Getting error when submitting 'visible' field to database with php

[ristenk1]

//clean up the form data before putting it in the database
$id = mysql_prep($_GET['page']);
$menu_name = trim(mysql_prep($_POST['menu_name']));
$position = mysql_prep($_POST['position']);
$visible = mysql_prep($_POST['visible']);
$content = mysql_prep($_POST['content']);


echo '<pre>POST: ' . print_r($_POST, true) . '</pre>';
echo '<pre>REQUEST: ' . print_r($_REQUEST, true) . '</pre>';
echo '<pre>errors: ' . print_r($errors, true) . '</pre>';


//Database submission only proceeds if there were NO errors.
if(empty($errors)) {
$query = "UPDATE pages SET
menu_name = '{$menu_name}',
position = {$position},
visible = {$visible},
content = '{$content}'
WHERE id = {$id}";
$result = mysql_query($query, $connection);
echo "--- Start Debug ---<br>\n" . $query . "<br>\n";
if(mysql_error()){ echo mysql_error() . "<br>--- End Debug ---<br>\n"; }


I noticed that the visible- no doesn't output the "start debug" command, I guess it doesn't get that far.

[ristenk1]

Well, I got it working by using the same code on another site from the tutorial that I could get to work... I don't really see what is different about the code except that it was arranged in a different order but I'll post it below and maybe someone else with a more trained eye can see what is different about this code compared to what I originally posted:

New Code that is now working:

if (intval($_GET['page']) == 0) {
redirect_to("content.php");
}
if (isset($_POST['submit'])){
$errors = array();
$required_fields = array('menu_name', 'position', 'visible', 'content');
foreach($required_fields as $fieldname) {
if (!isset($_POST[$fieldname]) || (empty($_POST[$fieldname]) && !is_numeric($_POST[$fieldname]))) {
$errors[] = $fieldname;
}
}
$fields_with_lengths = array('menu_name' => 30);
foreach($fields_with_lengths as $fieldname => $maxlength){
if(strlen(trim(mysql_prep($_POST[$fieldname]))) > $maxlength) {
$errors[] = $fieldname; }
}
if(empty($errors)) {
$id = mysql_prep($_GET['page']);
$menu_name = mysql_prep($_POST['menu_name']);
$position = mysql_prep($_POST['position']);
$visible = mysql_prep($_POST['visible']);
$content = mysql_prep($_POST['content']);
echo '<pre>POST: ' . print_r($POST, true) . '</pre>';
echo '<pre>REQUEST: ' . print_r($_REQUEST, true) . '</pre>';
echo '<pre>errors: ' . print_r($errors, true) . '</pre>';

$query = "UPDATE pages SET
menu_name = '{$menu_name}',
position = {$position},
visible = {$visible},
content = '{$content}'
WHERE id = {$id}";
$result = mysql_query($query, $connection);
if(mysql_affected_rows() == 1) {
//Success
$message = "The subject was successfully updated.";
} else {
//Failed
$message = "The subject update failed.";
$message .= "<br />" . mysql_error();
}

} else {
//Errors occurred
$message = "There were " . count($errors) . " errors in the form.";
}
}//end: if(isset($_POST['submit']))

Old code (that was posted previously and does not work when submitting visible - no):

//clean up the form data before putting it in the database
$id = mysql_prep($_GET['page']);
$menu_name = trim(mysql_prep($_POST['menu_name']));
$position = mysql_prep($_POST['position']);
$visible = mysql_prep($_POST['visible']);
$content = mysql_prep($_POST['content']);

//Database submission only proceeds if there were NO errors.
if(empty($errors)) {
$query = "UPDATE pages SET
menu_name = '{$menu_name}',
position = {$position},
visible = {$visible},
content = '{$content}'
WHERE id = {$id}";
$result = mysql_query($query, $connection);

//test to see if the update occurred
if(mysql_affected_rows() == 1) {
//Success!
$message = "The page was successfully updated.";
} else {
//Failed
$message = "The page update failed.";
$message .= "<br />" . mysql_error();

}


} else {
if(count($errors) == 1){
$message = "There was 1 error in the form.";

} else {
//Errors occurred
$message = "There were " . count($errors) . " errors in the form.";
}
}
//END FORM PROCESSING

}//end: if(isset($_POST['submit']))



By the way, how do I format my code to look neater in this site... I've noticed that other's have been wrapping there's in a code tag but am unsure of where to find this on the editing toolbar for this post.

[LordRegent]

What caused the initial issue was the use of PHP's empty() function... it returns true for variables that are null, unset, empty, the value 0 in any data type, etc. (for more info visit "php dot net" and search for a function named empty (sorry, I can't post links yet). The typical workaround is to also test the length of the value using the strlen function.

I did see a typo in your reference to the POST array--it should be $_POST (the underscore is important).

To prettify your code, wrap the code in a set of "PHP" tags using square brackets, similarly to HTML tags. In the "Advanced Editor", you can select (highlight) the code in your post then click the "php" button on the end of the 2nd row of formatting tools.

[ristenk1]

aha! it's all become a little clearer, which was the goal at the end of the day THanks guys!!

[williamc]

to display code on the forum properly add a [ code ] and [ /code ] without the spaces in them, it is part of most forums BBcode markup

[LordRegent]

As I was thinking through this yesterday, I wanted to see the code that populated the $errors array, because I felt certain that was the core of the issue.

Here's the final working code that you posted:

$errors = array();
$required_fields = array('menu_name', 'position', 'visible', 'content');
foreach($required_fields as $fieldname) {
  if (!isset($_POST[$fieldname]) || (empty($_POST[$fieldname]) && !is_numeric($_POST[$fieldname]))) {
    $errors[] = $fieldname;
  }
} 

You should compare the fourth line of this code against what was in use when you first posted this issue. I expect that initially it was just doing "!isset($_POST[$fieldname]) || empty($_POST[$fieldname]) " which gave a false positive for values that evaluated to zero.

Also, while the [ code ] and [ /code ] tags will make any block of text stand out, the [ php ] and [ /php ] tags (without the spaces) will apply syntax highlighting to php code (which, incidentally, can be utilized as a simple, free syntax checker: just "Go Advanced", paste your code and wrap it in "php" blocks, and then "Preview Post.")