I'm passing data from a form to php to mysql the hard way--help me learn arrays

[gamergomer]

I'm simplifying this a lot:

 

First, I have a html form that asks for an answer 5 times to fill a column of data for my database. Really there are more than one question, but I'm going to simplify it here:

 

Color: <input type="text" size="15" maxlength="10" name="1color"></br>

Color: <input type="text" size="15" maxlength="10" name="2color"></br>

Color: <input type="text" size="15" maxlength="10" name="3color"></br>

Color: <input type="text" size="15" maxlength="10" name="4color"></br>

Color: <input type="text" size="15" maxlength="10" name="5color"></br>

 

Then my php file will have this at the beginning:

$1color=$_POST['1color'];

$2color=$_POST['2color'];

$3color=$_POST['3color'];

$4color=$_POST['4color'];

$5color=$_POST['5color'];

 

Then a little later, I'd have something like this:

INSERT INTO `mytable` ('id','colors')

VALUES (NULL, $1color),

VALUES (NULL, $2color),

VALUES (NULL, $3color),

VALUES (NULL, $4color),

VALUES (NULL, $5color);

 

Now that's all fine and dandy for a single item, but when you have 10 items and a longer table, it makes it more complicated and harder to change things later. So I want to change the individual color1, color2, etc into an array and then have it put the arrays into the table. Can I put stuff into an array from the form? Or how do I do it at the begging of the php file? And then how do handle the data input?

 

If anyone can help or point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.

[trq]

If you name your form elements color[] you will end up with an array within $_POST['color']. You can then easily loop through this array and do your inserts.

[saviola]

If you name your form elements color[] you will end up with an array within $_POST['color']. You can then easily loop through this array and do your inserts.

 

This is will be something like  that :

<form method="POST" action="index.php" >
  1: <input type="checkbox" name="cid[]" value="1">
  2: <input type="checkbox" name="cid[]" value="2">
  3: <input type="checkbox" name="cid[]" value="3">
  4: <input type="checkbox" name="cid[]" value="4">
  5: <input type="checkbox" name="cid[]" value="5">
  6: <input type="checkbox" name="cid[]" value="6">
  <input type="submit" name="GO">
</form>

<?php
if($_POST["GO"]) {
    $cid = $_POST["cid"];
  	foreach ( $cid as $id ) {
  echo "<br>".$id;
        }
}
?>

 

The SQL query can be generated on this way :

$checkedColors = "('".implode("'),('", $cid)."')";

$sql = "INSERT INTO `mytable` (colors) VALUES $checkedColors";

 

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