shortcode to create dynamic dropdown box form shortcode attributes

Question

I am trying to make a shortcode that will create a dynamic dropdown list of downloadable file links, that once selected, html will show a download link below the dropdown.

Here is the end result of how the shortcode will function: http://jsfiddle.net/KKyE9/

I am struggling with how to turn the shortcode array into a multidimensional array or if that is the right approach.

For example, via the shortcode I am passing attributes that are not defined in the shortcode function but beed to be created inside the function.

[sc total_options="10" option1="module 1" link1="http://cisco.com" label1="Click Here to download Module 2 audio file"  option2="module 2" link2="http://wordpress.com" label2="Click Here to download Module 2 audio file" option3="module 3" label3="Click Here to download Module 3 audio file" link3="http://cisco.com" option4="module 4" label4="Click Here to download Module 4 audio file" link4="http://wordpress.com"]

So option1, link1, label1, option2, link2, label2...etc. need to be created when the shortcode attributes are extracted.

I have a working model that creates the dropdown list and displays the html link below but that only works for a single link.

My challenge is passing the keyed attributes (option1, option2from the shortcode into the shortcode function so that I can use them in a loop and dynamically create the dropdown list options.

I am sure the code can be better but I was just trying to get it to work first for a single attribute.

function shortcode_dd_list($atts, $content = null) {

    extract(shortcode_atts(array(
        "total_options" => '',
        "option" => '',
        "label" => '',
        "link" => ''
    ), $atts));

    $output  = '';
    $output .= '<select id="wlmm-select-dropdown">';
    $output .= '<option value="option0">Please select a module to download</option>';

    $i = 1; 
    while ( $i <= $total_options ) {
      $output .= '<option value="'.$option'">'.$option.'</option>';     
        $i++;       
    }

    $output .= '</select>';

    $i = 1; 
    while ( $i <= $total_options ) {        
        $output .='<div id="'.$option.'" class="wlmm-select-dropdown-group">'.'<a href="'.$link.'">'.$label.'</a></div>';           
        $i++;
    }

    return $output;
}
add_shortcode("sc", "shortcode_dd_list");

Ideally I would rather setup the dropdown like this from the following series of schortcodes, its easier to read but I keep getting 4 dropdown boxes.

[sc total_options="4"]
[sc option1="Module 1" label1="Module 1 download" link1="http://bitBucket.com"]
[sc option2="Module 2" label2="Module 2 download" link="http://lostInSpace"]
[sc option3="Module 3" label3="Module 3 download" link="http://null"]
[sc option4="Module 4" label4="Module 4 download" link="http://error.com"]

Answer 1

Based on your example at the bottom of your question, and your statement that you would like something like that for readability, I'd do something like this:

function dropdown_option($atts) {
  $dropid = (isset($atts['dropid'])) ? $atts['dropid'] : '';
  global $sco_array;
  if (!empty($atts['value']) && !empty($atts['text'])) {
    $sco_array[$dropid][$atts['value']] = $atts['text'];
  }
}
add_shortcode('sco','dropdown_option');

function sc_dropdown($atts) {
  $id = (isset($atts['id'])) ? $atts['id'] : 'sc_dropdown';
  $dropid = (isset($atts['dropid'])) ? $atts['dropid'] : '';
  global $sco_array;
  $sel = '';
  if (!empty($sco_array[$dropid])) {
    $sel .= '<select id="'.$id.'" >';
      $sel .= '<option value="option0">Please select a module to download</option>';
      foreach($sco_array[$dropid] as $k=>$v) {
        $sel .= '<option value="'.$k.'">'.$v.'</option>';
      }
    $sel .= '</select>';
  }
  return $sel;
}
add_shortcode('scd','sc_dropdown');

Then you can build and display your dropdown with two shortcodes:

[sco dropid="one" value="http://example.com" text="Option1"]
[sco dropid="one" value="http://example1.com" text="Option2"]
[sco dropid="one" value="http://example2.com" text="Option3"]
[scd dropid="one" id="wlmm-select-dropdown"]

The first shortcode builds your options one at a time-- three shown. The second one displays it. The dropid value should let you put multiple selects on the same page, if you wanted to.

Answer 2

A simple solution would be using especial separators and the PHP function explode.

Like [multiarray options="option1a#option1b#option1c%option2a#option2b#option2c"]. Using % as first level separator, and # as second level.

This example prints this in the post content:

Array
(
    [0] => Array
        (
            [0] => option1a
            [1] => option1b
            [2] => option1c
        )

    [1] => Array
        (
            [0] => option2a
            [1] => option2b
            [2] => option2c
        )

)

Code for the shortcode

add_shortcode( 'multiarray', 'shortcode_wpse_85159' );

/**
 * Shortcode options to Multidimensional Array
 * Usage: [multiarray options="one#two#three%four#five#six%seven#eight#nine"]
 */
function shortcode_wpse_85159( $atts, $content = null ) 
{
    // options not defined, do nothing
    if( !$atts['options'] )
        return;

    $first_level = explode( '%', $atts['options'] );
    $final_array = array();

    foreach( $first_level as $level )
    {
        $second_level = explode( '#', $level );
        $final_array[] = $second_level;
    }

    // Returns a <pre> block of human readable variable value
    // http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.print-r.php 
    return '<pre>' . print_r( $final_array, true ) . '</pre>';
}