Combining Multidimensional Array Values in PHP - php

Question

I have a multidimensional array which looks like this:
Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[description] => UPS Ground
[delivery-time] => 1-5 business days
[shipping-amount] => 1299
)
[1] => Array
(
[description] => UPS 3 Day Select
[delivery-time] => 3 business days
[shipping-amount] => 2459
)
[2] => Array
(
[description] => UPS 2nd Day Air
[delivery-time] => 2 business days
[shipping-amount] => 3239
)
)
[1] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[description] => UPS Ground
[delivery-time] => 1-5 business days
[shipping-amount] => 864
)
[1] => Array
(
[description] => UPS 3 Day Select
[delivery-time] => 3 business days
[shipping-amount] => 1109
)
[2] => Array
(
[description] => UPS 2nd Day Air
[delivery-time] => 2 business days
[shipping-amount] => 1633
)
[3] => Array
(
[description] => UPS Overnight
[delivery-time] => 1 business day
[shipping-amount] => 3528
)
)
)
I'm trying to achieve 3 things:
Add the values of the shipping-amount where the description is the same across dimensions
Drop the array if it contains a description which doesn't exist in every other dimension
Drop a dimension once the shipping-amounts are combined
There may be several first-level arrays (not just 2 as shown here), but this is as deep as the dimensions will go. I'm looking for the following result:
Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[description] => UPS Ground
[delivery-time] => 1-5 business days
[shipping-amount] => 2163
)
[1] => Array
(
[description] => UPS 3 Day Select
[delivery-time] => 3 business days
[shipping-amount] => 3568
)
[2] => Array
(
[description] => UPS 2nd Day Air
[delivery-time] => 2 business days
[shipping-amount] => 4872
)
)
Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I think this would work:
$final=array(); // the final array
$count=array(); // keeps track of instances of each description
$loops=count($array);
for($a=0;$a<$loops;$a++){
foreach($array[$a] as $s){ //loop through child arrays
if($count[$s['description']]>0){ //check if description exists in $count
foreach($final as $k=>$v){ //add sums to the final if it does exist
if($final[$k]['description']==$s['description']){$final[$k]['shipping-amount']+=$s['shipping-amount'];}
}
}else{ //if it doesn't exist in the count array, add it to the final array
$final[]=$s;
}
$count[$s['description']]++;//update the count array
}
}
//Unset singletons, using the count array
foreach($count as $k=>$v){
if($v==1){
foreach($final as $key=>$val){
if($final[$key]['description']==$k){unset($final[$key]);}
}
}
}
print_r($final);
I have been stuck on an issue for the past 2 days and feel you, so I hope this helps.

Answer 2

I'm not going to write code because I agree with deceze.
Nonetheless, my recommendation would be a custom function that:
loops over an input array
applies the logic you outlined
return the condensed array
Given your specific requirements isn't a single, magical PHP function that does this. Yet, there are dozens of PHP array functions you could utilize within your custom function.
If you need help on a particular piece, update your post or ask a new question.

Answer 3

I would recommend using the array_walk function with a callback that handles your specific requirements for addition and uniqueness.