filter_input_array

(PHP 5 >= 5.2.0, PHP 7, PHP 8)

filter_input_arrayGets external variables and optionally filters them

Description

filter_input_array(int $type, array|int $options = FILTER_DEFAULT, bool $add_empty = true): array|false|null

This function is useful for retrieving many values without repetitively calling filter_input().

Parameters

type

One of INPUT_GET, INPUT_POST, INPUT_COOKIE, INPUT_SERVER, or INPUT_ENV.

options

An array defining the arguments. A valid key is a string containing a variable name and a valid value is either a filter type, or an array optionally specifying the filter, flags and options. If the value is an array, valid keys are filter which specifies the filter type, flags which specifies any flags that apply to the filter, and options which specifies any options that apply to the filter. See the example below for a better understanding.

This parameter can be also an integer holding a filter constant. Then all values in the input array are filtered by this filter.

add_empty

Add missing keys as null to the return value.

Return Values

An array containing the values of the requested variables on success. If the input array designated by type is not populated, the function returns null if the FILTER_NULL_ON_FAILURE flag is not given, or false otherwise. For other failures, false is returned.

An array value will be false if the filter fails, or null if the variable is not set. Or if the flag FILTER_NULL_ON_FAILURE is used, it returns false if the variable is not set and null if the filter fails. If the add_empty parameter is false, no array element will be added for unset variables.

Examples

Example #1 A filter_input_array() example

<?php

/* data actually came from POST
$_POST = array(
'product_id' => 'libgd<script>',
'component' => array('10'),
'version' => '2.0.33',
'testarray' => array('2', '23', '10', '12'),
'testscalar' => '2',
);
*/

$args = array(
'product_id' => FILTER_SANITIZE_ENCODED,
'component' => array('filter' => FILTER_VALIDATE_INT,
'flags' => FILTER_REQUIRE_ARRAY,
'options' => array('min_range' => 1, 'max_range' => 10)
),
'version' => FILTER_SANITIZE_ENCODED,
'doesnotexist' => FILTER_VALIDATE_INT,
'testscalar' => array(
'filter' => FILTER_VALIDATE_INT,
'flags' => FILTER_REQUIRE_SCALAR,
),
'testarray' => array(
'filter' => FILTER_VALIDATE_INT,
'flags' => FILTER_REQUIRE_ARRAY,
)

);

$myinputs = filter_input_array(INPUT_POST, $args);

var_dump($myinputs);
echo
"\n";
?>

The above example will output:

array(6) {
  ["product_id"]=>
  string(17) "libgd%3Cscript%3E"
  ["component"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    int(10)
  }
  ["version"]=>
  string(6) "2.0.33"
  ["doesnotexist"]=>
  NULL
  ["testscalar"]=>
  int(2)
  ["testarray"]=>
  array(4) {
    [0]=>
    int(2)
    [1]=>
    int(23)
    [2]=>
    int(10)
    [3]=>
    int(12)
  }
}

Notes

Note:

There is no REQUEST_TIME key in INPUT_SERVER array because it is inserted into the $_SERVER later.

See Also

add a note add a note

User Contributed Notes 12 notes

up
19
sdupuis at blax dot ca
10 years ago
Note that although you can provide a default filter for the entire input array there is no way to provide a flag for that filter without building the entire definition array yourself.

So here is a small function that can alleviate this hassle!

<?php
function filter_input_array_with_default_flags($type, $filter, $flags, $add_empty = true) {
   
$loopThrough = array();
    switch (
$type) {
        case
INPUT_GET : $loopThrough = $_GET; break;
        case
INPUT_POST : $loopThrough = $_POST; break;
        case
INPUT_COOKIE : $loopThrough = $_COOKIE; break;
        case
INPUT_SERVER : $loopThrough = $_SERVER; break;
        case
INPUT_ENV : $loopThrough = $_ENV; break;
    }
  
   
$args = array();
    foreach (
$loopThrough as $key=>$value) {
       
$args[$key] = array('filter'=>$filter, 'flags'=>$flags);
    }
   
    return
filter_input_array($type, $args, $add_empty);
}
?>
up
15
CertaiN
10 years ago
[New Version]
This function is very useful for filtering complicated array structure.
Also, Some integer bitmasks and invalid UTF-8 sequence detection are available.

