PHP generate arrays in loop

Question

I have these loop statement to generate arrays labeled with z variable. array will be sent to ajax to be displayed in HTML page.

    for($z=0;$z<5;$z++){    
        $billsum = $bills['amount'];
         $bill['$z'] = [$billsum];      
    }

How can I generate arrays such as $bill0,$bill1,$bill2,$bill3,...etc

remove the `'` around $z: `$bill[$z] = $billsum;` (and the [] - or do you really want _another_ nested array in there?) — Jeff, Oct 25 '18 at 15:34
since you accepted an answer below (which is correct) I just wanted to tell you, that it's a very bad idea to have variables named $bill0, $bill1, ... This is what arrays are for! — Jeff, Oct 25 '18 at 16:03
it's far better and more practical to have an array `$bills` that contains each bill in `$bill[0], $bill[1],..`. (or maybe you want an array with only billsums, then call it `$billsums[1], ..` — Jeff, Oct 25 '18 at 16:06
@Jeff I understand your words, but I would like to know why it is bad technically? — A.K., Oct 25 '18 at 16:11
some reads: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/304528-tutorial-why-variables-should-not-be-named-dynamically-eval , https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17343949/variable-variables-bad-practice-to-use, https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17135192/php-how-can-i-create-variable-names-within-a-loop especially https://stackoverflow.com/a/17135494/4830296 — Jeff, Oct 25 '18 at 16:31

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 25 '18 at 15:36

2

$z shouldn't be inside quotes.

for($z=0;$z<5;$z++){    
        $billsum = $bills['amount'];
        $bill[$z] = [$billsum];      
}

answered Oct 25 '18 at 15:36

Alex

PHP Notice: Undefined variable: bill0 – A.K. Oct 25 '18 at 15:42
What line is that? – Alex Oct 25 '18 at 15:43
I'm sending the array back to ajax. the correct way is marked already thx – A.K. Oct 25 '18 at 16:03

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 25 '18 at 15:41

1

for($z=0;$z<5;$z++){    
        $billsum = $bills['amount'];
        ${'bill'.$z} = [$billsum];      
}

So, now you will have arrays like $bill0,$bill1,$bill2,$bill3...

answered Oct 25 '18 at 15:41

nice_dev

2 Answers2