here is my problem

I am creating a php based, e-commerce type site where a user can order a custom product based on a list of available options, however some of them are an either this or that, so a simple list of check boxes wouldn't be quite adequate

for instance as an entertainment system might be

CD player
turntable
cassette deck
VCR
DVD player
blue-ray player
8 track player
40 watt receiver, 50 watt receiver OR 100 watt receiver
10" woofers, 12" woofers, or 15" woofers
25" plasma TV, 25" LCD TV, 52" LCD TV etc...

of course the cd player through the 8 track player can be checkboxes since you either add that item or you don't but obviously it would be preferable to have either radio buttons for the speakers, tvs, and receivers since you arent gonna order more then one tv, receiver or set of speakers

how can I, reading from a single array, tell my script whether a given item in the list belongs as a check box or part of the appropriate radio button group or drop down list?

Hi -

You've got two related - but logically separate - design issues:

a) Design of the "presentation" (what is the HTML the user will see)?

b) Design of the "back end" (what is the program logic needed to create the HTML? What data and data attributes is that program logic going to need)?

STRONG SUGGESTIONS:
1. Mock up a couple of prototypes of the "presentation".
First in pencil-and-paper, then some quick'n'dirty HTML

2. Draft your schema.
If CD's need checkboxes, but speakers need radio buttons, maybe (for example) you need a "singleOption/multipleChoice" flag in your data record.

3. Don't worry about the PHP coding until *after* you're clear about the "data" and "presentation" layers.

'Hope that helps .. PSM

PS:
If ordering an MP3 player is easy ("I want this model or that model"), but ordering a home entertainment system is complex (every module has lots of inter-related options), maybe you want to create some kind of "wizard" for your presentation (walk the user through a set of web pages to help him selecting the right components).

Just a thought...

PPS:
???8 track player??? Did you say "8-track player"?!? Just curious... ;-)

PPS:
What about '78's? Or 45's? Some original Artie Shaw (or Spike Jones ;-)), on acetate?

i did say 8 track player
actually my site isn't selling entertainment centers that was just a generic example
thx though