create PHP Variables from data in a table

Question

I have a table called global_settings with 2 columns (field, value)

i need a way to make each row a variable

so for example:

is field = title and value = hello i would need:

$title = 'hello';

I have tried doing this:

$global_sql="SELECT * from global_settings ";
$global_rs=mysql_query($global_sql,$conn) or die(mysql_error());
while($global_result=mysql_fetch_array($global_rs))
{
    $global_sql2="SELECT * from global_settings where field =  '".$global_result["field"]."' ";
    $global_rs2=mysql_query($global_sql2,$conn) or die(mysql_error());
    $global_result2=mysql_fetch_array($global_rs2);

    $global_result2["field"] = $global_result2["value"];
}

but that didn't work - any ideas?

This is easy to do as an array - $global_settings[$field] = $value. Do you really need to make them specific variables? — andrewsi
– andrewsi, Commented Jul 26, 2013 at 19:44
i need to be able to echo the variables- for example a website title and email address but more may be added by the user — charlie
– charlie, Commented Jul 26, 2013 at 19:46
In your code, you could use $config[$global_result2["field"]] = $global_result2["value"]; - just replace the last line of your loop with that. You should also initialise the value of $config before the loop, too. — andrewsi
– andrewsi, Commented Jul 26, 2013 at 19:46
mysql_* functions are deprecated and shouldn't be used anymore. Use mysqli or PDO instead. Why doing a second query? You already have both the fields and the values. — Jim Martens
– Jim Martens, Commented Jul 26, 2013 at 19:48

Marc B · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-26 19:46:36Z

4

I strongly suggest you do not auto-create variables from your DB. You'll be littering your script's namespace with potentially useless variables, and probably overwriting other variables you DID want to keep separate. Do it as you are - store the settings in an array.

Plus, unless I'm totally misreading your code, there's absolutely no reason for the sub-query. A simple:

$settings = array();
$sql = "SELECT field, value FROM settings"
$result = mysql_query($sql) or die(mysql_error());
while($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($result)) {
   $settings[$row['field']] = $row['value'];
}

is all you need to grab all of the settings.

answered Jul 26, 2013 at 19:46

Marc B

362k44 gold badges433 silver badges508 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

3 Comments

Pascamel Over a year ago

oops i wrote my answer while you wrote yours, sorry :)

charlie Over a year ago

how do i echo just one row?

Marc B Over a year ago

echo $settings['foo']?

Jim Martens · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-26 19:51:27Z

0

This line will not create a variable named after the value for field.

$global_result2["field"] = $global_result2["value"];

You can create an array variable, for example:

$array_of_results[ $global_result2["field"] ] = $global_result2["value"];

This way you will have the following array:

[ 'field' => 'value' ]

edited Jul 26, 2013 at 19:51

Jim Martens

3591 gold badge4 silver badges13 bronze badges

answered Jul 26, 2013 at 19:47

Pascamel

9536 gold badges18 silver badges28 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

create PHP Variables from data in a table

2 Answers 2

3 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

3 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related