help! i suck at programming

[gary_greene]

using php and mysql

i constructed an sql call that works: (ie., gets records)

$query="SELECT ad_number, ad_year,ad_make,ad_model,ad_location, ad_state, ad_city, ad_price
FROM pm_ads
WHERE ad_state = 'AZ'
ORDER BY ad_year DESC";

$result= mysql_query($query);
$linkID = mysql_connect("localhost", "parkmodels", "facemouth");
$resultID = mysql_select_db("parkmodels", $linkID);
print "Error: ".mysql_errno().";Error Desc: ".mysql_error();
?>

i am carrying over a variable ad_state from the previus page with PUT and define $ad_state = ad_state
if I do a print on $ad_state it prints out AZ...
so far so good...

if I make the following line change to the code:

WHERE ad_state = $ad_state

I GET NO RECORDS (no sql error msg either) but NO RECORDS
Help please, I am such an SQL weenie...

[steved]

You probably just need to throw some quotes around your variable, so it looks like:

WHERE ad_state = '$ad_state'

[gary_greene]

for helping the mentally challenged.

i went through two my-sql books and their web site.....
in other languages you surround the variable with @[xxxx]

other use #"xxxx"

nothing like standards, huh?

i will check to see if the php manuals illustrate this.... they all
talk and use examples with literals like years = 3

in any event , it works and thank you, you did a nice thing
responding...gg

[steved]

Just to clarify things a bit (I hope). If your database column is some sort of a numeric, you don't use the quotes. If it is some sort of character column, you do use the quotes.