PHP queries for an HTML search form...

SteveW

Hey all,

I seem to be stuck with a logic problem.

How do i go about coding the php for 'dynamic' sql queries as a result of user selections on a form:

ie: search options are:

general keyword search(%$keyword%)
records begininng with keyword ($keyword%)
records ending with keyword (%$keyword)
records greater than a certain length
records less than a certain length
etc.

different concept but this is the type of search form I'm talking about: http://www.whois.sc/ (click domain explorer)

I can design the form no problem ;-P but passing this to a script and determining the query string has me lost.

Any pointers, advice?

thanks!

Pig

In order to get multiple keywords, you can mash the words into SQL format fairly easily. The left and right anchors, and the other fancy stuff requires regex, and is much more complicated. Search the manual for regex.

SteveW

Thanks for the reply. I could've been more clear 🙂

What I'm actually talking about is a way to build the query dynamically. I can code every query that I mentioned BUT building the correct combination from the user selections is leaving me stumped.

ie. user chooses records containing the word "keyword" that is no longer than 15 characters and has no numbers in it.

the query would be for those specs.

if they chose 'with numbers' that would be a different query built.

Would this just be a series of if statements to account for all the permutations and you would build the query statement that way or...?

hope that clarifies a bit.

S.

Somedays I wonder if english IS my first language.

Pig

Well, that's just a matter of if/else. Build your core query (SELECT * FROM TABLE WHERE), and then go through each option, building on the string. When you are done, run it. How your control structure should look is specific to what exactly you are allowing. No one can answer you the specifics for a general question. Once you get stumped, you should post a new question with the exact details.