Output challenge

[zzz]

Ok, i have a better question this time around:

I output some results returned by a query, I put them in a table row by rinning a loop. I also separate each output row by a spacer row

foreach (blah) {
<tr>
  <td>spacer</td>
 <tr>
 <tr>
  <td>OUTPUT HERE</td>
 <tr>
}

Now, some of my results can have the same attribute recorded in db. I would like to skip spacer row while outputting results with the same parameter, so that the spacers basically separate groups rather then individual results.

How would i go about that?...

[Drakla]

Have a variable keeping track of the current group - make it a value that will never exist in the database at its creation. Order by group, and any other ordering you need in your query.

$currGroup = "GROUP THAT COULD NO POSSIBLY EXIST SO IT GETS SET ON FIRST PASS";

$q = "SELECT * FROM table ORDER BY group, name";
$db->query($q);

while ($row = $db->fetch_assoc())
{
	echo '<tr><td>';

	// now is this the FIRST element of a new group?

if ($currGroup != $row['group'])
{
	$currGroup = $row['group'];
	echo $currGroup;  // show the group name
}
else
{
	echo 'Spacer';
{

echo '</td></tr><td>', $row['name'], '</td></tr>';
}

That sort of thing

[Shrike]

You could use a GROUP BY clause in the SQL query to make things (slightly) simpler.