Code:
<?php
/**
* @param  integer $type    Constant like INPUT_XXX.
* @param  array   $default Default structure of the specified super global var.
*                          Following bitmasks are available:
*  + FILTER_STRUCT_FORCE_ARRAY - Force 1 dimensional array.
*  + FILTER_STRUCT_TRIM        - Trim by ASCII control chars.
*  + FILTER_STRUCT_FULL_TRIM   - Trim by ASCII control chars,
*                                full-width and no-break space.
* @return array            The value of the filtered super global var.
*/
define('FILTER_STRUCT_FORCE_ARRAY', 1);
define('FILTER_STRUCT_TRIM', 2);
define('FILTER_STRUCT_FULL_TRIM', 4);
function
filter_struct_utf8($type, array $default) {
    static
$func = __FUNCTION__;
    static
$trim = "[\\x0-\x20\x7f]";
    static
$ftrim = "[\\x0-\x20\x7f\xc2\xa0\xe3\x80\x80]";
    static
$recursive_static = false;
    if (!
$recursive = $recursive_static) {
       
$types = array(
           
INPUT_GET => $_GET,
           
INPUT_POST => $_POST,
           
INPUT_COOKIE => $_COOKIE,
           
INPUT_REQUEST => $_REQUEST,
        );
        if (!isset(
$types[(int)$type])) {
            throw new
LogicException('unknown super global var type');
        }
       
$var = $types[(int)$type];
       
$recursive_static = true;
    } else {
       
$var = $type;
    }
   
$ret = array();
    foreach (
$default as $key => $value) {
        if (
$is_int = is_int($value)) {
            if (!(
$value | (
               
FILTER_STRUCT_FORCE_ARRAY |
               
FILTER_STRUCT_FULL_TRIM |
               
FILTER_STRUCT_TRIM
           
))) {
               
$recursive_static = false;
                throw new
LogicException('unknown bitmask');
            }
            if (
$value & FILTER_STRUCT_FORCE_ARRAY) {
               
$tmp = array();
                if (isset(
$var[$key])) {
                    foreach ((array)
$var[$key] as $k => $v) {
                        if (!
preg_match('//u', $k)){
                            continue;
                        }
                       
$value &= FILTER_STRUCT_FULL_TRIM | FILTER_STRUCT_TRIM;
                       
$tmp += array($k => $value ? $value : '');
                    }
                }
               
$value = $tmp;
            }
        }
        if (
$isset = isset($var[$key]) and is_array($value)) {
           
$ret[$key] = $func($var[$key], $value);
        } elseif (!
$isset || is_array($var[$key])) {
           
$ret[$key] = null;
        } elseif (
$is_int && $value & FILTER_STRUCT_FULL_TRIM) {
           
$ret[$key] = preg_replace("/\A{$ftrim}++|{$ftrim}++\z/u", '', $var[$key]);
        } elseif (
$is_int && $value & FILTER_STRUCT_TRIM) {
           
$ret[$key] = preg_replace("/\A{$trim}++|{$trim}++\z/u", '', $var[$key]);
        } else {
           
$ret[$key] = preg_replace('//u', '', $var[$key]);
        }
        if (
$ret[$key] === null) {
           
$ret[$key] = $is_int ? '' : $value;
        }
    }
    if (!
$recursive) {
       
$recursive_static = false;
    }
    return
$ret;
}
?>
up
8
CertaiN
10 years ago
[New Version]

Example Usage:
<?php
$_GET
['A']['a'] = '  CORRECT(including some spaces)    ';
$_GET['A']['b'] = '  CORRECT(including some spaces)    ';
$_GET['A']['c'] = "Invalid UTF-8 sequence: \xe3\xe3\xe3";
$_GET['A']['d']['invalid_structure'] = 'INVALID';

$_GET['B']['a'] = '  CORRECT(including some spaces)    ';
$_GET['B']['b'] = "Invalid UTF-8 sequence: \xe3\xe3\xe3";
$_GET['B']['c']['invalid_structure'] = 'INVALID';
$_GET['B']["Invalid UTF-8 sequence: \xe3\xe3\xe3"] = 'INVALID';

$_GET['C']['a'] = '  CORRECT(including some spaces)    ';
$_GET['C']['b'] = "Invalid UTF-8 sequence: \xe3\xe3\xe3";
$_GET['C']['c']['invalid_structure'] = 'INVALID';
$_GET['C']["Invalid UTF-8 sequence: \xe3\xe3\xe3"] = 'INVALID';

$_GET['unneeded_item'] = 'UNNEEDED';

var_dump(filter_struct_utf8(INPUT_GET, array(
   
'A' => array(
       
'a' => '',
       
'b' => FILTER_STRUCT_TRIM,
       
'c' => '',
       
'd' => '',
    ),
   
'B' => FILTER_STRUCT_FORCE_ARRAY,
   
'C' => FILTER_STRUCT_FORCE_ARRAY | FILTER_STRUCT_TRIM,
)));
?>

Example Result:
array(3) {
  ["A"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["a"]=>
    string(36) "  CORRECT(including some spaces)    "
    ["b"]=>
    string(30) "CORRECT(including some spaces)"
    ["c"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["d"]=>
    string(0) ""
  }
  ["B"]=>
  array(3) {
    ["a"]=>
    string(36) "  CORRECT(including some spaces)    "
    ["b"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["c"]=>
    string(0) ""
  }
  ["C"]=>
  array(3) {
    ["a"]=>
    string(30) "CORRECT(including some spaces)"
    ["b"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["c"]=>
    string(0) ""
  }
}
up
5
Kevin
15 years ago
Looks like filter_input_array isn't aware of changes to the input arrays that were made before calling filter_input_array. Instead, it always looks at the originally submitted input arrays.

