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PHP Dynamically Generated Year Dropdown
In this tutorial I'm going to show you how to create a php function that will decrease the amount of text you have to write to create year dropdowns. If you have used functions in PHP before, it's a great way to get started. The end result should look like this:
In what year were you born?
STEP 1:
First we create the php function file. In this file we create a function called yearDropdown. You can pass 3 variables to this function. The first year of your dropdown, the last year and an id for the dropdown. However, we will create it in such a way that, if you wish, you can omit the id variable. It is really only need when you have more than one year dropdown on your page.
<?php
function yearDropdown($startYear, $endYear, $id="year"){
//start the select tag
echo "<select id=".$id." name=".$id.">n";
//echo each year as an option
for ($i=$startYear;$i<=$endYear;$i++){
echo "<option value=".$i.">".$i."</option>n";
}
//close the select tag
echo "</select>";
}
?>
STEP 2:
Next we need to "include" the function file in your web page and then call the function.
What year were you born in?
<?php
//call the function
yearDropdown(1900, 2009);
?>
OUTPUT:
In what year were you born?
ALTERNATIVE STEP 2:
Alternatively, to use the function more than once, include an id variable:
<?php
//call the function and give it an id
yearDropdown(1900, 2009, "BirthDate");
//call the function again and give it a different id
yearDropdown(1920, 2029, "GraduationDate");
?>
