set_value() and input names that are arrays.

[eluser]skunkbad[/eluser]
I find it odd that the set_value method that is in the Form validation library uses array_shift() to return the first value in the array, and any other elements of the array are unusable. What is the reason for this?

I extended the Form validation library to suit my needs, but it seems odd that there isn't an easier way to validate AND REPOPULATE checkboxes. It took quite a bit of work for me to get the validation of a group of checkboxes working.

view:

Code:

<div class="form-row">

    &lt;?php
        /*
         * GET VALUE OF CHECKBOXES GROUP
         */
        $submission_values = set_value('checkboxes[]', ( isset($personal_data->checkboxes) ) ? unserialize($personal_data->checkboxes) : array() );

        $checkbox_data = array(
            'name'        => 'checkboxes[]',
            'id'        => 'checkbox_one',
            'value'        => 'one',
            'checked'    => ( ! empty( $submission_values ) ) ? ((in_array('one', $submission_values)) ? 'checked' : '') : '',
            'class'        => 'form_checkbox'
        );

        echo form_checkbox($checkbox_data);
        echo form_label('One', 'checkbox_one', array('class'=>'checkbox_label'));
    ?&gt;

</div>
<div class="form-row">

    &lt;?php
        $checkbox_data = array(
            'name'        => 'checkboxes[]',
            'id'        => 'checkbox_two',
            'value'        => 'two',
            'checked'    => ( ! empty( $submission_values ) ) ? ((in_array('two', $submission_values)) ? 'checked' : '') : '',
            'class'        => 'form_checkbox'
        );

        echo form_checkbox($checkbox_data);
        echo form_label('Two', 'checkbox_two', array('class'=>'checkbox_label'));
    ?&gt;

</div>

MY_Form_validation.php:

Code:

<?php

class MY_Form_validation extends CI_Form_validation {

    // need arrays to stay intact!
    function set_value($field = '', $default = '')
    {
        if ( ! isset($this->_field_data[$field]))
        {
            return $default;
        }

        return $this->_field_data[$field]['postdata'];
    }

}

What am I doing wrong? Why is it so hard to achieve checkbox validation and repopulation? Maybe it is because I am removing data from $this->form_validation->_field_data if it didn't pass validation:

Code:

// do not repopulate with data that did not validate
foreach( $_POST as $k => $v )
{
    if( array_key_exists( $k, $this->form_validation->_error_array ))
    {
            //kill set_value()
            unset($this->form_validation->_field_data[$k]);
    }
}

There's a lot to be desired...