Retain HTML tags in output--HELP!

Anon

I need to pull data from a MYSQL database while keeping the HTML tags like "<BR>" intact.
In other words, I don't want the output to create a line break, I want to have the output print the "<BR>" that is in the database. What do I put into my PHP page to make this happen?
I have tried to look this up in the manual, but I can't figure it out.

Thanks!

Anon

htmlentities() and htmlspecialchars()

Anon

Hey Kirk,

Those are the ones I tried to use. Problem is I know just about nothing when it comes to where to put it and where to put brackets, commas, whatever....to make it work.

Lets say the "employee_bio" field is the field where I need to retain the tags--what is the precise syntax to use and where do I use it? Mucho thanks in advance.
-Andrew

<HEAD>

<TITLE>My Employees Output Page</TITLE>
<body><font face="verdana, arial" size="1"><?PHP
$db = mysql_connect("localhost", "username", "password");

mysql_select_db("employees",$db);

$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM employees ORDER BY employeeID",$db);

do {
print $row["employeeID"];
print (";");
print ("employee_bio");
} while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result));
?></font>
</body>

Anon

You don't need to retain the tags in the database; they
already are there. What you need is to transform them
when you display it on the browser.

So just say:

  print htmlentitles($row['employeeID']);

However, though you didn't ask, your code can't possibly
work right the way you've got it--did you perhaps leave
something out when transferring it here?

  $result = mysql_query(
    "SELECT * FROM employees ORDER BY mployeeID");
  do {
    print $row["employeeID"];

At this point, the first time through the loop, you haven't retrieved any
rows yet. Do-while is almost always the wrong choice; yes there are
a few cases where it's really needed, but people tend to use it far
more often than warranted. You really need to say:

  while ($row = @mysql_fetch_array($result));
  {
    print htmlentities($row['employeeID']);

Anon

Kirk,

I'm sure you are right, I know VERY little about PHP. I've just been hacking away, using an inefficient method of countless trial and error. The PHP manual just makes me hyperventilate when I try to grasp the overload of information. The code I pasted in the message is outputting what I want, although I'm sure it's not the conventional way of doing it. I will try using what you listed and see what happens. By the way, if you know any PHP guru in the Chicago area that is willing to do freelance work offsite, please let me know. This stuff is way out of my league and it's taking up too much of my time that could be better spent on other tasks.
-Thanks for the help, by the way.