Collating all results

[freelance84]

Hi,

I've been learning PHP/MySQL over the past few weeks from a book.
I've now created sql database and some php scripts that can retrieve, add and delete content from all the different tables within them.

One of the tables has one field named 'answers', this a VARCHAR(200) and contains strings of text/numbers.

What I want to be able to do is query the entire table into one array, then use the shuffle() function to randomly select one answer.

Here's my code so far (appears after a radio button form):
if (isset($_POST['q1']))
{$selected = $_POST['q1'];

$query = "SELECT * FROM m$selected";
$result = mysql_query($query);
if (!$result) die ("Database access failed: " . mysql_error());

$test=mysql_fetch_field($result);

print_r ($test);
}

Surely print_r($test); should display an array of all the entries from the table?

This is what i get from the FETCH:
"Warning: mysql_fetch_field(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource"

[Schmoopy]

The query itself is invalid "m$selected" is the problem, also you are using "mysql_fetch_field" which will get information about the current field, but I don't think that's what you want.

This is what I think you're after:

<?php

if (isset($_POST['q1'])) {
 $selected = $_POST['q1'];

    $query = "SELECT * FROM `{$selected}`";
    // As long as $selected is a valid fieldname

    $result = mysql_query($query);
    if(!$result)
     die(mysql_error());

    else {
     while($data = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {
        echo $data['FIELDNAME_HERE'] . '<br />';
     }
    }
}
?>

Should work.

[freelance84]

Ahh, I see. Thanks Schmoopy!

I found another way too using the rand() function which eliminates the need for the shuffle() function;

if (isset($_POST['q1']))
{$selected = $_POST['q1'];

$query = "SELECT * FROM $selected";
$result = mysql_query($query);
if (!$result) die ("Database access failed: " . mysql_error());

$row = mysql_num_rows($result);
$rowa =$row - 1;

$rows = mysql_result($result,rand(0,$rowaa));

print_r ($rows);
}

Can't believe how much there is to learn to writing websites!
Thanks for you help