => 'A Silent Voice'
]
],
'movie' => [ // genre
'table_prop' => [ // for update query - table properties
'table_name' => 'movie_tbl',
'account_id' => 4,
'visible' => 'yes'
],
'form_data' => [ // for update query - form values
'1' => 'Queen of Katwe',
'3' => 'Forest Gump',
'5' => 'War Horse',
'7' => 'The Fault in our Stars'
]
]
]
]; // ... end
// loop through multidimensional array and pass values to function - start
foreach ($form_fields_arr['group'] as $frm_key_1 => $frm_val_1) { // 2d array
foreach ($frm_val_1 as $frm_key_2 => $frm_val_2) { // 1d array
if (strcasecmp($frm_key_1, $frm_key_1) === 0) { // group by genre
foreach ($frm_val_2 as $frm_key_3 => $frm_val_3) { // 1d array
if (strcasecmp($frm_key_2, 'form_data') === 0) {
$title = $form_fields_arr['group'][$frm_key_1]['form_data'][$frm_key_3]; // anime/movie title
}
if (isset($frm_val_2['table_name']) &&
isset($frm_val_2['account_id']) &&
isset($frm_val_2['visible']) &&
isset($title)
) {
dbUpdate(
$frm_val_2['table_name'],
$frm_val_2['account_id'],
$frm_val_2['visible'],
$title
);
}
} // 1d array
} // if block
} // 1d array
} // 2d array
// ... end
// function that receives passed values - start
function dbUpdate($table_name, $account_id, $title_col, $form_value) {
$test_val_arr = [$table_name, $account_id, $title_col, $form_value];
return print_r($test_val_arr);
} // ... end
The above code outputs:
// array values passed to and returned from function
Array (
[0] = movie_tbl
[1] = 4
[2] = yes
[3] = A Silent Voice
)
Array (
[0] = movie_tbl
[1] = 4
[2] = yes
[3] = A Silent Voice
)
Array (
[0] = movie_tbl
[1] = 4
[2] = yes
[3] = A Silent Voice
)
Array (
[0] = movie_tbl
[1] = 4
[2] = yes
[3] = A Silent Voice
)
But the desired result that I am trying to achieve is:
// for anime genre - array values passed to and returned from function
Array (
[0] = anime_tbl
[1] = 2
[2] = yes
[3] = Attack on Titan
)
Array (
[0] = anime_tbl
[1] = 2
[2] = yes
[3] = RWBY
)
Array (
[0] = anime_tbl
[1] = 2
[2] = yes
[3] = Rurouni Kenshin
)
Array (
[0] = anime_tbl
[1] = 2
[2] = yes
[3] = A Silent Voice
)
// for movie genre - array values passed to and returned from function
Array (
[0] = movies_tbl
[1] = 4
[2] = yes
[3] = Queen of Katwe
)
Array (
[0] = movies_tbl
[1] = 4
[2] = yes
[3] = Forest Gump
)
Array (
[0] = movies_tbl
[1] = 4
[2] = yes
[3] = War Horse
)
Array (
[0] = movies_tbl
[1] = 4
[2] = yes
[3] = The Fault in our Stars
)
so upon everything royally failing with me spending literally about a week trying to fix this, telling myself that it is very simple and I really shouldn't be stuck here, out of desperation I decided to go back to my repetitive ways and tried the following:
// new array without table properties - start
$new_array = [];
$new_array['group']['anime'] = $form_fields_arr['group']['anime']['form_data'];
$new_array['group']['movie'] = $form_fields_arr['group']['movie']['form_data']; // ... end
// loop through multidimensional array and pass values to function - start
foreach ($new_array['group'] as $key_1 => $val_1) { // 2d array
foreach ($val_1 as $key_2 => $val_2) { // 1d array
if (strcasecmp($key_1, $key_1) === 0) {
dbUpdate('anime_tbl', 2, 'yes', $val_2);
dbUpdate('movie_tbl', 4, 'yes', $val_2);
} // if block
} // 1d array
} // 2d array
// ... end
But the results are still very much undesirable. Everything was working fine until I started using multidimensional arrays, simply because I realized that utilizing multidimensional arrays help me to shorten my code in other areas considerably. But I am stuck here and will have to go back further up and undo quite a lot of changes if I can't get this to work. I am pleading for help from any good soul out there. Please help me someone! Anyone!
I am being optimistic here and assuming that if by any chance I do get some help in fixing the above problem, could someone please also teach me how to loop through an array structure like the one below while yet getting the desired results without duplicates (I have truly tried but have truly failed):
// array with table properties and form values - start
$form_fields_arr = [
'table_prop' => [ // table properties group
'anime' => [ // for update query - table properties
'table_name' => 'anime_tbl',
'account_id' => 2,
'visible' => 'yes'
],
'movie' => [ // for update query - table properties
'table_name' => 'movie_tbl',
'account_id' => 4,
'visible' => 'yes'
]
],
'form_data' => [ // for update query - form values
'anime' => [ // genre
'2' => 'Attack on Titan',
'4' => 'RWBY',
'6' => 'Rurouni Kenshin',
'8' => 'A Silent Voice'
],
'movie' => [ // genre
'1' => 'Queen of Katwe',
'3' => 'Forest Gump',
'5' => 'War Horse',
'7' => 'The Fault in our Stars'
]
]
]; // ... end

