PHP - Saving dynamic fields to the MySQL database

Question

Im wondering if someone could help me out with a little issue im having.

I have some code which enables a user to click a button and it will create a additional file input box ... The amount of times they can click this is unlimited, so realisticly they can add unlimited images to their profile.

The problem im having is im not sure how to go about saving that information to the database, usually i would add a row for a file input and store the name, but as there can be unlimited amounts of filenames, im not sure how i would go about saving it.

Could anyone out there give me some suggestions on how they would do it?

Thanks

Grexis · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-06 12:19:25Z

3

I would store additional pieces of information in a separate table. It only needs 2 fields, data and user_id, Then for each additional input, you would store the data and the user's unique user_id. To retrieve the data, just filter using the user_id.

answered Jan 6, 2012 at 12:19

Grexis

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6 Comments

dmitry Over a year ago

Except for it is nearly always better to have primary key, so add auto_increment id if you are planning to refer to that images individually.

Grexis Over a year ago

True, but this was stripped down to the heart of the issue.

BigJobbies Over a year ago

Hmmm thats an interesting way of tackling it .... What about serializing it and putting it in a field on teh same row as the details?

Grexis Over a year ago

@BigJobbies the problem with serializing it is that, as you mentioned, you don't know how many extra input items there are. You really don't want to run out of space trying to cram it in one field. Also, it is more efficient to let the dbms fetch the data, than to have a program sort it out.

dmitry Over a year ago

Agreed with @BigJobbles, sometimes I used exactly that way he described in comment. For example, to store filenames of multiple thumbnails or previews.

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Alex Pliutau · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-06 12:20:09Z

0

Usually it's doing using 2 tables and foreign keys. One table with users(user) (id, name, ...). Second table with photos of users(user_photo) (id, user_id, photo_path, ...). Foreign key will be created between user.id and user_photo.user_id with cascade delete/update.

answered Jan 6, 2012 at 12:20

Alex Pliutau

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