search php assoc array (hash map) as mysql - php

Question

example
public $inputs=array(
array( 'sysname'=>'pt_name','dbname' => 'users.name','label' => 'user (name/ID)','value' => '',
'type' => 'text','rules' => 'required','attr'=>'class="autocomplete"'),
array( 'sysname'=>'pt_dob','dbname' => 'users.dob','label' => 'Patient Dob','value' => '',
'type' => 'text','rules' => 'required','attr'=>'class="dob ac" Disabled'),
array( 'sysname'=>'pt_gender','dbname' => 'users.gender','label' => 'gender','value' => 'male,female',
'type' => 'dropdown','rules' => 'required','attr'=>'class="ac" Disabled'),
array( 'sysname'=>'visit_date','dbname' => 'visits.date','label' => 'Date','value' => '',
'type' => 'text','rules' => 'required','attr'=>'class="datepicker"'),
array( 'sysname'=>'visit_time','dbname' => 'visits.time_booked','label' => 'Time','value' => '',
'type' => 'text','rules' => 'required','attr'=>'class="timepicker"'),
array( 'sysname'=>'visit_type','dbname' => 'visits.type','label' => 'Visit type','value' => 'visit,schedule',
'type' => 'dropdown','rules' => 'required','attr'=>'')
);
how can i search this array for only arrays that have pt_ in its sysname for example ?
the idea is i have many types of rows all in same table, so instead of running a mysql query to fetch each type separatly example:
$pt=db->query("select * from table where sysname like 'pt_%'")->result();
$visit=db->query("select * from table where sysname like 'visit_%'")->result();
i want to fetch all at one and split them in php to decrease db load.
so how can i do this ? and is it worth it or better of keep my querys separate.

Answer 1

array_filter and a PHP-style closure* would be a pretty simple solution to this:
function buildFilter($key, $needle) {
return function($array) use($key, $needle) {
return (strpos($array[$key], $needle) !== FALSE);
};
}
$matches = array_filter($inputs, buildFilter('sysname', 'pt_'));
var_dump($matches);
NB: What PHP calls a "closure" is quite a bit different from what most other languages use for the same term, so please make sure to read the PHP documentation.

Answer 2

Doing a couple of queries is fine, your DB can handle that easily. If you're doing dozens of queries for dozens of types (each with only a few rows), it might be worth investigation moving that logic to PHP.
What I would recommend is to put the systype in a separate column with an index on it. That will speed of your query a lot and take load of your DB. Even better is you can make that column an ENUM.
public $inputs=array(
array( 'systype'=>'pt', 'sysname'=>'pt_name','dbname' => 'users.name','label' => 'user (name/ID)','value' => '',
'type' => 'text','rules' => 'required','attr'=>'class="autocomplete"'),
...
$pt=db->query("select * from table where systype = 'pt'")->result();
$visit=db->query("select * from table where systype = 'visit'")->result();