Select2Array

It’s easy to convert PHP Array to Select Dropdown Box… you need to loop for all element in array to display as dropdown. But may be you ever think for reverse process. Yes, it’s also easy!

You need to scrape / crawl Select box HTML to get PHP Array back from HTML Select Box. Please read our articles for xpath here

Select2Array

<?php

$s = '<select name="country">
<option value="">Country...</option>
<option value="AF">Afghanistan</option>
<option value="AL">Albania</option>
<option value="DZ">Algeria</option>
<option value="AS">American Samoa</option>
<option value="AD">Andorra</option>
<option value="AG">Angola</option>
<option value="AI">Anguilla</option>
<option value="AG">Antigua &amp; Barbuda</option>
<option value="AR">Argentina</option>
<option value="AA">Armenia</option>
<option value="AW">Aruba</option>
<option value="AU">Australia</option>
<option value="AT">Austria</option>
<option value="AZ">Azerbaijan</option>
<option value="BS">Bahamas</option>
<option value="BH">Bahrain</option>
<option value="BD">Bangladesh</option>
<option value="BB">Barbados</option>
<option value="BY">Belarus</option>
<option value="BE">Belgium</option>
<option value="BZ">Belize</option>
<option value="BJ">Benin</option>
<option value="BM">Bermuda</option>
<option value="BT">Bhutan</option>
<option value="BO">Bolivia</option>
<option value="BL">Bonaire</option>
<option value="BA">Bosnia &amp; Herzegovina</option>
<option value="BW">Botswana</option>
<option value="BR">Brazil</option>
<option value="BC">British Indian Ocean Ter</option>
<option value="BN">Brunei</option>
<option value="BG">Bulgaria</option>
<option value="BF">Burkina Faso</option>
<option value="BI">Burundi</option>
<option value="KH">Cambodia</option>
<option value="CM">Cameroon</option>
<option value="CA">Canada</option>
<option value="IC">Canary Islands</option>
<option value="CV">Cape Verde</option>
<option value="KY">Cayman Islands</option>
<option value="CF">Central African Republic</option>
<option value="TD">Chad</option>
<option value="CD">Channel Islands</option>
<option value="CL">Chile</option>
<option value="CN">China</option>
<option value="CI">Christmas Island</option>
<option value="CS">Cocos Island</option>
<option value="CO">Colombia</option>
<option value="CC">Comoros</option>
<option value="CG">Congo</option>
<option value="CK">Cook Islands</option>
<option value="CR">Costa Rica</option>
<option value="CT">Cote D\'Ivoire</option>
<option value="HR">Croatia</option>
<option value="CU">Cuba</option>
<option value="CB">Curacao</option>
<option value="CY">Cyprus</option>
<option value="CZ">Czech Republic</option>
<option value="DK">Denmark</option>
<option value="DJ">Djibouti</option>
<option value="DM">Dominica</option>
<option value="DO">Dominican Republic</option>
<option value="TM">East Timor</option>
<option value="EC">Ecuador</option>
<option value="EG">Egypt</option>
<option value="SV">El Salvador</option>
<option value="GQ">Equatorial Guinea</option>
<option value="ER">Eritrea</option>
<option value="EE">Estonia</option>
<option value="ET">Ethiopia</option>
<option value="FA">Falkland Islands</option>
<option value="FO">Faroe Islands</option>
<option value="FJ">Fiji</option>
<option value="FI">Finland</option>
<option value="FR">France</option>
<option value="GF">French Guiana</option>
<option value="PF">French Polynesia</option>
<option value="FS">French Southern Ter</option>
<option value="GA">Gabon</option>
<option value="GM">Gambia</option>
<option value="GE">Georgia</option>
<option value="DE">Germany</option>
<option value="GH">Ghana</option>
<option value="GI">Gibraltar</option>
<option value="GB">Great Britain</option>
<option value="GR">Greece</option>
<option value="GL">Greenland</option>
<option value="GD">Grenada</option>
<option value="GP">Guadeloupe</option>
<option value="GU">Guam</option>
<option value="GT">Guatemala</option>
<option value="GN">Guinea</option>
<option value="GY">Guyana</option>
<option value="HT">Haiti</option>
<option value="HW">Hawaii</option>
<option value="HN">Honduras</option>
<option value="HK">Hong Kong</option>
<option value="HU">Hungary</option>
<option value="IS">Iceland</option>
<option value="IN">India</option>
<option value="ID">Indonesia</option>
<option value="IA">Iran</option>
<option value="IQ">Iraq</option>
<option value="IR">Ireland</option>
<option value="IM">Isle of Man</option>
<option value="IL">Israel</option>
<option value="IT">Italy</option>
<option value="JM">Jamaica</option>
<option value="JP">Japan</option>
<option value="JO">Jordan</option>
<option value="KZ">Kazakhstan</option>
<option value="KE">Kenya</option>
<option value="KI">Kiribati</option>
<option value="NK">Korea North</option>
<option value="KS">Korea South</option>
<option value="KW">Kuwait</option>
<option value="KG">Kyrgyzstan</option>
<option value="LA">Laos</option>
<option value="LV">Latvia</option>
<option value="LB">Lebanon</option>
<option value="LS">Lesotho</option>
<option value="LR">Liberia</option>
<option value="LY">Libya</option>
<option value="LI">Liechtenstein</option>
<option value="LT">Lithuania</option>
<option value="LU">Luxembourg</option>
<option value="MO">Macau</option>
