get _POST results when I don't know names?

[turpentyne]

I have a php loop that generates values from the database. I want to push their choice _POST into a string session variable, but how if I don't know the _POST name?

 

did that make any sense?

 

So I have this code (extracted from a loop):

$ExpandImageTemplate = <<<OutHTML

%4\$s <br>
<button type="submit" name="%3\$s" id="go" value="%2\$s">
<img src="%3\$s" width="147" height="34" alt="image to come" title="choice" />
</button>
OutHTML;

$Output .= sprintf ($ExpandImageTemplate, htmlspecialchars ($row['comp_cat_name']),htmlspecialchars ($row['folder_path']),htmlspecialchars ($row['image_filepath']),htmlspecialchars ($row['component_name']));

 

I won't know what name each button will have when it submits. but I want to do something:

 

 session_start();

if(!isset($_SESSION['options_picked'])){
$_SESSION['options_picked'] = "";
} 

// here's where I'm stumped
if (isset($_POST["?????????"])) {

$_SESSION['options_picked'] .= $_POST["????????"];
}

 

 

Or maybe there's an easier way?

 

[cpd]

POST data tends to come from a form... you would have created the form so you'll know the name of the field. Your question kind of doesn't make sense.

 

You firstly say your generating values from a database and then go on to say you want to set $_POST data to a $_SESSION variable. There is no link between the database and you wanting to set $_POST data to a $_SESSION variable.

[turpentyne]

Forgive me for not knowing how to explain this. I'm new and I'm trying to do this with SprintF - something I've never worked with before. And maybe I'm going about this wrong..

 

The button name is written in PHP as: name="%3\$s"

 

The %3\$s value comes from the sprintf (in this case, $row['component_name']) :

$Output .= sprintf ($ExpandImageTemplate, htmlspecialchars ($row['comp_cat_name']),htmlspecialchars ($row['folder_path']),htmlspecialchars ($row['component_name']),htmlspecialchars ($row['image_filepath']));

 

This value, in turn, comes from a query to the database. What they clicked on, could be one of a dozen possibilities, in this case.

 

I don't know what that key is, because I didn't set it. the database essentially determined it, via a loop.

 

When they make their selection, the page refreshes and I need to add that choice to my session variable.

 

 

 

[Christian F.]

You can use the name of the input to create an array inside the $_POST array, so that you can easily loop through the content. All you have to do is to use [] as a part of the name, like this:

<input type="text" name="options[%3\$s]" value="%4$s">

Then you can just loop through all of the options like this:

foreach ($_POST['options'] as $key => $value) {

 

That said: Whenever you have variable names for input fields, chances are that you're doing things in an overly complex manner. Most of the time it's better to either use a static name, and act upon the content sent, or use another field to send the name you've tried to use as a name.