mysql_result() vs. mysql_fetch_row() when needing to compare to previous/next rows?

[khyron]

Sorry if this is a total n00b question, I searched a bit and couldn't find an authoritative answer though (or perhaps I'm not understanding the functions, always a possibility!).

I'm getting a result from a mySQL query and as I loop through the results, I need to make a comparison to one field in the row before and one field in the row after my current row. I need to do this to accomplish something I desire in my output, a background color that changes for a whole table row.

Right now I have working code, but it makes use exclusively of mysql_result(). I know that this is somewhat more expensive/slower than using mysql_fetch_row() or the other "whole row at a time" options available to me. However because those "whole row" options always seem to move the data pointer in the query result object, I'm not sure if I can use them due to my requirement about peeking at the previous and following rows.

Any suggestions?

[leatherback]

Hm.. Not sure what you mean with looking at the previous and next rows? I am fairly sure that you can do this with a normal loop, and 'keeping in mind' what you already know.

You \mind showing an example?

[laserlight]

You could cache the previous row result.

[khyron]

laserlight wrote:

You could cache the previous row result.

That's an excellent suggestion. Do you mean anything specific by "cache" or just to basically store the row's data in an array that's scoped outside the loop, so that the next time through the loop I can refer back to that array for the values of the row I previously snagged?

[laserlight]

It depends. If you really only want the previous row's data, then just store that. If you want everything, then store everything.