Multiple inputs with same name through POST in php

Question

Is it possible to get multiple inputs of the same name to post and then access them from PHP? The idea is this: I have a form that allows the entry of an indefinite number of physical addresses along with other information. If I simply gave each of those fields the same name across several entries and submitted that data through post, would PHP be able to access it?

Say, for example, I have five input on one page named "xyz" and I want to access them using PHP. Could I do something like:

    $_POST['xyz'][0]

If so, that would make my life ten times easier, as I could send an indefinite amount of information through a form and get it processed by the server simply by looping through the array of items with the name "xyz".

Answer 1

Change the names of your inputs:

<input name="xyz[]" value="Lorem" />
<input name="xyz[]" value="ipsum"  />
<input name="xyz[]" value="dolor" />
<input name="xyz[]" value="sit" />
<input name="xyz[]" value="amet" />

Then:

$_POST['xyz'][0] == 'Lorem'
$_POST['xyz'][4] == 'amet'

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If so, that would make my life ten times easier, as I could send an indefinite amount of information through a form and get it processed by the server simply by looping through the array of items with the name "xyz".

Note that this is probably the wrong solution. Obviously, it depends on the data you are sending.

Answer 2

For anyone else finding this - its worth noting that you can set the key value in the input name. Thanks to the answer in POSTing Form Fields with same Name Attribute you also can interplay strings or integers without quoting.

The answers assume that you don't mind the key value coming back for PHP however you can set name=[yourval] (string or int) which then allows you to refer to an existing record.

Answer 3

In your html you can pass in an array for the name i.e

<input type="text" name="address[]" /> 

This way php will receive an array of addresses.