Codeigniter set_value() With Dynamic Multidimensional Array Inputs - php

Question

OK, I am generating a form which is pre-populated with existing values from the db:
View:
<tr>
<td><input name="set[<?php echo $cur_set['id']; ?>][order]" value="<?php echo $cur_set['wo_order']; ?>">
<input type="hidden" name="set[<?php echo $cur_set['id']; ?>][ex_id]" value="<?php echo $cur_set['ex_id']; ?>"></td>
<td><input name="set[<?php echo $cur_set['id']; ?>][weight]" value="<?php echo $cur_set['weight']; ?>"></td>
<td><input name="set[<?php echo $cur_set['id']; ?>][reps]" value="<?php echo $cur_set['reps']; ?>"></td>
</tr>
Example output:
<tr>
<td><input name="set[3][order]" value="1">
<input type="hidden" name="set[3][ex_id]" value="1"></td>
<td><input name="set[3][weight]" value="50.00"></td>
<td><input name="set[3][reps]" value="5"></td>
</tr>
So I have a range of these <tr>s each can have a unique 'id' but all have the same number of secondary indices [order], [ex_id], [weight] and [reps].
I cannot figure out 2 things:
How to apply the set_value() syntax when I don't know what the [id] is going to be.
How to set validation rules on the form. I have tried:
$this->form_validation->set_rules('set[][order]', 'Sets', 'required');
but it doesn't seem to work as set[][order] is not found...can I put some sort of wildcard in there? Like set[*][order]?
Thanks in advance.
Jon

Answer 1

In the controller, where you fetch the data and store it in a variable (I'll call it $data), do this:
$data = $this->MODEL_NAME->METHOD_NAME();
foreach($data as $set){
$this->form_validation->set_rules("set[{$set['id']}][order]");
$this->form_validation->set_rules("set[{$set['id']}][weight]");
etc...
}