Total newbie - query re php / mysql outputs

Mr_Angry

Hi all,

Apologies if this has been answered previously - I did search but couldn't find anything specific to my query.

For some years I've have a website using .asp with access200? databases. I've now decided to "get with the programme" and move to a .php / mysql platform but I cannot figure out how to present the data to the end user in a more professional fashion.

My queries run fine and return the required data - but it is always presented in visible tables and rows.

There's a pint or two for anyone who can give me pointers on how to have the query returned in, for example, an address style format such as follows;

Name ** *
Occupation ***
Company ***
Address ******

Tel ********
Fax *****
Email @.
Web www.******.

I guess I need to know how to determine the layouts!?!

Many thanks in advance for any tips / pointers forum members might be able to afford me.

NogDog

It's really just an [X]HTML issue. Just one possibility would be to use an unordered list, which you could style as desired in your CSS stylesheet.

$result = mysql_query($sql);
while($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result)
{
   echo "<ul class='db_output'>\n";
   echo "<li><strong>Label 1:</strong> {$row['value1']}</li>\n";
   echo "<li><strong>Label 2:</strong> {$row['value2']}</li>\n";
   // and so forth...
   echo "<li><strong>Label N:</strong> {$row['valueN']}</li>\n";
   echo "</ul>\n";
}

Mr_Angry

Many thanks for this - your advice and explanation has gone quite some way to helping me understand where my difficulty lies.

I very much appreciate your help.

If I am to use the above example where do I place that particular piece of code?

NogDog

Well, the while loop that outputs the HTML would need to go at the point in your page where you want that text to actually be. The query line before it would just have to be anywhere before that point.

Mr_Angry

<?php
// Connects to your Database
mysql_connect("**", "*", "*") or die(mysql_error());
mysql_select_db("***") or die(mysql_error());
$data = mysql_query("SELECT FROM users")
or die(mysql_error());
$result = mysql_query($sql);
while($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result)
{
echo "<ul class='db_output'>\n";
echo "<li>*: {$row['**']}</li>\n";
echo "<li>: {$row['***']}</li>\n";
// and so forth...
echo "<li>Label N: {$row['valueN']}</li>\n";
echo "</ul>\n";
}
?>

I still cant get this to work and am getting "Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '{' " which is referencing the first "{" above. Any ideas?

NogDog

You need a ")" at the end of the "while" condition. (The ")" that ends that line is for the mysql_fetch_assoc() function call, but you need another one to close the while() condtion.)

Mr_Angry

OK, done that and kept getting the same error until I removed the '{}' parenthesis. I now have the following:

$result = mysql_query($sql);
while($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result))
echo "<ul class='db_output'>\n";
echo "<li>Name: {$row['Name']}</li>\n";
echo "<li>Company: {$row['Company']}</li>\n";
echo "<li>Email: {$row['Email']}</li>\n";
echo "</ul>\n";
?>

But now I'm getting the error message:

Warning: mysql_fetch_assoc(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in **************.php on line 16
- Name:
- Company:
- Email:

Any ideas on this or developments since our email exchange?

Thanks, yet again.

NogDog

You have two separate mysql_query statements, the first with a string literal SQL statement, the second using the undefined variable $sql:

$data = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM users")
or die(mysql_error());
$result = mysql_query($sql);

Just get rid of the second one, and assign the result of the first to the $result variable:

$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM users") or die(mysql_error());

Mr_Angry

You are a God!