storing variables in database

sethcox

In my mySQL database I have, say, $lastName stored. I define $lastName in my script.

I pull that field from the database and assign it a variable and then try to echo that variable - it echos $lastName instead of the actual assignment to that variable.

Any idea how I can get php to parse variables stored in a database for printing or emailing?

Thanks!

willmullis

Please post the code you wrote because it sound a little fishy

lanjoky

Can you post your code so we can see where this is happening ... thanks

sethcox

Sorry, hope this helps:

while ($myrow = mysql_fetch_assoc($get_omte_info))
    		  			 {
							 	 $omte_number = $myrow["omte_number"];
								 $omte_type = $myrow["omte_type"];
								 $omte_dte = $myrow["omte_dte"];
								 $omte_location = $myrow["omte_location"];
								 $omte_details = $myrow["omte_details"];
								 $omte_directions = $myrow["omte_directions"];
								 $omte_poc = $myrow["omte_poc"];
								 $omte_email_to_user = $myrow["omte_email_to_user"];
								 $omte_email_to_poc = $myrow["omte_email_to_poc"];
							 	 }

What is stored in the field omte_email_to_poc is this:

$firstName $lastName has registered for the $omte_type OMTE $omte_dte with the following information:\n\n$firstName $lastName\n$address\n$city, $state $zipcode\n$email\n\nIn the event that you do not receive this registrant\'s security information, the above is their contact information in case you would like to contact them to receive it.

Then, I have:

 

echo"$omte_email_to_poc";

and I get:

Instead of the correct variables. BTW, those variables have been assigned and if I echo them directly to the screen without pulling them from the database, it works fine.

Thanks!

kevinsequeira

try

echo $$omte_email_to_poc;

instead of

echo"$omte_email_to_poc";

reg
kevin

sethcox

That returns blank - nothing at all prints.

willmullis

I would be that if you looked in the database you are gonna see the text $omte_email_to_poc in the database. That simply won't work.

sethcox

Well, yeah, that's what I put in the example above. There must be a way to be able to store variables in a database and retrieve them.

OhLordy

You store the contents of the varaible rather than the variable itself.
HTH
Rob

sethcox

But the contents will change based on the person who logs in. I can't store the contents.

Here's what Im trying to do. I have multiple conferences to set up. Each conference, when someone registers to attend it, will send out a thank you email to the person registering and an email to the POC. However, each email is unique to the conference. I just need to put in the emails the registrant's name. Without using a database for this, how could I take the ID of the conference they are signing up for, and send an email using that ID without hard-coding it - which with many many conferences and only web-based administration would be impossible.

Thanks!

OhLordy

Database Way
Three tables, One called users, one called confreneces and one called users on conferences.

CREATE TABLE users (
user_id INT(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
email_address VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL)
TYPE=MyISAM;

CREATE TABLE conferences (
conference_id INT(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
name VARCAHR(255) NOT NULL,
email_body TEXT NOT NULL,
description TEXT NOT NULL)
TYPE=MyISAM;

CREATE TABLE users_on_conferences (
unique_id INT(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
user_id INT(11) NOT NULL,
conference_id INT(11) NOT NULL)
TYPE=MyISAM;

All your users go in the users table all your conferences go in the conferences table. Then if any users are going on a particular conference you put their user_id and the conference_id in the 'link' table.

Flat File Method
You could also do it with just the users tables and the users on conferences table and then have the email body stuff in a flat file with a name which is linked to the unique id of the conference eg

<?
$fp=fopen("./email_body/conference".$conf_id.".txt","r");
?>

HTH
Rob