Question

I’m trying to create an html table from database records. I want the table to be 4 cells wide, so I figured if the array index of the row I’m looping through is a multiple of 4, then add a tr tag at the beginning. However, it doesn’t seem to be working correctly. Can anyone help me out? (This is CodeIgniter, so the echo anchor, etc. just creates an a href tag.)

<table width="80%" border="1">
<tr> <!-- create initial tr tag, since we haven't started the loop yet -->
<?php foreach($projects as $index=>$project) : ?>
    <?php echo ((($index + 1) % 4 == 0) ? '<tr>' : ''); ?>
    <td>
    <?php echo anchor('project/view/'.$project->id, $project->project_name, 'title='.$project->project_name); ?>
    </td>
    <?php echo ((($index + 1) % 4 == 0) ? '</tr>' : ''); ?>
<?php endforeach; ?>
 </table>

The $index + 1 is because dividing by 0 (where the array index starts) causes an error. I echoed out the values of $index+1 on each row, and if I have 5 rows in my table I get 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. But the line that should create the tr tag if $index+1 does not divide evenly by 4 isn’t evaluating; I’m getting a single row table that just keeps getting wider.

Here’s what I’d expect to see as rendered code:

<table width="80%" border="1">
  <tr> 
    <td><a href="http://localhost/ignite/index.php/project/view/1" title=Basil's Beatnik Turtle>Basil's Beatnik Turtle</a></td> 
    <td><a href="http://localhost/ignite/index.php/project/view/2" title=Mr. Werewolf Genes>Mr. Werewolf Genes</a></td> 
    <td><a href="http://localhost/ignite/index.php/project/view/3" title=Romeo+Juliet>Romeo+Juliet</a></td> 
    <td><a href="http://localhost/ignite/index.php/project/view/4" title=Basic Hat>Basic Hat</a></td> 
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <!-- I'm not trying to auto-generate empty cells to fill in a final row that contains fewer than 4 at this point, although it would be nice -->
    <td><a href="http://localhost/ignite/index.php/project/view/5" title=Flutterby Hat>Flutterby Hat</a></td> 
  </tr>
</table> 

Here’s what I’m actually getting:

<table width="80%" border="1">
  <tr> 
    <td><a href="http://localhost/ignite/index.php/project/view/1" title=Basil's Beatnik Turtle>Basil's Beatnik Turtle</a></td> 
    <td><a href="http://localhost/ignite/index.php/project/view/2" title=Mr. Werewolf Genes>Mr. Werewolf Genes</a></td> 
    <td><a href="http://localhost/ignite/index.php/project/view/3" title=Romeo+Juliet>Romeo+Juliet</a></td> 
  <!-- note the lack of closing </tr> tag on previous chunk - plus it's only 3 cells, not 4 -->

  <tr>
    <td><a href="http://localhost/ignite/index.php/project/view/4" title=Basic Hat>Basic Hat</a></td>
  </tr>
  <!-- this previous chunk has both <tr> and </tr>, but only contains one <td> -->

    <td><a href="http://localhost/ignite/index.php/project/view/5" title=Flutterby Hat>Flutterby Hat</a></td> 
  <!-- the previous chunk is missing both <tr> and </tr> tags, and is only a single cell -->
</table>     

Basil’s Beatnik Turtle
Mr. Werewolf Genes
Romeo+Juliet
tag on previous chunk – plus it’s only 3 cells, not 4 –>

Basic Hat

and , but only contains one –>

Flutterby Hat
and tags, and is only a single cell –>

Where am I going wrong?

Answer 1

Without knowing what the data that’s being returned from the SQL query looks like, it seems like $index is not what you are expecting it to be.

I humbly suggest this alternative:

<?
$count = 1;
foreach($projects as $index=>$project)
{
    if($count % 4 == 0)
    {
         print "</tr><tr>";
    }
    print "<td>" . anchor('project/view/'.$project->id, $project->project_name, 'title='.$project->project_name) . "</td>";
    $count++;
}
?>