1 table, 3 fields, check True/False existence of 1 id therein

[ATS16805]

My PROBLEM:
i have a single table where i need to determine if 3 separate columns within that table might contain a single id#.

in other words, i need to verify the true or false existence of a particular piece of data from every row of all three separate fields (columns), each contained within the same table.

So FAR, FAILURE:
i have searched http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en and http://www.php.net/manual/en/ but my failure to find what i need thus far really comes down to my lack of knowledge of many MySQL functions other than SELECT, INSERT, and UPDATE.

i thought i might have been onto something looking at MySQL subqueries, but i'm really unsure-- and are subqueries only supported in MysQL 5? i'm using 4.1. i'm testing, but no luck yet.

if you can tell me which PHP function and / or MySQL function i'm looking for, i can most likely get it from there. i figure this is a fairly common need in an application...?

SUPPLEMENTAL COMMENTARY:
incidentally, some of those fields / rows (cells?) hold duplicate entries as they are the id #'s of artists in my concert event scheduler.

so, just like squares and rectangles...
every field and row entry contains an id referencing an artist, but not every artist is referenced therein. i need to check an artist ID against those table fields so i can use IF logic to determine whether i tell my user that the artist has concerts, or that the artist isn't scheduled for any performances.

man, every time i come here, i feel like i've "given up" on my own research. i don't mean to misuse this forum! It's difficult to stay away when i know such help is within reach. thanks!

[coreyp_1]

perhaps something like:

SELECT whatever_field_you_want 
  FROM the_table_in_question
  WHERE (column1 = id)
    OR (column2 = id)
    OR (column3 = id)

as always, indenting is optional

[ATS16805]

hmph. i didn't realize i practically "double-posted" this topic[1]... well, sorta.

anyway, if you look there, you'll see that i found a "solution" at the MySQL.com community forum. i have been delaying marking it "resolved" because i want to be sure first that it does in fact solve my problem. so far, i haven't been able to get the page to work right, and i'm not sure if it's superficial code or what is causing the problem. i'd like to try what you've proposed first as well, as it seems very similar, although not identical to the other query, which uses the IN MySQL syntax specifier instead of OR-- but basically seems as if it would accomplish the same result in this circumstance.

[1]goes to show, too much red bull and "metabolic fat burner" supplements can cause a man to have a little "too much" focus in his hocus-pocus.
🙂