Get module parameters using loop

Question

I'm creating a module for a website, and to get the module parameters I do something like this:

//-- Get a parameter from the module's configuration
$company1_enable = $params->get('company1_enable');
$company1_name = $params->get('company1_name');
$company1_logo = $params->get('company1_logo');
$company1_image = $params->get('company1_image');
$company1_description = $params->get('company1_description');

But this module must support ~40 companies, meaning I would have to repeat this code 40 times, only changing the number after "company" ($company2_enable = $params->get('company2_enable');, $company3_enable = $params->get('company3_enable'); etc. )

Is there any way to use a loop on the $params object in order to do this more effectively?

Answer 1

I'll go a little more in-depth with the repeatable form fields method.

Firstly, I would use 1 repeatable form field for all names, another for all logos and so on. So here would be the form field for the company name:

<field 
    name="company_name" 
    type="Repeatable" 
    icon="list" 
    label="Company Name"
    default='{"name":["Company 1", "Company 2", "etc.."]}'>
    <fields name="params">
        <fieldset hidden="true" name="company_name_modal" repeat="true">
            <field name="name"
                label="Image"
                type="text" />
        </fieldset>
    </fields>
</field>

In your helper.php, add the following to go through the json encoded form fields:

class ModMyModuleHelper
{
    public function group_by_key($array) 
    {
        $result = array();

        foreach ($array as $sub) 
        {
            foreach ($sub as $k => $v) 
            {
                $result[$k][] = $v;
            }
        }
        return $result;
    }    
}

In your mod_mymodule.php file, you will need to call the helper and the function, like so:

require_once dirname(__FILE__) . '/helper.php';

$helper = new ModMyModuleHelper;

// Get names
$json_names = $params->get('company_name');
$names      = $helper->group_by_key( json_decode($json_names, true) );

Then in your default.php, you can add your foreach loop:

foreach ($names as $index => $value) 
{                   
    echo '<p>' . $value[0] . '</p>';
}

---

I kind of prefer this method as you only need to duplicate the code for the company logo, image and description, rather than 40 times (for each individual company).

Hope this helps in some way, shape, or form

Answer 2

if you using joomla 3.2+ you can use repeatable field or if you are using 3.1 and older it's recommended to create your own field contains array of fields.

so you end up with $params->get('company'); and this will be returning whole set for companies.

Answer 3

I would like to preface this answer with the statement this is not the ideal solution for storing and retrieving a dynamic list of parameters. The "proper" way would be to use a custom table in your Joomla database.

To answer your question, if you know the number of companies the way to utilize a loop to retrieve your params would be like so:

$companies = array();
$company_count = 40;

for ($i = 1; $i <= $company_count; $i++)
{
    $companies[$i] = (object) array(
        'enable' => $params->get('company' . $i . '_enable', null);
        'name' => $params->get('company' . $i . '_name', null);
        'logo' => $params->get('company' . $i . '_logo', null);
        'image' => $params->get('company' . $i . '_image', null);
        'description' => $params->get('company' . $i . '_description', null);
    );
}

//Access company information by index from 1 to 40  
$companies[1]->enable;
$companies[1]->name;
$companies[1]->logo;
$companies[1]->image;
$companies[1]->description;

If you don't know the number of params, things get a little more complicated. You would need to use a a do...while loop checking for a null result being returned:

$companies = array();
$continue = true;
$count = 0;

do
{
    $count++;
    $company = (object) array(
        'enable' => $params->get('company' . $count . '_enable', null);
        'name' => $params->get('company' . $count . '_name', null);
        'logo' => $params->get('company' . $count . '_logo', null);
        'image' => $params->get('company' . $count . '_image', null);
        'description' => $params->get('company' . $count . '_description', null);
    );

    if (empty($company->enable)
    {
        $continue = false;
    }
    else
    {
        $companies[$count] = $company;
    }

} while ($continue)

I have not tested any of the code, but the core concepts are there. I would HIGHLY suggest taking Lanah's advice and using the repeatable field if your using version 3.4.x or create and use a custom database table if your version is lower.

Good luck!