Left-join foreach loop over array with nested array - php

Question

I have two tables one for users and one for their reviews. On one page I need to show thumbnails of each user and the reviews that match that user. The problem is the LEFT JOIN creates a row for every time there is a review. So if a user has two reviews they are showing up twice in the list of thumbnails. Do I need a loop inside the loop? Everything I can think of seems really clunky. Thanks.
// Get Data
$qry = "SELECT * FROM `users` LEFT JOIN `reviews` ON users.userId = reviews.user_id WHERE installation_id = $installation_id";
$res = mysqli_query($mysqli, $qry) or die('-1'.mysqli_error($mysqli));
//$uqry = "SELECT membership FROM users WHERE userId = $uid";
//$current_user = mysqli_query($mysqli, $uqry) or die('-1'.mysqli_error($mysqli));
$getUser = mysqli_fetch_assoc(mysqli_query($mysqli, "SELECT membership FROM users WHERE userId = $uid"));
$currentUserLevel = $getUser['membership'];
?>
<div class="container">
<div class="content">
<?php if ($msgBox) { echo $msgBox; } ?>
<div class="row">
<?php $lists = array();
while($list = mysqli_fetch_assoc($res)) {
$lists[] = $list;
}
foreach($lists as $list) {
$name = stripslashes($list['usersName']);
$bio = stripslashes($list['usersBio']);
$review = stripslashes($list['comments']);
$stars = stripslashes($list['stars']); ?>
<div class="col-md-4">
<div id = "user-square">
<div class="avatar">
<img src="<?php echo $avatarDir.$list['usersAvatar']; ?>" class="publicAvatar" />
</div>
Name:<?php echo $name; ?> <br />
Bio:<?php echo $bio; ?> <br />
Review:<?php echo $review; ?> <br />
Stars: <?php echo $stars; ?> <br />
<?php
if ($currentUserLevel == 'pro') {
echo 'CONTACT SCOUT';
}
else {
echo 'Sorry you must upgrade to a Pro membership to contact this Scout';
}
?>
</div>
</div>
<?php }
?>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Answer 1

Change the while loop to the following:
while($list = mysqli_fetch_assoc($res)) {
$lists[$list['usersName']][$list['usersBio']][$list['stars']][] = $list['comments'];
}
That will give you a nice multidimensional array with the user name as the first key, and all that users reviews ordered by star rating. You should probably use a unique key rather than the users name as there could be duplicates, so either the email or unique row ID would be better.
You can then (VERY basic example):
$reviews = "";
foreach($lists as $username => $array) {
foreach($array as $bio => $array2) {
$name = stripslashes($username);
$bio = stripslashes($bio);
foreach($array2 as $stars => $comments_array) {
$stars = stripslashes($stars);
foreach($comments_array as $comments) {
$reviews .= $stars . " - " . stripslashes($comments) . "<br />";
}
}
// Your HTML here using $name, $bio, and $reviews(which will be star rating followed review for that user each on a new line)
echo '
<table width="400">
<tr>
<td>' . $name . '</td><td>' . $bio . '</td><td>' . $reviews . '</td>
</tr>
</table>
';
}
$reviews = "";
}