Multiple category and sub-category insertion

[seovisions]

Hello,

I have discovered, quite by accident, that adding categories and sub-categories makes use of a delimiter for multiple entries:

PHP Code:

category1/category2/category3 


This is partially useful in that it shows that datafeedr allows for multiple insertion of category taxonomies. However, it loses it's usefulness because of what this particular delimiter actually does:

PHP Code:

Main Category
Main Category / category1
Main Category / category1 / category2
Main Category / category1 / category2 / category3 


Which, essentially, nests each category followed by "/" into a sub-category of the one right before it. or:

PHP Code:

category1
-category2
--category3 


I've tried all the usual delimiter types to see if I could add several sub-categories under a main category in a single insertion. Such as

PHP Code:

/, |, \, :, `, ~, & 


of which only one has any result.

So my tip is the above, and my question is this:

Is there a delimiter in place to allow for multiple entries when adding categories and subcategories?

[johnpo]

Yes the slash allows for one under one under and so on, unfortunately doesn't simply allow all one under so have to move them, but is still quicker than typing them all in.

[Eric]

Originally Posted by seovisions

Is there a delimiter in place to allow for multiple entries when adding categories and subcategories?

Not currently.

[seovisions]

perhaps you could add a delimiter. I am not entirely sure what you programmed everything in, nor how difficult it would be to add a delimiter.

Maybe a simple php explode on | would work along with a basic foreach with the SQL insert.

ie:

PHP Code:

$parent = $_POST['parent'];
$add_category = explode('|', $_POST['category_string']);

if(count($add_category) > 0){

//multiple entries to add
foreach($add_category as $value){
try{
mysql_query("UPDATE table SET category = $value WHERE cat_parent = $parent );
}catch(Exception $e){
echo 'Exception caught: ',  $e->getMessage(), "\n";
}

}

}else{

//it's a single entry
try{
mysql_query("UPDATE table SET category = $value WHERE cat_parent = $parent );
}catch(Exception $e){
echo 'Exception caught: ',  $e->getMessage(), "\n";
}
} 


You would, of course, fix it to fit the tables used, error checking, etc.

[seovisions]

preg_split() is another method to use if you want more control as well as preg_match_all().

Point is..lots of ways to do it. explode can be more memory intensive then the above two options.