Getting resource instead of number as a result of count(column_name)

Question

I'm trying to get the number of columns from a table :

$query = "select count(column_name) from information_schema.columns where table_name = '".$tableName."'";
$columns = pg_query($query);
echo $columns;

but instead of number I get a mysterious Resource id #61.
Converting to other types like string or int doesn't help.

The syntax is $result = pg_query($conn, "SELECT author, email FROM authors"); as per the manual php.net/manual/en/function.pg-query.php — Funk Forty Niner
– Funk Forty Niner, Commented Oct 8, 2013 at 14:56
@Fred-ii- First argument is optional, so your comment gives nothing in that case. — Elon Than
– Elon Than, Commented Oct 8, 2013 at 14:59
@ElonThan: it's optional, true, but it's worth using, as I explained (or rather, touched on) in my answer — Elias Van Ootegem
– Elias Van Ootegem, Commented Oct 8, 2013 at 15:07

Elias Van Ootegem · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-08 15:03:13Z

2

pg_query returns a resource to the query result, to get the actual rows, you can use any of the pg_fetch_* functions, such as pg_fetch_assoc

All this is well documented on php.net/pg_query. Look at the functions' signature:

resource pg_query ([ resource $connection ], string $query )
//return type function name (params)

Hence, what you need is:

$result = pg_query($query);
$columns = pg_fetch_all($result);
var_dump($columns);

Also, please get into the habit of passing the connection resource to the pg_query call explicitly... there's no telling what connection you're using, when working on a sizeable project, with multiple connections.

answered Oct 8, 2013 at 15:03

Elias Van Ootegem

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Elon Than · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-08 15:01:43Z

1

pg_query() returns resource and it's correct behaviour. You can check it in manual (what you definitely should do anyway).

To get rows from that resource you can use functions like pg_fetch_all() or pg_fetch_row(). Read about both and decide which one will be better in that case.

answered Oct 8, 2013 at 15:01

Elon Than

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A. Zalonis · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-08 15:14:08Z

-1

You can try this

$query = "SHOW COLUMNS FROM '".$tableName."' ";
$result= pg_query($query);

if (!$result) {
  echo "An error occurred.\n";
  exit;
}
$i = 1;
while ($row = pg_fetch_row($result)) {
  echo "Column[$i] names: ".$row[0]."";
  echo "<br />";
  $i++;
}

echo "Column Count: ".$i;

answered Oct 8, 2013 at 15:14

A. Zalonis

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