PHP can only loop through 280 mysql UPDATES - HELP

[byroncoolie]

Thanks in advance all.

I have an AJAX list sorting script that loops through an array and changes the 'position' field in a db table. This works great until the number of records in the array exceeds 280.
I'm trying to work out how to overcome this.

A time delay usleep() does not help.
Perhaps I need to count the records and split the operation of the function into blocks of 280.
Perhaps I need to open a database connection then close it and open it again after 280 records.

Here is the script:
foreach ($_GET['listItem'] as $position => $item){
$sql = "UPDATE $dbProd SET position = '$position' WHERE id = '$item'";
mysql_query($sql) or die(mysql_error());
$query .= $sql;
}
print_r ($query);

[bradgrafelman]

What happens if you do a [man]print_r/man on $_GET['listItem']? Do you see as many elements as you should (e.g. more than 280)?

Since URIs are restricted in terms of how long they can be, it's possible that the remaining items are lost when the URI is truncated.