Inserting a multi-dimensional php array into a mysql database

You could do it this way:

$rows = array(
    array('name', 'age', 'gender'),
    array('Ian', 24, 'male'),
    array('Janice', 21, 'female')
);

$columns = array_shift($rows);

$rows = array_map(function($row) {
    /*
     * TODO: escape column values
     */

   return '"' . implode('", "', $row) . '"';
}, $rows);

$sql = 'INSERT  INTO ...
                (' . implode(', ', $columns) . ')
        VALUES  (' . implode('), (', $rows) . ')';

As mysql (extension) will "cast" your values on insert, you don't need to pay attention of the column types: if the column is defined as integer, in the database, it will be inserted as integer, even if you quote the value (for example: the age).

Pay attention on the TODO i marked in the source: it is very unsafe to insert values, without escaping them (SQL injection).

My solution in 2 aproaches.

1. Save the array values as serialized representations of the data in a simple DB table.

2. Save the array values in separate table fields.

Working example:

$array = array(
    0 => array ( "name", "age", "gender"),
    1 => array ( "Ian", "24", "male"),
    2 => array ( "Janice", "21", "female")
);

foreach($array as $key1 => $value1){
    foreach($value1 as $key2 => $value2){
        // assuming the first element (0) in the array is the header value and the header value is a valid array key
         if($key1 > 0){
              $items[$key1-1][ $array[0][$key2] ] = $value2;
         }
    }    
}

// 1. store values as serialized representation
foreach ($items as $key => $value) {
    $sql = "INSERT INTO datatable SET data = ".mysql_real_escape_string(serialize($value))."";
    echo $sql.PHP_EOL;
}

// 2. auto create fields in database and store values
foreach ($array[0] as $key1) {
    $sql = "ALTER TABLE forms ADD '".$key1."' TEXT NOT NULL";
    echo $sql.PHP_EOL;
}
foreach ($items as $key1 => $value1) {
    foreach($value1 as $key2 => $value2){
        $sql = "INSERT INTO datatable SET ".$key2." = '".mysql_real_escape_string($value2)."'";
        echo $sql.PHP_EOL;
    }
}