<option value="MK">Macedonia</option>
<option value="MG">Madagascar</option>
<option value="MY">Malaysia</option>
<option value="MW">Malawi</option>
<option value="MV">Maldives</option>
<option value="ML">Mali</option>
<option value="MT">Malta</option>
<option value="MH">Marshall Islands</option>
<option value="MQ">Martinique</option>
<option value="MR">Mauritania</option>
<option value="MU">Mauritius</option>
<option value="ME">Mayotte</option>
<option value="MX">Mexico</option>
<option value="MI">Midway Islands</option>
<option value="MD">Moldova</option>
<option value="MC">Monaco</option>
<option value="MN">Mongolia</option>
<option value="MS">Montserrat</option>
<option value="MA">Morocco</option>
<option value="MZ">Mozambique</option>
<option value="MM">Myanmar</option>
<option value="NA">Nambia</option>
<option value="NU">Nauru</option>
<option value="NP">Nepal</option>
<option value="AN">Netherland Antilles</option>
<option value="NL">Netherlands (Holland, Europe)</option>
<option value="NV">Nevis</option>
<option value="NC">New Caledonia</option>
<option value="NZ">New Zealand</option>
<option value="NI">Nicaragua</option>
<option value="NE">Niger</option>
<option value="NG">Nigeria</option>
<option value="NW">Niue</option>
<option value="NF">Norfolk Island</option>
<option value="NO">Norway</option>
<option value="OM">Oman</option>
<option value="PK">Pakistan</option>
<option value="PW">Palau Island</option>
<option value="PS">Palestine</option>
<option value="PA">Panama</option>
<option value="PG">Papua New Guinea</option>
<option value="PY">Paraguay</option>
<option value="PE">Peru</option>
<option value="PH">Philippines</option>
<option value="PO">Pitcairn Island</option>
<option value="PL">Poland</option>
<option value="PT">Portugal</option>
<option value="PR">Puerto Rico</option>
<option value="QA">Qatar</option>
<option value="ME">Republic of Montenegro</option>
<option value="RS">Republic of Serbia</option>
<option value="RE">Reunion</option>
<option value="RO">Romania</option>
<option value="RU">Russia</option>
<option value="RW">Rwanda</option>
<option value="NT">St Barthelemy</option>
<option value="EU">St Eustatius</option>
<option value="HE">St Helena</option>
<option value="KN">St Kitts-Nevis</option>
<option value="LC">St Lucia</option>
<option value="MB">St Maarten</option>
<option value="PM">St Pierre &amp; Miquelon</option>
<option value="VC">St Vincent &amp; Grenadines</option>
<option value="SP">Saipan</option>
<option value="SO">Samoa</option>
<option value="AS">Samoa American</option>
<option value="SM">San Marino</option>
<option value="ST">Sao Tome &amp; Principe</option>
<option value="SA">Saudi Arabia</option>
<option value="SN">Senegal</option>
<option value="RS">Serbia</option>
<option value="SC">Seychelles</option>
<option value="SL">Sierra Leone</option>
<option value="SG">Singapore</option>
<option value="SK">Slovakia</option>
<option value="SI">Slovenia</option>
<option value="SB">Solomon Islands</option>
<option value="OI">Somalia</option>
<option value="ZA">South Africa</option>
<option value="ES">Spain</option>
<option value="LK">Sri Lanka</option>
<option value="SD">Sudan</option>
<option value="SR">Suriname</option>
<option value="SZ">Swaziland</option>
<option value="SE">Sweden</option>
<option value="CH">Switzerland</option>
<option value="SY">Syria</option>
<option value="TA">Tahiti</option>
<option value="TW">Taiwan</option>
<option value="TJ">Tajikistan</option>
<option value="TZ">Tanzania</option>
<option value="TH">Thailand</option>
<option value="TG">Togo</option>
<option value="TK">Tokelau</option>
<option value="TO">Tonga</option>
<option value="TT">Trinidad &amp; Tobago</option>
<option value="TN">Tunisia</option>
<option value="TR">Turkey</option>
<option value="TU">Turkmenistan</option>
<option value="TC">Turks &amp; Caicos Is</option>
<option value="TV">Tuvalu</option>
<option value="UG">Uganda</option>
<option value="UA">Ukraine</option>
<option value="AE">United Arab Emirates</option>
<option value="GB">United Kingdom</option>
<option value="US">United States of America</option>
<option value="UY">Uruguay</option>
<option value="UZ">Uzbekistan</option>
<option value="VU">Vanuatu</option>
<option value="VS">Vatican City State</option>
<option value="VE">Venezuela</option>
<option value="VN">Vietnam</option>
<option value="VB">Virgin Islands (Brit)</option>
<option value="VA">Virgin Islands (USA)</option>
<option value="WK">Wake Island</option>
<option value="WF">Wallis &amp; Futana Is</option>
<option value="YE">Yemen</option>
<option value="ZR">Zaire</option>
<option value="ZM">Zambia</option>
<option value="ZW">Zimbabwe</option>
</select>';
									

$doc = new DOMDocument();
$doc->loadHTML($s);
$xpath = new DOMXPath($doc);

$options = $xpath->query('*/select/option');

//print_r($options);

$values = array();
foreach ($options as $option) {

     $in = $option->getAttribute('value'); 
	 if($in=="") $in = rand(0,2);
	 $values[$in] = $option->textContent;
}

//print_r($values);
echo "$"."z = ".var_export($values, true).";";


?>

You can apply same logic for more HTML elements using xpath...

Download Select2Array.php