URI - getting segments into associative array with user-defined keys

[eluser]markowe[/eluser]
OK, $this->uri->uri_to_assoc(n) - is great: from a URI like:

Code:

index.php/user/search/name/joe/location/UK/gender/male

we end up with an array like:

Code:

[array]
(
    'name' => 'joe'
    'location'    => 'UK'
    'gender'    => 'male'
)

(taken from the docs)

...BUT I don't really want that great big URI, with the parameter NAMES in - I mean I know which parameter is which. It would make for better code if there was a class that would let me specify parameter names:

$paramNames = array ('name', 'location', 'gender');

and then match the URI segments in corresponding order, using these as key names. That way I would still end up with

Code:

'name' => 'joe'
'location' => 'UK'
'gender' => 'male'

...but from a URI in the form:

Code:

index.php/user/search/joe/UK/male

i.e. without the parameter names appearing in the URI. Then I could use e.g.

Code:

$name = $uriArray ['name'];

...which is obviously nicer than referring to the parameters by segment number.

I am pretty sure there isn't a helper available to achieve this, am I right? Is there any reason for that, if not? I know it would be easy to write, just wondering... Suggestion for a future addition?