How do i get values of multiple inputs in php - php

Question

I am writing an sql embedded in php database.
I am facing a problem when dealing with user inputs. I have a php file where the user can select the type of search. For example, select all data entries or limit the search to a given id num, name, last name...
This the code where the user selects type of search
<select name="type" >
<option value="fm"> Faculty Member Search </option>
<tr><td>List all Faculty Members<input type="checkbox" name="list[]" value="listAll" >
<div>
<label class="textClick"> List By Id<input type="checkbox" name="list[]" value="listId" > </label>
<input class="text" type="text" size = "8" placeholder="Insert Id" name="listById" > </div>
<div>
<label class="textClick">List By First Name <input type="checkbox" name="list[]" value="listName" ></label>
<input class="text" type="text" placeholder="Insert Name" name="list" >
</div>
<div>
<label class="textClick">List By Last Name<input type="checkbox" name="list[]" value="listFname" ></label>
<input class="text" type="text" placeholder="Insert Last Name" name="listLast" >
</div>
</select>
<input type="submit" value="Get Info">
Now in the other php file (where search is actually done) i can't seem to get the values of the user's inputs.. This the part where my code goes wrong
if($_POST["type"]=="fm"){
Print "LIST IS" . $_POST["list"];
if($_POST['list']=="listAll")
{
?>
<h1> Listing ALL Faculty Members </h1>";
<?php
this code gave me the following output:
LIST IS
I tried both $_POST['list'] and $_POST["list"] but my code just doesn't seem to pass the if condition

Answer 1

$_POST['list'] is going to be an array of the submitted values. You will need to loop through the array to get the values or access them like any other array value (i.e. $_POST['list'][0]) to get the first element.
Do var_dump($_POST['list']) and you'll see the array and its values.
What you probably want is only one value and should change the checkboxes to radio buttons and remove the array syntax from the input field names:
<label class="textClick">List By First Name <input type="rado" name="list" value="listName" ></label>