Finding the number of entries in a DB

[Anon]

I have created a forum on my site and I need a way to find out how many entries there has been per topic. Something like this but I do not know how to work it:

$SQL="SELECT COUNT(*) FROM thread WHERE topic='1'";
I know this must work but I do not know how to get the value, so if anyone could help it would be appreciated. Thanks.

Victor
[e-mail]

[rrijnders]

What database are you using?
What is the db schema for your forums?
What do you mean when you say you don't know how to "get" the value?