Ad Rotator with Admin Value

[rlafountain]

Hello everyone. I have been looking long and hard for a very simple ad rotator with administrative value. So that the more weight you put on the value (the higher the number) the more often that ad is displayed. I believe I have come up with successful code and I was just wondering if anyone would take the time to either help me test it and/or provide me with some type of feedback on it.

Thank you,
Ryan

PHP Code:

 function total_ads(){
    $total = 0;
    $sql = "SELECT * FROM ads WHERE 1=1";
    $result = mysql_query($sql);
    if (!$result){
        echo mysql_error();
        die;
    }
    while ($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result)){
        $admin_dist = $row['admin_value'];
        $total = $total + $admin_dist;
    }
    return $total;
}
function pick_ad(){
    $total = total_ads();
    $low_num = 0;
    $sql = "SELECT * FROM ads WHERE 1=1";
    $result = mysql_query($sql);
    $rand = rand(0, $total);
    while ($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result)){
        $this_admin_dist = $row['admin_value'];
        if ($rand >= $low_num && $rand < ($low_num + $this_admin_dist)){
            return $row['adid'];
        }else{
            $low_num = $low_num + $this_admin_dist;
        }
    }
}  

[Weedpacket]

The total_ads() function could be simplified:

function total_ads()
{
 $sql = 'select sum(*) from ads';
 $result = mysql_query($sql);
 if(!$result)
 {
  // Something nicer than the following
  // would be preferable for real-world
  // deployment
  die(mysql_error());
 }
 return mysql_result($result,0);
}

[rlafountain]

Yes I figured that out yesterday. Also, I think the random function needs to have a minimum of 1 and the low_num has to also start at 1.

Let me know your thoughts on this if you get a chance.

Thanks,
Ryan