So this will not work:

$_POST['my_float_field'] = str_replace(',','.',$_POST['my_float_field']);
$args = array('my_float_field',FILTER_VALIDATE_FLOAT);
$result = filter_input_array(INPUT_POST, $args);
up
6
Anonymous
13 years ago
Beware: if none of the arguments is set, this function returns NULL, not an array of NULL values.

/* No POST vars set in request
$_POST = array();
*/

$args = array('some_post_var' => FILTER_VALIDATE_INT);
$myinputs = filter_input_array(INPUT_POST, $args);
var_dump($myinputs);

Expected Output: array(1) { ["some_post_var"]=> NULL }

Actual Output: NULL
up
4
CertaiN
10 years ago
This function is very useful for filtering complicated array structure.

Code:
<?php
function filter_request($var, $default_structure) {

   
$ret = array();

    foreach (
$default_structure as $key => $value) {
        if (!isset(
$var[$key])) {
           
$ret[$key] = $value;
        } elseif (
is_array($value)) {
           
$ret[$key] = filter_request($var[$key], $value);
        } elseif (
is_array($var[$key])) {
           
$ret[$key] = $value;
        } else {
           
$ret[$key] = $var[$key];
        }
    }

    return
$ret;

}
?>

Sample Usage:
<?php
$_GET
['a']['wrong_structure'] = 'foo';
$_GET['b']['c'] = 'CORRECT';
$_GET['b']['d']['wrong_structure'] = 'bar';
$_GET['unneeded_item'] = 'baz';

var_dump(filter_request($_GET, array(
   
'a' => 'DEFAULT',
   
'b' => array(
       
'c' => 'DEFAULT',
       
'd' => 'DEFAULT',
    ),
)));
?>

Sample Result:
array(2) {
  ["a"]=>
  string(21) "DEFAULT"
  ["b"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["c"]=>
    string(12) "CORRECT"
    ["d"]=>
    string(21) "DEFAULT"
  }
}
up
1
kdeloach at gmail dot com
15 years ago
@iam4webwork

This is not specific to filter_input.  If you have an element in HTML called names[], it can be accessed by calling $_POST['names'].
up
1
ville at N0SPAM dot zydo dot com
14 years ago
While filtering input arrays, be careful of what flags you set besides FILTER_REQUIRE_ARRAY. For example, setting the flags like so:

<?php
$filter
= array(
'myInputArr' => array('filter' => FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING,
                     
'flags' => array('FILTER_FLAG_STRIP_LOW', 'FILTER_REQUIRE_ARRAY'))
);

$form_inputs = filter_input_array(INPUT_POST, $filter);
?>

.. will result in a blank $form_inputs['myInputArr'] regardless of what $_POST['myInputArr'] contains.
up
1
kibblewhite at live dot com
15 years ago
If you are trying to handling multiple form inputs with same name, then you must assign the `'flags'  => FILTER_REQUIRE_ARRAY` to the definitions entry.

Example, you have a html form as such:
<form>
<input name="t1[]" value="Some string One" />
<input name="t1[]" value="Another String Two" />
</form>

Your definitions array will look a little like this:
$args = array(
  't1'    => array(
      'name' => 't1',
      'filter' => FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING,
      'flags'  => FILTER_REQUIRE_ARRAY)
);
up
-1
phpnotes dot 20 dot zsh at spamgourmet dot com
16 years ago
The above example will actually output "NULL" because of the undefined variable doesnotexist - see http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=42608.
up
-2
Sinured
16 years ago
extract() is a very convenient way of copying all those variables to the local scope. (see http://www.php.net/extract)
up
-2
iam4webwork at NOSPAM dot hotmail dot com
16 years ago
The above example raises other questions such as how one would validate an html array.  In the input form each input tag that refers to an html array would be named for example testarray[].  However, after the form is submitted, the syntax for validating the values is different from  the expected $_POST['testarray[]']. Instead one has to drop the braces and validate as follows, assuming that testarray[] is supposed to be an html array of numerical values:

Valid test:

echo '*';
echo filter_input(
INPUT_POST,
'testarray',
FILTER_VALIDATE_INT,
FILTER_REQUIRE_ARRAY
);
echo '*';

But the following is an invalid test that results in 2 consequtive asterisks only!

echo '*';
echo filter_input(INPUT_POST,
'testarray[]',
FILTER_VALIDATE_INT,
FILTER_REQUIRE_ARRAY
);
echo '*';

So, there is a naming inconsistency going on, as after the form is submitted, one has to forget about the original name of the submitted array by dropping its braces. Maybe when the PECL/Filter extension is reviewed again, the great ones might consider making the syntax a little more forgiving.
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