A little new to databases

[markmil2002]

I want to do a loop to go through my database and search for all the users that re online. How can I do this

[drawmack]

we can't tell you if we don't know the layout of your database or how you're deciding who's online

[markmil2002]

Well when the users sign on I have a variable that will be set to true. lets call in OnLine for this lesson. With the variable set to true, I need a way to search through a table organized by screennames to display an unordered list of who is online.

[jdiver]

What is the structure of the table where you want to pull the online info? Is it a table where you're storing sessions?

It's going to be something like:

$sql = "SELECT * 
FROM session_table
WHERE is_online = 1
ORDER BY rand()";

The "ORDER BY rand()" will give you the "unordered" list you want. That's the best I can do without any real details or specifics.

[drawmack]

Originally posted by markmil2002
Well when the users sign on I have a variable that will be set to true. lets call in OnLine for this lesson. With the variable set to true, I need a way to search through a table organized by screennames to display an unordered list of who is online.

And how do you know when they are offline? What if they don't click the log off button? How long since their last post will they be logged in for? Does your table have a timestamp fields that is updated everytime they click on a link so you know the last time they had activity on your site? These are the kinds of things we need to know, along with the structure of the table you're searching in.