Keep values selected after form submission

To avoid many if-else structures, let JavaScript do the trick automatically:

<select name="name" id="name">
   <option value="a">a</option>
   <option value="b">b</option>
</select>

<script type="text/javascript">
  document.getElementById('name').value = "<?php echo $_GET['name'];?>";
</script>

<select name="location" id="location">
  <option value="x">x</option>
  <option value="y">y</option>
</select>

<script type="text/javascript">
  document.getElementById('location').value = "<?php echo $_GET['location'];?>";
</script>