Insert one array value to a mysql insert statement - php

Question

People enter values into a form and on one entry of the form I have multiple values.
Eg:
One Entry for Name
and Multiple entries for hobbies.
I could enter into the db by running a for loop but then that would be multiple entries for the same name for each different hobby.
How can I enter one name and all hobbies with 'space' into one DB field 'TWIG'. I could use arrays but it shows up as ARRAY but then its back to FOR loop.
for ($t=0; $t<=$_POST['tc']-1; $t++) {
echo "<BR> ts:".$_POST[$t]."<BR>";
$ths[]=$_POST[$t];
}
print_r ($ths);
$statement = $link->prepare("INSERT INTO quest(cnos, dte, twig)
VALUES(:q, :d, :t )");
$statement->execute(array(
":q" => htmlspecialchars ($_POST['iht']),
":d" => $_SERVER['REQUEST_TIME'],
":t"=> $ths
));

Answer 1

One possibility is to implode your hobbies / concatinate your string into one...
for ($t=0; $t<=$_POST['tc']-1; $t++) {
$ths = $_POST[$t] . " "; //Concatinate string, do no use array!
}
//Cut off last character " " to avoid ugly space at the end:
$ths = substr($ths, 0, strlen($ths) - 1);
However a more clean solution is to make a more clear database structure if you want for atomic values.
This is an 1:n relation (Each of your entries in table A relates to n instances in table B).
Here is an example that can be adapted into your schema very easy:
Table User(id[PK], name, age);
Table User_Hobbies: (user_id, hobby_descr);
--
INSERT INTO User(2, "Chris", 19);
INSERT INTO USER_User_Hobbies(2, "videogames");
INSERT INTO USER_User_Hobbies(2, "music");
--
Example query:
SELECT u.name, u.age, GROUP_CONCAT(uh.hobby_descr) AS hobbies
FROM User u
LEFT JOIN User_Hobbies uh ON u.id = uh.user_id
WHERE u.id = 123 /*Where is optional, if you want to filter for a specific user*/
GROUP BY u.id;
Possible result:
| name | age | hobbies |
chris 18 videogames, music
steve 22 computer, programming, php

Answer 2

Use the implode function for this as follows:
":t"=> implode(" ", $ths);

Answer 3

I am not sure, if I understand your question right, but if you want to insert an array as a comma-seperated string (or separated by whatever), why don't use the php implode function: http://php.net/manual/de/function.implode.php
For example:
$myHobbies = array("football", "basketball", "running");
$statement = $link->prepare("INSERT INTO quest(cnos, dte, twig)
VALUES(:q, :d, :t )");
$statement->execute(array(
":q" => htmlspecialchars ($_POST['iht']),
":d" => $_SERVER['REQUEST_TIME'],
":t"=> implode(" ", $myHobbies)
));
I think to use comma's or semicolons as separator, is better than whitespaces, since some of the hobbies could consists of two words (for example "pc gaming").

Answer 4

I think that better solution is to use json_encode and not implode, since it provides more robust structure.
":t" => json_encode($myHobbies)

Answer 5

You can use join function to store multiple value in same field in database may be it will works:-
":t"=>join(",", $ths);//if you want ,(coma) between two string
or
":t"=>join(" ", $ths);//if you want space between two string