I like the PEAR::DB abstraoction library for this: It's easy to use, and gives you a lot of options on how you can get data back.
You can find more info at http://pear.php.net/manual/en/package.database.db.php There are also a bunch of tutorials, but here's everything you need to make it work. (You will need the PEAR library in your path -- it usually is by default.) <?php // Include the PEAR DB Abstraction class require_once('DB.php'); // Set the values for your DSN $dsn = "mysql://user:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/database"; // Instantiate the class $objDB = DB::Connect($dsn); /* Tell PearDB to set the FetchMode to an Associative Array * Other possibilites are: * DB_FETCHMODE_ORDERED - Ordered Array * DB_FETCHMODE_OBJECT - Object * More Info: http://pear.php.net/manual/en/package.database.db.db-common.setfetchmode.php */ $objDB->setMode(DB_FETCHMODE_ASSOC); // Limit query, just to be sure we're getting one row. $sql = "SELECT something FROM tablename WHERE a = '".$a."' LIMIT 0,1"; // Since we know we're getting a single value, we can use the getRow() method. $result = $objDB->getRow($sql); var_dump($result); ?> Output: array('something' => 'your value'); Setmode lets you choose what you want back in the way of data. You can choose from Ordered Array, Associative Array and Object. I really hate this thing -- I think it's a stupid way to have to get data out of a query: while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result) ) { $x = $row['x']; } With PEAR::DB, you can just do: $result = $objDB->getAll($sql); You get the whole dataset back in an Array or an Object... no fuss, no muss. I left out some error checking for clarity, but it's always a good idea to check for errors like this: $result = $objDB->query($sql); if (PEAR::isError($result)) { // do something } -Jeromie >03292005 1506 GMT-6 > >Ok. This might be a odd question to some but, in my learning of the user >of php with mysql, this is how I learned to get values... > >$sql = "SELECT x FROM tablename WHERE a = '".$a."'"; > $result = mysql_query($sql); > while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result) ) { > $x = $row['x']; > } > >What I want to know is, if I am just getting ONE result back, can I >write this differently? I have used this for so long to get all results >that I never thought to ask. > >Wade > > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > >The PHP_mySQL group is dedicated to learn more about the PHP_mySQL web >database possibilities through group learning. >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > The PHP_mySQL group is dedicated to learn more about the PHP_mySQL web database possibilities through group learning. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/php_mysql/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
