get specific keys from database - php

Question

I'm trying to get some specific keys and values from the database. My database entries look like so:
id | name | description | value
------------------------------------------
1 | lang | default language | en
2 | date | date format | YYYY-MM-DD
I want to echo only my name and value fields. I've tried using a nested foreach loop, like so:
foreach($details as $key => $value)
{
foreach($value as $index => $row)
{
echo $index . " / " . $row . "<br />";
}
echo "<br />";
}
But that only echos:
id / 1
name / lang
description / default language
value / en
id / 2
name / date
description / date format
value / YYYY-MM-DD
However, when I add an offset, like so: $index[1], I get this like a instead of name, or e instead of description.
I've previously worked from while loops using mysql_fetch_array, but this would give me a repeated element (say a <tr>) whereas I simply need to extract the value of the field because this will be used to build a form for the user to manage.
Would anyone have a suggestion or different approach for me to do something of the sort ?
EDIT
The query comes from a class file:
// extracted from my queries.class.php
public function my_prefs()
{
global $db;
$query = "SELECT * FROM preferences WHERE value!=NULL";
return $db->select($query);
}
// extracted from the source file
$module_details = $query->my_prefs();
EDIT #2
Perhaps this will help you understand my needs:
foreach($module_details as $key => $value)
{
print_r($module_details);
}
returns:
Array
(
[0] => stdClass Object
(
[id] => 1
[name] => lang
[description] => default language
[value] => en
)
[1] => stdClass Object
(
[id] => 1
[name] => date
[description] => date format
[value] => YYYY-MM-DD
)
}
I need to access only lang / en and date / YYYY-MM-DD.

Answer 1

Sounds like you're looking for something like this:
$tmp = array();
foreach($details as $key => $value)
{
// "name" => "value" dictionary later access
$tmp[$value["name"]] = $value["value"];
echo $value["name"] . " = " . $value["name"]; // echos e.q. "date = YYYY-MM-DD"
echo "<br/>";
}
echo $tmp["date"]; // echos e.q. "YYYY-MM-DD"

Answer 2

Perhaps I misunderstood the question..
But I believe you are trying to access the specific column entry from the array. You can do this by using the keys you are outputting instead of using a numeric index.
foreach($details as $key => $value)
{
echo $value['name'];
echo $value['value'];
echo "<br />";
}
EDIT
If you want to limit the results from your query so you only have the fields you requested replace:
$query = "SELECT * FROM preferences WHERE value!=NULL";
with
$query = "SELECT name, value FROM preferences WHERE value!=NULL";

Answer 3

Finally got around to getting something to work. Here's what I did:
foreach($details as $row)
{
$name = $row->name;
$value = $row->value;
// In order to specify for checkboxes, select, radio, etc.
if($name == "lang")
{
// different info depending on the value
}
else
{
// do something generic here
}
}
Might not be an optimal option, but this works like I need it to work.