Getting the data
You should include/require the file, but you'll have to make it a proper PHP file first.
$array = require $pathtoFile;
What do I mean by a proper PHP file. Well it doesn't have the php tag <?php and it should return the array, and don't for get the ; at the end. When you open your file it should look like this (except it wont have the ..... obviously) :
<?php
return array( ..... ); //don't forget the semi-colon
Then it will work. You could also use eval maybe if it's not disabled on your server, but that is full of all kinds of security risks. So I don't even wan't to get into that discussion.
Saving the data
When you save a file like this with file_put_contents and var_export you should do it like this:
file_put_contents($pathtofile, '<?php return '.var_export($array, true).';');
Then it will contain these things that make it syntactically correct.
Fixing what you have now
If your too lazy (like me) to manually edit it you could do this:
file_put_contents($pathtofile, '<?php return '.file_get_contents($pathtofile).';');
Just make sure you only do it one time to the file, other wise you'll end up with stuff like this <?php return <?php return array(...);; which will just blow up when you include it.
Once you get the syntax of the file correct you can include it as shown above (just like any PHP file). Remember it has to be a valid PHP file.
Enjoy!
UPDATE
Here maybe this will clearfy things:
$jante = "http://vilavaleaprahovei.ro/kimea/feeds/alcarRO_wheels_feed.xml";
$xml=simplexml_load_file($jante);
$items = [];
foreach($xml->Produs as $child)
{
$marca = (string)$child->Marca;
if(!isset($items[$marca])) {
$items[$marca] = [];
}
$items[$marca]['diametru'][] = (int)$child->Diametru;
$items[$marca]['latime'][] = (int)$child->Latime;
$items[$marca]['pcd'][] = (int)$child->PCD;
$items[$marca]['pcd1'][] = (int)$child->PCD1;
$items[$marca]['et'][] = (int)$child->ET;
$items[$marca]['cb'][] = (int)$child->CB;
}
foreach($items as $marca => $item) {
///$myfile = fopen("allMarks.php", "w") or die("Unable to open file!"); //not needed
$items[$marca]['diametru'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['diametru']);
$items[$marca]['latime'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['latime']);
$items[$marca]['pcd'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['diametru']);
$items[$marca]['pcd1'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['diametru']);
$items[$marca]['et'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['diametru']);
$items[$marca]['cb'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['diametru']);
//fwrite($myfile, var_export($items, true)); //not needed
/* -NOTE-
This file is overwritten here on each iteration of the loop, you don't
see it because you are writing the top level $items, and then
progressively overwriting it and ending with the last (fully populated)
array in the file, but it wastes a lot of resources for nothing.
*/
//fclose($myfile); //not needed
}
$myfile = 'allMarks.php'; //not sure where this was set.
//add this
file_put_contents($myfile, '<?php return '.var_export($items, true).';');
//$strarray = file_get_contents('allMarks.php');
// var_dump($strarray);
then I try to show inside of html select option just the key of that array:
$array = require 'allMarks.php';
//return $array; //not needed
//file_put_contents('allMarks.php', '<?php return '.file_get_contents('allMarks.php').';'); //not needed
$output = array_keys($array);
$option = '';
foreach ($output as $val) {
$option .= "<option>$val</option>";
}
print_r($option);
Note if this is in the same file, or the same request then saving it to a file is pointless as you already have the data an can simply use it. You only need to store it somewhere if you need persistence across requests. Such as for caching reasons. You read the data create the file, then the next request for this only needs to read the file you created and not create it:
//file_put_contents($myfile, '<?php return '.var_export($items, true).';');
//$array = require 'allMarks.php';
//just use the data
$output = array_keys($items);
You can also eliminate this entire loop:
foreach($items as $marca => $item) {
///$myfile = fopen("allMarks.php", "w") or die("Unable to open file!"); //not needed
$items[$marca]['diametru'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['diametru']);
$items[$marca]['latime'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['latime']);
$items[$marca]['pcd'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['diametru']);
$items[$marca]['pcd1'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['diametru']);
$items[$marca]['et'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['diametru']);
$items[$marca]['cb'] = array_unique($items[$marca]['diametru']);
//fwrite($myfile, var_export($items, true)); //not needed
//fclose($myfile); //not needed
}
By setting the keys in $items[$marca]['{...}'] Array keys in PHP are unique (you cannot have 2 keys with the same value) so you can take advantage of this by using them and avoid doing another loop to call array unique on them.
In the loop before that one:
foreach($xml->Produs as $child)
{
$marca = (string)$child->Marca;
if(!isset($items[$marca])) {
$items[$marca] = [];
}
$diametru = (int)$child->Diametru;
$items[$marca]['diametru'][$diametru] = $diametru; //save as key and value
$latime = (int)$child->Latime;
$items[$marca]['latime'][$latime] = $latime;
$pcd = (int)$child->PCD;
$items[$marca]['pcd'][$pcd] = $pcd;
$PCD1 = (int)$child->PCD1;
$items[$marca]['pcd1'][$PCD1] = $PCD1;
$et = (int)$child->ET;
$items[$marca]['et'][$et] = $et;
$cb = (int)$child->CB;
$items[$marca]['cb'][$cb] = $cb;
}
If you need them numbered you already know how to do array_keys (you can use the opposite array_values to remove it). And even these can be set easier by simply doing this (to each of them):
$items[$marca]['diametru'][$x=(int)$child->Diametru] = $x;
$items[$marca]['latime'][$x=(int)$latime] = $x;
//..... etc
But it's a bit harder to understand so I didn't want to confuse you. Basically we assign the value of the $child's property to $x that gets set (= single equal sign is assignment) and then we can use it for both the key and the value. Then we just recycle it on the next line.
Anyway you will wind up with this $items[$marca]['diametru']["value"] = "value" instead of $items[$marca]['diametru'][0] = "value" the value will be both the value and the key. Which you can remove with array_values (I don't know the value of any of these variables, so I have to make stuff up):
//your original array (with the 2 loops) would look something like this,
//with numeric keys
$items[$marca]['diametru'] = [
0 => "value0",
1 => "value1",
2 => "value1", //duplicate
];
//by removing the second loop and using the value for both the key and value
$items[$marca]['diametru'] = [
"value0" => "value0",
"value1" => "value1",
//no duplicates possible as the keys are unique
];
Sandbox
Now I have to stress you do not have to remove the keys, most of the time it doesn't matter if they are there, only if you specifically need them to be numbered would you need to loop back through and remove them. Even then you will be looping over smaller arrays, so you still save some performance (depending on how many duplicates there are, more duplicates the more you saved).
See this is the benefits of sharing your code. There is often more efficient and easier ways to do things, be a lazy programmer like me and don't do more work then you need to.
That's the best I can do without seeing the XML but your still going to have issues because you were overwriting the file each time it looped, so I am not sure what carry on effects fixing that will have as far as the array structure goes. Right now if you do array_keys($items) it will give you a list of $marca. Which makes a lot of what you are doing redundant, unless there is more going on here then just this. Because if all you need is the that then you don't need to go past this in the array $items[$marca]
Cheers!
