query help - no records returned

[mattastic]

Hi I have the following query, but if no records are returned I want to echo out the appropriate message, but it doesn't work.

Can anyone help?

thankyou

$link_id = db_connect();

$query = "SELECT * FROM tblstaff;";

$result = mysql_query($query);

if(!$result) error_message(sql_error());

while ($myrow = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {
echo " <option value='". $myrow[staffID] ."'>" . $myrow["staffFirstName"] . " " . $myrow["staffSurname"] . "</option>"; 
}
else{
echo "no staff present";
} 

[Crowly]

Something like this might do the trick

$link_id = db_connect(); 

#count number of rows
$query="select * from tblstaff";
$result=mysql_query($query,$link);
$num=mysql_num_rows($result);
if ($num>0) #if $num=0 the table is empty
{
  $query = "SELECT * FROM tblstaff;"; 
  $result = mysql_query($query); 
  while ($myrow = mysql_fetch_array($result)) 
  { 
    echo " <option value='". $myrow[staffID] ."'>" . $myrow["staffFirstName"] . " " . $myrow["staffSurname"] . "</option>"; 
  }
}
else echo "no staff present"; 
mysql_free_result($result);