Store values of dynamically generated radio buttons in mysql - php

Question

I am creating radio buttons dynamically. I need to write the posted data into a MySQL table. The radio buttons names will change as will the qty of buttons.
For example, if four radio buttons are created, the name of each is a variable, $proposed_id (a number), and the values are yes or no.
I wish to have have all of the posted data in one table field. I tried using an array ("props_yes[]") but of course each new one overwrites the previous button.
Thanks for any help.
$sql = "SELECT * FROM table WHERE ballot_name = '$ballot_id' ";
$sql_result = mysql_query($sql,$link);
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($sql_result))
{
$proposed_id = $row['submission_id'];
echo '<input name="' . $proposed_id . '" id="' . $proposed_id . '_yes"type="radio" value="Yes" required > ';
echo '<label for="' . $proposed_id . '_yes">' . 'YES' . '</label> ';
echo '<input name="' . $proposed_id . '" id="' . $proposed_id . '_no" type="radio" value="No" required > ';
echo '<label for="' . $proposed_id . '_no">' . 'NO' . '</label><br>';
}

Answer 1

While I agree with #trincot that, in general, it is bad practice to store multiple, different kinds of values in a single DB field, there are times that it is called for or even necessary, as for example, when your database uses the EAV pattern as do some popular systems like Wordpress. If this is the primary data that is being stored in your database, you might want to consider a NoSQL database for this project.
That being said, here is how you might handle storing and retrieving your data. First, I would add some key word to the name field of your radio inputs, e.g. name="ballot_'.$proposed_id.'" so that you don't end up with a bunch of fields with numbers as names, and so that you have some way to filter the results on the server side. On the server side then you could do something like (assuming the form was submitted using POST):
// create an associative array of values from your radio buttons
$ballot_values = array();
foreach ($_POST as $index => $value) {
if (false !== strpos($index, 'ballot_')) {
$id = substr($index, 7); // get the numeric part of the name
$ballot_values[$id] = $value;
}
}
Once you do this, $ballot_values will contain an associative array of IDs and yes/no values. In order to save this in a single database field, you need to serialize the array, i.e.
$serialized_ballot_values = serialize($ballot_values);
This will store the array as a single string that you can then store in your DB field. When you retrieve the value from the database, you'll have to unserialize it before you can use it.
Again, if you can avoid doing this, I would. Unfortunately, though, we don't always have control over the structure of the DB so it could be that you have no choice.

Answer 2

Use an array with keys in your radio button names. PHP will interpret the submitted values into an array.
$sql = "SELECT * FROM table WHERE ballot_name = '$ballot_id' ";
$sql_result = mysql_query($sql,$link);
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($sql_result))
{
$proposed_id = $row['submission_id'];
echo '<input name="props_yes[' . $proposed_id . ']" id="' . $proposed_id . '_yes"type="radio" value="Yes" required > ';
echo '<label for="' . $proposed_id . '_yes">' . 'YES' . '</label> ';
echo '<input name="props_yes[' . $proposed_id . ']" id="' . $proposed_id . '_no" type="radio" value="No" required > ';
echo '<label for="' . $proposed_id . '_no">' . 'NO' . '</label><br>';
}
After the post, the value of $_POST['props_yes'] will contain an array of chosen answers. The keys in the array will be from the $proposed_id