The "Right" Way

[aksival]

Another question about mySQL:

If you have an ID field that is unique, and you retrieve a row based on that ID, is it considered correct/proper to assume that the row attribute in mysql_result() is always going to be 0?

For example:

$query = "SELECT * FROM table WHERE id=1234";
$result = mysql_query($query);
$a = mysql_result($result, 0, "field");
$b = mysql_result($result, 0, "field2");
$c = mysql_result($result, 0, "field3");

Is it just me, or does this seem like a "dirty" practice?

[toplay]

I don't like using mysql_result() at all, but some do.

There are two examples in this post of how to retrieve data from MySQL:
http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showpost.php?p=10648003&postcount=4

Some think that when you do an SQL where there's an expression/calculation that perhaps returns one value back that you have to use mysql_result(). But that's not the case. You can specify the 'AS' keyword in the SQL and so you can still use mysql_fetch_assoc().

Use the 'AS' MySQL keyword to name what you want the result data column to be called. That name will be used as the index key of the associative array. Here's an example:

$sql = "SELECT MAX(price) AS highest_price FROM inventory";
$result = mysql_query($sql);
if (!$result) {
    // Handle error 
    echo 'Query failed. SQL: ', $sql, ' Error: ', mysql_error();
    exit;
}
$row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result);
if (!$row)
    echo 'No data returned';
else
    echo 'The highest price is $', $row['highest_price']; // name used in the 'AS'

[aksival]

Although I've used PHP for quite some time, I've never bothered to venture into the world of databases until the other day.

It doesn't seem too difficult at all, so far. I have a good book and a lot of good online resources that help a lot. I have noticed, however, that most of them use mysql_result() to retrieve information from the query (whether it be one item or a list of items). I noticed that you said:

I don't like using mysql_result() at all, but some do.

Is it bad practice to use mysql_result()? Also, what might be the benefits of using mysql_fetch_assoc() as an alternative? mysql_fetch_assoc() seems more complicated from what I've researched, but I am sure that it has pros and cons, too.

I am very interested in learning more about mySQL, so any thoughts/explainations/recommendations are appreciated.

Best regards,
aksival

[laserlight]

If you have an ID field that is unique, and you retrieve a row based on that ID, is it considered correct/proper to assume that the row attribute in mysql_result() is always going to be 0?

Yes, assuming that the row in question exists.

Is it just me, or does this seem like a "dirty" practice?

If you're referring to the use of mysql_result(), I'd say that it depends. If you only have need of a single column in the result set, then it makes sense to use mysql_result(). If you want to retrieve multiple columns, then you should consider mysql_fetch_assoc(), mysql_fetch_array() or mysql_fetch_row().