Laravel 5 - saving data stored in 2d array

Question

I have a form which takes the following structure

<tr id='actionRow'>
    <td>
        <input type="text" name='actionInput[0][]' id="actionInput"  placeholder='Action' class="form-control"/>
    </td>
    <td>
        <select class="responsibility" name="actionInput[1][]" id="responsibilityInput">
            <option value=""></option>
            @foreach($users as $user)
                <option value="{{ $user->userName }}">{{ $user->userName }}</option>
            @endforeach
        </select>
    </td>
    <td>
        <input type="text" name='actionInput[2][]' id="dateInput" placeholder='Completion Date' class="form-control dateControl"/>
    </td>
</tr>

I have an option for the user to add rows to this form, and it basically clones the table row. The end result I get in my controller when I output actionInput is something like the following

array:3 [▼
  0 => array:3 [▼
    0 => "Action Input 1"
    1 => "Action Input 2"
    2 => "Action Input 3"
  ]
  1 => array:3 [▼
    0 => "Responsibility Input 1"
    1 => "Responsibility Input 2"
    2 => "Responsibility Input 3"
  ]
  2 => array:3 [▼
    0 => "Date Input 1"
    1 => "Date Input 2"
    2 => "Date Input 3"
  ]
]

When this data is added to my database table, a table row should consist of one bit of data from each array. So if I take the above data and insert it into a database, my table rows should look like the following

Action  |  Responsibility   | Date
-------------------------------------
Input 1 |  Responsibility 1 | Date 1
-------------------------------------
Input 2 |  Responsibility 2 | Date 2
-------------------------------------
Input 3 |  Responsibility 3 | Date 3
-------------------------------------

In my controller I am currently doing this

$actions = Input::get('actionInput');

foreach($actions as $action => $category) {
    $contactReportActions = new ContactReportActionsDoc();
    $contactReportActions->contactReportId = $contactReport->id;
    foreach($category as $key => $value){
        $contactReportActions->action = $value;
        $contactReportActions->responsibility = $value;
        $contactReportActions->deliveryDate = $value;
    }
    $contactReportActions->save();
}

The problem is, that produces something like the following

Action           |  Responsibility   | Date
----------------------------------------------------------
Input 1          |  Input 2          | Input 3
----------------------------------------------------------
Responsibility 1 |  Responsibility 2 | Responsibility 3
----------------------------------------------------------
Date 1           |  Date 2           | Date 3
----------------------------------------------------------

So how could I correct this within my controller so it inputs the data to my database correctly?

Thanks

Laerte · Accepted Answer · 2016-02-10 12:01:21Z

1

I would do something like this:

<tr id='actionRow'>
    <td>
        <input type="text" name="actionInput[{{$key}}]['action']" id="actionInput"  placeholder='Action' class="form-control"/>
    </td>
    <td>
        <select class="responsibility" name="actionInput[{{$key}}]['responsibility']" id="responsibilityInput">
            <option value=""></option>
            @foreach($users as $user)
                <option value="{{ $user->userName }}">{{ $user->userName }}</option>
            @endforeach
        </select>
    </td>
    <td>
        <input type="text" name="actionInput[{{$key}}]['date_input']" id="dateInput" placeholder='Completion Date' class="form-control dateControl"/>
    </td>
</tr>

In the view, you should generate a random or sequential key to the array, and store the table's columns with their names. For each row you clone later, you generate another key.

This layout will also allow a easier entity edit if you need to.

Then, in the Controller, you can separate each entity property like this:

    foreach (\Input::get('actionInput', array()) as $entityData)
    {
        $entity = ContactReportAction::find($entityData["id"]) ?: new ContactReportAction;
        $entity->fill($entityData);
        $entity->save();
    }

Check if this helps you...

edited Feb 10, 2016 at 12:01

answered Feb 10, 2016 at 11:48

Laerte

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6 Comments

katie hudson Over a year ago

Just a quick question - How could I generate the random key, and what is $class?

Laerte Over a year ago

The $key is just a random or sequential key, what are you doing to clone the rows? Are you using javascript?

katie hudson Over a year ago

Yes, I am using javascript to clone.

Laerte Over a year ago

You are already counting in your javascript in i variable. So, you can use it to create an attribute like key, and then use it to change the names of the inputs in the row you cloned with something like $name = $name.replace('['+($key-1)+']', '['+$key+']');

katie hudson Over a year ago

In the controller, what is $entityData["id"]? It currently has no id so it complains about this variable

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