How to Download a CSV file from a PHP Array?

How to Create and Download a CSV File from a PHP Script

Creating and downloading a CSV file from a PHP array is a useful technique in website development. Here's a detailed guide for novice programmers:

Creating the CSV File

1. Loop Through the Array: Iterate over the elements of your PHP array.
2. Create CSV Lines: For each array element, use the fputcsv() function to generate a comma-separated value (CSV) line. This function takes the array element and a delimiter (usually a comma) as parameters.

Example:

$array = [
    ['fs_id' => '4c524d8abfc6ef3b201f489c', 'name' => 'restaurant', ...],
    // More array elements...
];

$delimiter = ',';

$csv = fopen('tmp.csv', 'w');

foreach ($array as $line) {
    fputcsv($csv, $line, $delimiter);
}

Downloading the CSV File

1. Set HTTP Headers: To make the browser offer a "Save As" dialog, set HTTP headers that specify the file name and its type as CSV.

header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="filename.csv"');
header('Content-Type: text/csv');

2. Send the CSV to the Browser: Use the fpassthru() function to send the generated CSV lines to the browser.

fseek($csv, 0); // Reset the file pointer to the start
fpassthru($csv);

Putting It All Together

The following function combines both steps and allows you to download a CSV file from an array:

function array_to_csv_download($array, $filename = 'export.csv', $delimiter = ',') {
    // Set HTTP headers
    header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="' . $filename . '"');
    header('Content-Type: text/csv');

    // Create a file pointer
    $csv = fopen('php://memory', 'w');

    // Loop through the array and create CSV lines
    foreach ($array as $line) {
        fputcsv($csv, $line, $delimiter);
    }

    // Send the generated CSV to the browser
    fpassthru($csv);
}

Usage:

$array = [
    ['fs_id' => '4c524d8abfc6ef3b201f489c', 'name' => 'restaurant', ...],
    // More array elements...
];

array_to_csv_download($array, 'restaurants.csv');

// The CSV file will be downloaded to the user's computer.

Additional Note:

As an alternative to using php://memory, you can also use php://output for the file descriptor, which may be more efficient for large datasets.

This method provides a straightforward way to create and download CSV files from PHP arrays, making it a valuable tool for website developers.

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