Foreach loop that loops through $_POST data instead of static isset($_POST["name"]......)

Question

So here I am again trying to find better ways of doing things. 90% of tutorials do things the normal way below:

if (isset($_POST['name']) && isset($_POST['password'])) {
     // Does some stuff...
    }

It is fine but it does seem too static since I prefer something far more dynamic. For example lets say looping through all $_POST arrays within a contact form. This way I can change the name or the fields to whatever I want or add more...my code will always handle the rest.

I know a foreach loop would come in handy but, as someone new to the world of programming and php I thought you could show me how something like this is done. So how do I replace the above with a for loop? I am not sure where to start.

Would this be a duplicate of http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10262763/php-how-to-loop-through-a-post-array ? — Optavius, Aug 25 '15 at 07:52

Danyal Sandeelo · Accepted Answer · 2015-08-25T08:32:16.310

2

try this:

$check=true;   
if(isset($_POST)){
  foreach($_POST as $key=>$value){
   if(!isset($_POST[$key]){
    $check = false;
    break;
     } 
  }
}

based on $check you can verify if it was properly sent or not.

Another approach is to have a sort of verification because it is possible you might not get the key in $_POST

$keys =array("input1","input2");

$check=true;   
if(isset($_POST)){
  foreach($keys as $input){
   if(!array_key_exists($input,$_POST)){
    $check = false;
    break;
     } 
  }
}

edited Aug 25 '15 at 08:32

answered Aug 25 '15 at 07:55

Danyal Sandeelo

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But thinking now, my logic might not work because SELECT id FROM members WHERE name = $name AND password = $password – Asperger Aug 25 '15 at 09:19
what do you need exactly? – Danyal Sandeelo Aug 25 '15 at 11:00

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 25 '15 at 07:55

Well you could try something like this :-

<?php
$inputNames = array("input1","input2");
foreach($inputNames as $input)
{
    if (isset($_POST["$input"]) && isset($_POST["$input"])) {
     // Does some stuff...
    }
}
?>

Make an array with the names of all your input tags, and then simply do a foreach between them. In this way, you always only need to edit the names array.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 25 '15 at 07:57

You can always use foreach loop like that:

foreach($_POST as $key => $value){ echo '$_POST["'.$key.'"] = "'.$value.'"'}

But remember, that anyone, can modify your form, prepare some post statement and send data that can create little mess with your code. So it`s good way to validate all fields. Dynamic validation is of course possible, but you need to do it right!

Foreach loop that loops through $_POST data instead of static isset($_POST["name"]......)

3 Answers3