Writing PHP variable based on jQuery calculations and displaying predetermined value - php

Question

Context:
I'm trying to make an automatically generated list that has a different amount of items on each page. Each item needs a name and a link, based on its place on the list. Here's an example with two items for the problematic part:
PHP variables:
$item_link_1 = "link1";
$item_name_1 = "first item";
$item_link_2 = "link2";
$item_name_2 = "second item";
jQuery:
$("#items").each(function(i) {
$(this).find("a").attr("href", "<?php echo $item_link_"+ ++i +";?>");
});
$("#items").each(function(i) {
$(this).find("a").text("<?php echo $item_name_"+ ++i +";?>");
});
HTML output:
<div id="items">
first item
second item
</div>
Problem:
Obviously, $item_name_"+ ++i +"; will never work. I need a way to add the number generated by jQuery to the end of the variable and echo this new variable.
So, if it's the 4th item, the variable will be $item_name_4. The value of this variable (set manually) will be displayed by jQuery with the text() function.
At least that's my idea for how to automate the process. If there's a way to do this, please tell me. If you know a better way, please tell me.

Answer 1

The problem your having is the difference between server-side processing and client-side processing.
An easy way to think about this is that PHP is handled before the HTML is even put on the screen replacing all the PHP parts with their variable contents. meaning that adding that php text with a client-side language like javascript won't be able to execute the php code and achieving the results you're after.
Luckily your example can be done explicitly in php:
<?php
$links = array(
array('link' => "Link1", 'name' => "first item"),
array('link' => "Link2", 'name' => "second item")
);
?>
<div id="items">
<?php for($i = 0; $i < count($links); $i++){ ?>
<?php echo $links[$i]['name']; ?>
<?php } ?>
</div>