select box in Zend framework: code and example

Though I’ve already discuss how to create dropdown in one of my previous article, however here I would discuss it a bit in detail.

You can create it using the following code.

<?php
class CustomForm extends Zend_Form
{
    public function init()
    {
        $this->setMethod('post');
        $this->setAction('user/process');
        
        $country = $this->createElement('select',’countries’);
        $country ->setLabel('Countries:')
            ->addMultiOptions(array(
                    'US' => 'United States',
                    'UK' => 'United Kingdom' 
                        ));    
    }
}

Or can also be created using the following code.

<?php
class CustomForm extends Zend_Form
{
    public function init()
    {
        $this->setMethod('post');
        $this->setAction('user/process');
        
        $country = new Zend_Form_Element_Select('countries');
        $country ->setLabel('Countries:')
            ->addMultiOptions(array(
                    'US' => 'United States',
                    'UK' => 'United Kingdom' 
                        ));    
    }
}

The options are hard code in both of the cases. This will not be requirement always.
Sometime or most of the time application need that drop down should be populated fetching records from the data base. So for this purpose I would like to implement the following code.
Fist in your model write the following.

<?php
class Countries extends Zend_Table
{
    protected $_name = 'countries';
    public function getCountriesList()
    {
        $select  = $this->_db->select()
                            ->from($this->_name,
                    array('key' => 'id','value' => 'country_name'))
        $result = $this->getAdapter()->fetchAll($select);
        return $result;
    }
}

Keep in mind that the records we fetch will have an associated array having id as key and country name as value. If you don’t defined the above array, array(‘key’ => ’id’,’value’ => ‘country_name’), as I have defined, you will not get what you want. So be careful while fetching records for constructing drop down.

And now in your form write the following code.

<?php
class CustomForm extends Zend_Form
{
    public function init()
    {
        $this->setMethod('post');
        $this->setAction('user/process');
        
        $countries = new Countries();
        $countries_list = $countires->getCountriesList();        

        $country = new Zend_Form_Element_Select('countries');
        $country ->setLabel('Countries:')
            ->addMultiOptions( $countriesList 
                        ));    
    }
}

In the above code the only thing changes is
1. I have instantiated model using
$countries = new Countries();

2. Call getCountiresList() method. And assign the list to the instead of assign hard coded values.