[RESOLVED] Building a string from a query

cavey

I have a database query that utilizes LIMIT 5, so I have 5 results. I want to build them into an array or a string so that I can pull them out later and list them, on a separate page (thus I can't just echo them)... say the variable I pull from the database is "$name" and the results are "Steve", "Mike", "Dave", "Tim", "Bob" and I want either

$string = Steve,Mike,Dave,Tim,Bob;

$string[0] = Steve
$string[1] = Mike
$string[2] = Dave
$string[3] = Tim
$string[4] = Bob

So I use:

while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($names_result)) {
$name = $row["name"];
}

but how do I concat this into a string?

$string .= $name; does not work, I only get the first value like

$string = "Steve";

Help? LOL...

halojoy

cavey wrote:
5 results.
I want to build them into an array or a string so that I can pull them out later and list them
$string[0] = Steve
$string[1] = Mike
$string[2] = Dave
$string[3] = Tim
$string[4] = Bob
//So I use:
 while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($names_result)) {
	$name = $row["name"];
   }
But how do I concat this into a string?

We make an array collect 1 value at the time into each array index.

<?php

// We use:
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($names_result)) {
    // we put the field 'name' into $data_array
    $data_array[] = $row["name"];
}

// display array contents
foreach($data_array AS $field){
    echo $field . "<br />\n";
}

Another way is to collect complete rows into array

<?php

// We use:
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($names_result)) {
    $rows_array[] = $row;
}

// is an array of rows, where each row is an array
foreach($rows_array AS $row){
    echo $row['id'] . ' - ' . $row['name'] . "<br />\n";
}

cavey

halojoy wrote:
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($names_result)) {
$rows_array[] = $row;
}

// is an array of rows, where each row is an array
foreach($rows_array AS $row){
echo $row['id'] . ' - ' . $row['name'] . "<br />\n";
}[/code]

Wouldn't the foreach loop need to be inside the while loop in order to benefit from the values of row['name']? Can you put a foreach inside a while?

halojoy

why?

there is only 1 row at each loop in while
and so need no loop inside to collect 1 row

cavey

There's one row but there should be five results from the query, and the entire point of this thread is that i am trying to concatenate those five results into one string and/or array. This would HAVE to be done inside the while loop then.

That loop says:

while this query result is valid {

this will happen and
these values will hold true
}

then these values are now null