Accessing PHP obj with variables

Question

Updating this question...I'm working on a small CMS. The data is held in XML. I'm trying to access the right image field to update the filename and delete the current image.

Script gets variables based on where it was called from. In this case $page = "homes", $elem = "home" and $field = 0. Below is called on an image upload.

if (!empty($_FILES)) {
    $field = $_POST['field'];
    $tempFile = $_FILES['upload']['tmp_name'];
    $targetFile = "img/sections/".$_POST['page']."/";
    $targetFile .= basename($_FILES['upload']['name']);
    if (move_uploaded_file($tempFile,$targetFile)) {
        $file = "spice.xml";
        $load = simplexml_load_file($file);
        $old_img = $load->sections->$page->$elem[$field]['img'];
        $load->sections->$page->$elem[$field]['img'] = $targetFile;
        file_put_contents($file, $xml->saveXML());
        unlink($old_img);
    }
}

This is the structure of the XML file:

<spice>
    <sections>
        <homes>
            <home img="img/sections/home/img1.jpg"/>
            <home img="img/sections/home/img2.jpg"/>
            <home img="img/sections/home/img3.jpg"/>
        </homes>    
    </sections>
</spice>

My problem is that $old_img is giving me a "Cannot use string offset as an array" error. If I replace just the $elem and $field variables with values it all works fine.

please define "fails". What actually do you get?

zerkms
– zerkms

2010-11-22 02:03:04 +00:00
Commented Nov 22, 2010 at 2:03 — zerkms
– zerkms, Commented Nov 22, 2010 at 2:03

bcosca · Accepted Answer · 2010-11-22 02:37:05Z

3

Alternative code using XPath:

$load = simplexml_load_file($file);
$path=$load->xpath('//sections/'.$page.'/'.$elem);
$path[$field]['img']=$targetFile;

answered Nov 22, 2010 at 2:37

bcosca

17.6k5 gold badges43 silver badges51 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

theflowersoftime Over a year ago

This works great, thanks! I used xpath on another page...still getting used to dealing with xml in php. Much to learn!

BoltClock · Accepted Answer · 2010-11-22 02:49:13Z

3

PHP is interpreting the [$field] offset as part of the variable $elem and not the entire property $load->sections->$page->$elem, which is probably where your problem lies. Visually, this is what PHP is looking for:

// The character at the 0th ($field) position of 'home' ($elem) is 'h'
'h'['img']

Which causes that error you're seeing because string offsets are strings, not arrays.

Try this instead. Notice the curly braces around $elem.

        $old_img = $load->sections->$page->{$elem}[$field]['img'];
        $load->sections->$page->{$elem}[$field]['img'] = $targetFile;

edited Nov 22, 2010 at 2:49

answered Nov 22, 2010 at 2:24

BoltClock

728k165 gold badges1.4k silver badges1.4k bronze badges

2 Comments

theflowersoftime Over a year ago

For some reason this didn't work. I was originally going down this path.

BoltClock Over a year ago

I must've missed something else then. Meanwhile, XPath is a good alternative.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Accessing PHP obj with variables

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

2 Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

2 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related