HELP!? Query

saint4

$acti=getSqlRow("SELECT * FROM crib_users WHERE active='1'");

The problem is every users has a main pic. when they login they are set to active (1) when they logoff they are set not active (0).

How do i display random online users, i have no clue and i've just tried everything i can think of which aint much.

If there are 4 people logged in. they it should show 4 different pics which is found from the 'picpath' in the table crib_users.

If theres 8 people then it can show any 4 pics.

Thanks for any help.

cornercuttinjoe

well, it kind of depends.

here is probably the easiest solution:

perform a query to get all of the user_names / user_names that are logged in.

then just load these ids/names into an array, and generate a random number between 0 and sizeof(array of names). once you get 4 unique names from that array, spit them out.

here is the pseudocode/some code:

$query = "SELECT DISTINCT * FROM crib_users WHERE active='1'";
$user_array = array();
$i = 0;
$result = @mysql_query($query);
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
$user_array[$i] = $row['user_name'];
$i++;
}

//here is where it will get a little tricky.  you will want unique numbers, 
//so if you get the same random number twice, you will have to disregard
//the second one.
$i = 0;
$rand_array = array();
while ($i < 4)
{
$random_num = rand(0, count($user_array));

if (!array_search($random_num, $rand_array))
{
  $rand_array[$i] = $random_num;
  $i++;
}

}

so at the end, the $rand_array should contain 4 unique user names. then do what you want with it.

hope you see where i was going with that. hope it helps.

saint4

:bemused:
thank you.

Will it work like that?

saint4

i dont know what i'm doing please help

cornercuttinjoe

try it out dude. from the looks of what i wrote, i think it should work.

plug it into your page, and just keep using the echo to output what the code is doing, and run it through.

you can do it. just tinker with it for a little while. if it gives you errors, post em up here.

dont be afraid to run the code. tell us what the output is.

if it doesnt work, say so. but also try to figure it out. use the php.net documentation to look up on array searching and the random number function. i just wrote that off of the top of my head, after looking at the random number page, so it cant be too complicated.

give it a try. im glad to help, but you have to post what is happening when you try it.

saint4

Thanks for your help i sorted it out.

I ended up using bits and pieces from the code you gave. Thanks. 🙂

One more question if you dont mind.

I got the users displayed alright.

so now i'm doing a page where the users other pics show. but i can only get it to display them in a column or a row.
how would i make it so i can get 3 pics in one row and the other 3 pics in a different row?

Thanks in advance for any help

saint4

sorry forgot to add that.

andrewm

If you don't forsee having that many people online at any given time, you could also try something like:

select *, MD5(RAND(NOW())) as SortRand from crib_users where active='1' order by SortRand limit 4

saint4

k thanks.

how do i display the output in 2 rows with 3 pics in each row (FOR EXAMPLE)