Answer 1

You got a logic mistake in your for loops. First of all your variable namings are not very intuitive. $frm_key_1, $frm_key_2, etc. look alike and force the reader to have the array structure in mind all the time to understand the variables meaning. This led to a mistake like this one: if( strcasecmp($frm_key_1, $frm_key_1) === 0 ). This is always true.
Then you had two exclusive conditions:
if (strcasecmp($frm_key_2, 'form_data') === 0)
And:
if (isset($frm_val_2['table_name']) && /* ... */) {
If $frm_key_2 is 'form_data' you are in the second child of the genre array, yet the fields 'table_name', etc. are defined only in the first one (witht the key 'table_prop'). So both conditions can never be true at the same time.
Your condition to trigger the dbUpdate() function was, that all fields of the 'table_prop' array were present (which you iterated through at the same time), and a $title was set aswell. This was only true after your third for-loop iterated for the second time. During that iterations the $title variable got overwritten constantly, but no sbUpdate() was triggered, because $frm_val_2 had the values from 'form_data' instead of 'table_prop'. So after the 3rd for loop finished the 2nd time $title was 'A Silent Voice', which is simply the last child of the first 'form_data' array. Afterwards your 2nd for loop iterated the 2nd 'table_prop' array again, which means that now the 'dbUpdate()' condition was true, so it postet 4 times (number of childs in the 'table_prop' array) the parameters with $title = 'A Silent Voice'.
You tried to make everything as generic as possible, making everything over complicated. The best solution that works here is one that respects the specific structure.
This works:
<?php
// array with table properties and form values - start
$form_fields_arr = [
'group' => [
'anime' => [ // genre
'table_prop' => [ // for update query - table properties
'table_name' => 'anime_tbl',
'account_id' => 2,
'visible' => 'yes'
],
'form_data' => [ // for update query - form values
'2' => 'Attack on Titan',
'4' => 'RWBY',
'6' => 'Rurouni Kenshin',
'8' => 'A Silent Voice'
]
],
'movie' => [ // genre
'table_prop' => [ // for update query - table properties
'table_name' => 'movie_tbl',
'account_id' => 4,
'visible' => 'yes'
],
'form_data' => [ // for update query - form values
'1' => 'Queen of Katwe',
'3' => 'Forest Gump',
'5' => 'War Horse',
'7' => 'The Fault in our Stars'
]
]
]
];
// loop through multidimensional array and pass values to function - start
foreach ($form_fields_arr['group'] as $genreData) {
$tableProperties = $genreData['table_prop'];
if (!isset($tableProperties['table_name'])
|| !isset($tableProperties['account_id'])
|| !isset($tableProperties['visible'])) {
continue;
}
$data = $genreData['form_data'];
foreach ($data as $title) {
dbUpdate(
$tableProperties['table_name'],
$tableProperties['account_id'],
$tableProperties['visible'],
$title
);
}
}
// function that receives passed values - start
function dbUpdate($table_name, $account_id, $title_col, $form_value) {
$test_val_arr = [$table_name, $account_id, $title_col, $form_value];
return print_r($test_val_arr);
} // ... end

Answer 2

For the last part of the question that wasn't answered, thanks to Philipp Maurer's answer, after playing around with the code I got it to work. I am just placing the answer here for anyone who might have a similar problem and would like to better understand how to group and fetch values from a multidimensional array using a foreach loop without duplicates or incorrect results. See below code:
// array with table properties and form values - start
$form_fields_arr = [
'table_prop' => [ // table properties group
'anime' => [ // for update query - table properties
'table_name' => 'anime_tbl',
'account_id' => 2,
'visible' => 'yes'
],
'movie' => [ // for update query - table properties
'table_name' => 'movie_tbl',
'account_id' => 4,
'visible' => 'yes'
]
],
'form_data' => [ // for update query - form values
'anime' => [ // genre
'2' => 'Attack on Titan',
'4' => 'RWBY',
'6' => 'Rurouni Kenshin',
'8' => 'A Silent Voice'
],
'movie' => [ // genre
'1' => 'Queen of Katwe',
'3' => 'Forest Gump',
'5' => 'War Horse',
'7' => 'The Fault in our Stars'
]
]
]; // ... end
// loop through multidimensional array and pass values to function - start
foreach ($form_fields_arr as $index => $group_array) {
foreach ($group_array as $genre_key => $genre_val) {
if (!isset($group_array[$genre_key]['table_name']) ||
!isset($group_array[$genre_key]['account_id']) ||
!isset($group_array[$genre_key]['visible'])
) {
continue;
}
foreach ($form_fields_arr['form_data'][$genre_key] as $data_key => $data_title) {
dbUpdate(
$group_array[$genre_key]['table_name'],
$group_array[$genre_key]['account_id'],
$group_array[$genre_key]['visible'],
$data_title
);
}
}
}
// ... end
// function that receives passed values - start
function dbUpdate($table_name, $account_id, $title_col, $form_value) {
$test_val_arr = [$table_name, $account_id, $title_col, $form_value];
return print_r($test_val_arr);
} // ... end