PHP/MySQL Query and String Concatenation of row from mysql_fetch_array()

Question

This works:

$row = mysql_fetch_array($result);
$accountID = $row['accountID'];
queryMysql('INSERT INTO accounts (accountID, password) VALUES (' .
           "'$accountID'" . ', \'a\')');

But this doesn't:

$row = mysql_fetch_array($result);
queryMysql('INSERT INTO accounts (accountID, password) VALUES (' .
           $row['accountID'] . ', \'a\')');

Why?

queryMysql() is not a function and $accountID in undefined, so technically neither should work. — No Results Found
– No Results Found, Commented Jul 31, 2011 at 5:30
Ah sorry, I was using a function I made myself to make MySql queries cleaner. — Sarah Nguyen
– Sarah Nguyen, Commented Jul 31, 2011 at 22:57

Andreas Wong · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-31 05:27:21Z

2

Because you're missing another ' right before and after $row['accountId']

$row = mysql_fetch_array($result);
queryMysql('INSERT INTO accounts (accountID, password) VALUES (\'' .
           $row['accountID'] . '\', \'a\')');

If you are beginning PHP and have the required version of PHP (5.1.0) I strongly suggest you start using PDO

http://php.net/pdo

instead of the standard mysql_*

answered Jul 31, 2011 at 5:27

Andreas Wong

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2 Comments

Sarah Nguyen Over a year ago

Thanks for the PDO pointer, I'll look more into that!. Adding a single quote before and after $row['accountID'] doesn't work though - isn't that a string literal? I originally did it the second way because of w3schools.com/PHP/php_mysql_select.asp..The accountID column is type int.

Andreas Wong Over a year ago

Yes, to php that is a string literal, but when you pass in to mysql, it has to be a string literal in a string literal. If you are confused by that, start using PDO :P.

Vincent Savard · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-31 05:33:26Z

0

First, you should always tell us why it doesn't work. Only saying "it doesn't work" is really begging for getting your post ignored.

Second, the cause of the error is most likely the lack of quote, but that would only be necessary if there's another underlying problem. The type of the column accountID seems to be varchar or text. An ID should be an integer.

You have to wrap your value with quotes if it's a string, you don't if it's an integer.

answered Jul 31, 2011 at 5:33

Vincent Savard

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2 Comments

Sarah Nguyen Over a year ago

The accountID column is type int; why does it seem like it's varchar?

Vincent Savard Over a year ago

@Sarah, because it raises an error if you don't use quotes. Quotes aren't necessary for integers. Please tell us WHAT IS THE PROBLEM. Nobody wants to guess, saying "it doesn't work" is really unhelpful.

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