searching a table for variable values

Anon

i am using php/mysql and i am trying to search through a table that has 17 different fields. i will eventually make an html form that has 17 or less (depending on which fields i do not want to search) drop down boxes. each option will have 5 or 6 different option the user can choose from.
once they submit the form i'd like it to show them the id of the user which i have as the first field in my table.

i've been reading everything on the net about searches and i've read the forums on here too. i don't know if it's b/c i'm new to this but i just can't seem to understand how to get this accomplished.
any help would be appreciated. thanks!

Anon

Hi,

The SELECT-query can be build dynamically depending on what the user selected in the search form.
Eg.

$SQL = "SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE 1=1";
if (isset($name))
$SQL .= " AND Name = '$name'";
and so on.

The "1=1" is there so we do not end up with a faulty query if the user doesn't select a search criteria.

Johan

Anon

thanks for the quick reply. i tried that and it seems to work okay. the only problem now is that it only returns the first id of whoever meets the specified variables. i was wondering if theres any way that i could get it to list everyone in my database that meets the qualifications? thanks again

Anon

Hi,

If I understand you right you want to return, say, every person whose name matches something. If so, use a wild card. Eg.

SELECT * FROM Persons WHERE NAME LIKE '%$name%'

Johan