How to put to style two foreach statements output PHP - php

Question

How do I put the first foreach statement's output in one column in a table and the other foreach statement's output in another column. I tried something but it put it all in one column for some reason. Here is my code:
<table border="0" align="center">
<?php
foreach($anchors as $a) {
$text = $a->nodeValue;
$href = $a->getAttribute('href');
$i++;
if ($i > 16) {
if (strpos($text, "by owner") === false) {
if (strpos($text, "map") === false) {
echo "<tr><td><a href =' ".$href." '>".$text."</a><br/></td></tr>";
}
}
}
foreach($span as $s) {
echo "<tr><td>".$s->nodeValue."</td></tr>";
}
}
?>
</table>

Answer 1

<tr></tr> marks a row. <td></td> marks a column. To make 2 columns, use just one set of <tr> tags per iteration, with two sets of <td></td>s between them.
That said, what exactly is $span? Does it contain the same number of elements as $anchors, and you want to display one item from each per row? If so you'll need to restructure your code a bit. There are several ways to do this—here's a simple way:
<table border="0" align="center">
<?php
$i = 0;
foreach($anchors as $a) {
echo "<tr>";
$text = $a->nodeValue;
$href = $a->getAttribute('href');
if ($i >= 16) {
if (strpos($text, "by owner") === false) {
if (strpos($text, "map") === false) {
echo "<td><a href =' ".$href." '>".$text."</a><br/></td>";
}
}
} else {
echo "<td></td>"; #output a blank cell in the first column
}
echo "<td>" . $span[$i]->nodeValue . "</td>";
echo "</tr>";
++$i
}
?>
</table>
EDIT: It looks like your $span is a DOMNodeList object, not an array. I don't have experience with this, but it looks like you can use the DOMNodelist::item function to get the current item in the list (see http://php.net/manual/en/domnodelist.item.php):
echo "<td>" . $span->item($i)->nodeValue . "</td>";
So try changing the respective line in my answer to that.

Answer 2

It is hard without an idea of the data, but something like this perhaps:
// start a table
echo '<table>';
// for as long as there are elements in both span and anchors
for ($i=0; $i < $anchors->length && $i < $span->length; $i++) {
// start a new table row
echo '<tr>';
// get the current span and anchor
$a = $anchors->item($i);
$s = $span->item($i);
// print them
$text = $a->nodeValue;
$href = $a->getAttribute('href');
// col 1, number
echo '<td>'.$i.'</td>';
// col 2, anchor
echo '<td>'.$text.'</td>';
// col 3, span
echo '<td>'.$s->nodeValue.'</td>';
// close the table row
echo '</tr>';
}
// close the table
echo '</table>';
(code not tested) It is difficult to be more specific without the actual data.
This uses the 'current' and 'next' built in to php.
A few hints/remarks/sidenotes that may help you on the way:
- Note that I used single quotes cause they are much better for
performance (double quotes will be interpreted by php).
- Try to use as little loops (for, while, foreach) as possible. They are a powerfull
tool, but can drain memory and performance quickly!
- Only nest loops if you are working with multiple dimensions (array inside array),
which is not the case here (I think)
- Try to limit the number of nested blocks (if inside if inside if inside loop). I try to go never deeper then 2 levels (which is not an absolute rule off course, just a good standard). If not possible create a function.
- Comment your code! I have difficulty understanding your code (and I write PHP daily for a living), and I can imagine you will to in a couple of weeks. Commenting may look like a waste of time, but it will ease debugging a lot, and is a blessing when updating your (or someone elses) code later on!
EDIT:
I just noticed you are not working with a DOMNodeList and not an array, so I updated my code. Should work fine, and a lot cleaner code imo. Like I said, hard without seeing the data...