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PHP Integrating PHP with Databases Using Relational Tables Fetching in a While Loop

Jeff Styles
Jeff Styles
2,784 Points
Posted by Jeff Styles
Jeff Styles
2,784 Points

Confused. How does this code work?

In the video the fullname is selected from the database and loaded into an array:

<?php

while($row = $result->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC)) {
        $item[$row["role"]][] = $row["fullname"];

    }

I can't wrap my head around how $row is being used as an index in $item[$row["role"]][].

I would have thought it would be $item["role"][] = $row["fullname"]; I assume 'role' an array because one person can have multiple roles, but I don't understand how $row is used as a key here. When this data is being utilized in the details.php file it is referenced by echoing $item["artist"].

Please, someone be kind enough to explain this to me. Thanks,

1 Answer

Zachary Billingsley
Zachary Billingsley
6,187 Points
Zachary Billingsley
Zachary Billingsley
6,187 Points

Hello!

For every $row that you are pulling there are 2 fields that you are getting back, 'role' and 'fullname'. Like in the video we can see this like...

$row['role'] = 'actor' and $row['fullname'] = 'Ron Livingston'.

So both of these are just strings, not arrays (only 1 role per person), and we use the $row['role'] as the index because it is the string 'actor'.

When putting them into the $item array we are adding the fullname to the specific role.

So your item array may look something like this....

$item => [
    'actor' => [
        'Ron Livingston',
        'Brad Pitt'
    ],
    'doctor' => [
        'Jon Smith'
    ]
]

All of the actors will be in the 'actor' array and so on.

If you were to do $item["role"][] = $row["fullname"] your array would look like this...

$item => [
    'role' => [
        'Ron Livingston',
        'Brad Pitt',
        'Jon Smith'
    ] 
]

Hope this helps!

Jeff Styles
Jeff Styles
2,784 Points
Jeff Styles
Jeff Styles
2,784 Points

Thanks I really appreciate the response. Earlier I must have still been half asleep. Even though the code clearly is 

<?php 
       $item[$row["role"]][] = $row["fullname"];

I was somehow wrongly processing it in my mind as:

<?php 
       $item[$row]["role"][] = $row["fullname"];

...and that was causing my serious confusion.

Thanks again for taking the time!