Turn database result into array
I have just made the update/add/delete part for the "Closure table" way of organizing query hierarchical data that are shown on page 70 in this slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/billkarwin/sql-antipatterns-strike-back
My database looks like this:
Table Categories:
ID Name
1 Top value
2 Sub value1
Table CategoryTree:
child parent level
1 1 0
2 2 0
2 1 1
However, I have a bit of an issue getting the full tree back as an multidimensional array from a single query.
Here's what I would like to get back:
array (
'topvalue' = array (
'Subvalue',
'Subvalue2',
'Subvalue3)
);
);
Update: Found this link, but I still have a hard time to convert it into an array: http://karwin.blogspot.com/2010/03/rendering-trees-with-closure-tables.html
Update2 : I was able to add depths to each of the categories now, if that can be of any help.
Answer
Proposed Solution
This following example gives a little more than you ask for, but it's a really nice way of doing it and still demonstrates where the information comes from at each stage.
It uses the following table structure:
+--------+------------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| Field | Type | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+--------+------------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| id | int(10) unsigned | NO | PRI | NULL | auto_increment |
| parent | int(10) unsigned | NO | | NULL | |
| name | varchar(45) | NO | | NULL | |
+--------+------------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
Here it is:
<?php
// Connect to the database
mysql_connect('localhost', 'root', '');
mysql_select_db('test');
echo '<pre>';
$categories = Category::getTopCategories();
print_r($categories);
echo '</pre>';
class Category
{
/**
* The information stored in the database for each category
*/
public $id;
public $parent;
public $name;
// The child categories
public $children;
public function __construct()
{
// Get the child categories when we get this category
$this->getChildCategories();
}
/**
* Get the child categories
* @return array
*/
public function getChildCategories()
{
if ($this->children) {
return $this->children;
}
return $this->children = self::getCategories("parent = {$this->id}");
}
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/**
* The top-level categories (i.e. no parent)
* @return array
*/
public static function getTopCategories()
{
return self::getCategories('parent = 0');
}
/**
* Get categories from the database.
* @param string $where Conditions for the returned rows to meet
* @return array
*/
public static function getCategories($where = '')
{
if ($where) $where = " WHERE $where";
$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM categories$where");
$categories = array();
while ($category = mysql_fetch_object($result, 'Category'))
$categories[] = $category;
mysql_free_result($result);
return $categories;
}
}
Test Case
In my database I have the following rows:
+----+--------+-----------------+
| id | parent | name |
+----+--------+-----------------+
| 1 | 0 | First Top |
| 2 | 0 | Second Top |
| 3 | 0 | Third Top |
| 4 | 1 | First Child |
| 5 | 1 | Second Child |
| 6 | 2 | Third Child |
| 7 | 2 | Fourth Child |
| 8 | 4 | First Subchild |
| 9 | 4 | Second Subchild |
+----+--------+-----------------+
And thus the script outputs the following (lengthy) information:
Array
(
[0] => Category Object
(
[id] => 1
[parent] => 0
[name] => First Top
[children] => Array
(
[0] => Category Object
(
[id] => 4
[parent] => 1
[name] => First Child
[children] => Array
(
[0] => Category Object
(
[id] => 8
[parent] => 4
[name] => First Subchild
[children] => Array
(
)
)
[1] => Category Object
(
[id] => 9
[parent] => 4
[name] => Second Subchild
[children] => Array
(
)
)
)
)
[1] => Category Object
(
[id] => 5
[parent] => 1
[name] => Second Child
[children] => Array
(
)
)
)
)
[1] => Category Object
(
[id] => 2
[parent] => 0
[name] => Second Top
[children] => Array
(
[0] => Category Object
(
[id] => 6
[parent] => 2
[name] => Third Child
[children] => Array
(
)
)
[1] => Category Object
(
[id] => 7
[parent] => 2
[name] => Fourth Child
[children] => Array
(
)
)
)
)
[2] => Category Object
(
[id] => 3
[parent] => 0
[name] => Third Top
[children] => Array
(
)
)
)
Example Usage
I'd suggest creating some kind of recursive function if you're going to create menus from the data:
function outputCategories($categories, $startingLevel = 0)
{
$indent = str_repeat(" ", $startingLevel);
foreach ($categories as $category)
{
echo "$indent{$category->name}\n";
if (count($category->children) > 0)
outputCategories($category->children, $startingLevel+1);
}
}
$categories = Category::getTopCategories();
outputCategories($categories);
which would output the following:
First Top
First Child
First Subchild
Second Subchild
Second Child
Second Top
Third Child
Fourth Child
Third Top
Enjoy