PHP foreach loop messes up my in_array function - php

Question

I've written a script that checks bulk input of names received via a textarea and omits all values that are already in the database. It works if you enter just one repeated name. If you enter two or more, it will filter out the first repeated name, treat the rest as unique names and insert them in the database. I can't figure out why.
Firstly, this is an array that is built in another part of the script. It's generated from a database query:
Array
(
[0] => john
[1] => peter
[2] => max
[3] => jake
)
This array is referred to as $onlyHandles. Then this is the script:
if((isset($_POST['extract']) && !empty($_POST['extract']))){
$handles = trim($_POST['extract']);
$handles = explode("\n", $handles);
if(count($handles)>200){
echo 'error';
exit(1);
}
foreach($handles as $handle) {
$handleRep = strtolower(str_replace('#','',$handle));
$handleClean = str_replace(str_split('\\/:*?&"<>=+-#%$|'), ' ', $handleRep, $count);
if ($count > 0) {
echo 'error';
exit(1);
}
else{
if (in_array($handleClean, $onlyHandles)){
$delmessage .= "<p>".$handleClean." is already in your list.</p>";
}
else{
$sqlIns = "INSERT INTO...blah blah blah)";
$resultIns = mysql_query($sqlIns);
$resInsArr[] = array($resultIns);
}
}
}
$countresIns = count($resInsArr);
if ($countresIns > 0){
$delmessage .= "<p>User(s) added to list succesfully!</p>" ;
}
}
Now, if you enter "john" in the textarea, it will shout that the name already exists. If you enter "john" and "max" it will omit john and add max.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. regarding the query format, I know, I know, thanks!

Answer 1

I would like to give U some idea about how to achieve it:
Replace the first line:
if((isset($_POST['extract']) && !empty($_POST['extract']))){
through
if((!empty($_POST['extract']))){
because !empty already guives U the guaranty that it isset
I am suspescting some special chars in play
U could also use the power of Regular Expression to replace the unneeded chars
in replacing:
Line 12: $handleClean = str_replace(str_split('\\/:*?&"<>=+-#%$|'), ' ', $handleRep, $count);
Through:
$handleClean = preg_replace("/\[\/:\*?&\"<>=\+-#%\$\|\]*/", ' ', $handleRep, $count);
In Ur For-Loop, what about refactoring the following lines:
line 2: $handles = trim($_POST['extract']);
through (trim is not necessary hier)
$handles = $_POST['extract'];
AND
line 11: $handleRep = strtolower(str_replace('#','',$handle));
through
$handleRep = trim(strtolower(str_replace('#','',$handle)));
Hey ;-),
U should also add some print_r(...) to debug each step

Answer 2

thanks #Ulrich Tevi Horus that made my code a bit cleaner but didn't solve the mysteriously disappearing users.
#shulard, you should post this as an answer to get the upvote. array_diff was indeed the best solution.
Here's the final code. Needs some tidying up but it's good enough to go on my server for testing.
//this is the current contents of the list:
$onlyHandles = array();
foreach ($organizedArray as $key2 => $val2) {
$onlyHandles[] = $val2['name'];
}
echo "<br>begin onlyhandles<br>";
print_r($onlyHandles);
echo "<br>end onlyhandles<br>";
//finish preparation for display
//if names submitted for the list list
if(!empty($_POST['extract'])){
$handles = trim($_POST['extract']);
$handles = explode("\n", $handles); //this is now an array
echo "<br>begin handles<br>";
print_r($handles);
echo "<br>end handles<br>";
//$countInput = count($handles);
if($countInput>200){
echo '<p style="color:red;">Please Enter fewer than 200 names!</p>';
exit(1);
}
else{
$handleFinal = array();
foreach($handles as $handle) {
//$handleRep = strtolower(str_replace('#','',$handle));
$handleRep = trim(strtolower(str_replace('#','',$handle)));
$handleClean = str_replace(str_split('\\/:*?&"<>=+ -#%$|'), 'p', $handleRep, $count);
//$handleClean = preg_replace("/\[\/:\*?&\"<>=\+-#%\$\|\s+\]*/", ' ', $handleRep, $count);
echo "handleClean: ".$handleClean."<br>";
if ($count > 0) {
echo '<p style="color:red;">Your input contained special characters.</p>';
exit(1);
}
else{
$handleFinal[] = $handleClean;
}
}//end foreach
}//finish checking count input number
echo "<br>begin handleFinal<br>";
print_r($handleFinal);
echo "<br>end handleFinal<br>";
$countFinal = count($handleFinal);
echo "<br>countfinal is ".$countFinal."<br>";
//check if this user is already in the list
$handleDiffs = array_diff($handleFinal,$onlyHandles);
echo "<br>begin handlediffs<br>";
print_r($handleDiffs);
echo "<br>end handlediffs<br>";
foreach($handleDiffs as $handleDiff) {
$sqlIns = "blah blah blah";
$resultIns = mysql_query($sqlIns);
$resInsArr[] = array($resultIns);
}
$countresIns = count($resInsArr);
if ($countresIns > 0){
$delmessage .= "<p>User(s) added to the list succesfully!</p>" ;
}
}

Answer 3

I post my comment answer as a real answer :)
You must trim your $handle variable too because it's possible to have some spaces around it...
Then about your problem, I don't understand it. Your code seems "clean", maybe you should consider set the strict flag to true see function definition here.