Reply To: Insert data in to the textbox in PHP

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i have started MYSQLi . but the problem my all colleagues are using mysql and as i am new. i may ask you some fullish questions while learning.

No problem. And if your job requires you to learn the mysql_ functions, then, of course, you should learn them. Even if that is the case, however, you’ll definitely be better off learning mysqli/pdo also. : )

i use mysqli . Do i need to config any file or else i can use it directly as per the syntax given in the manual

You may put your database credentials (host, username, etc.) in your php.ini file, but no: you are not required to. You may provide the credentials in your code like normal.

MySQLi has a very similar process to the old mysql_ functions. In addition to having individual functions, it also supports objects. Personally, I find objects much easier to work with, though they are a change from functional programming. For example, instead of something like this:

// connect
$db = mysqli_connect( 'host','username','password','db_name' );
if( ! $db ){ /*  error: unable to connect  */ }

// write your sql with _placeholders_
$sql = "select something from my_table where this=?";

// make a _prepared statement_ from your sql
$stmt = mysqli_prepare( $db,$sql );

//  this attaches the data that goes with the query
//  (in place of the "?"), 
// but mysql will know it is _data_, so there is no security risk
mysqli_stmt_bind_param( $stmt,'s',$_GET['this'] );

// execute (send) the statement
mysql_stmt_execute( $stmt );

// get the results
mysqli_stmt_bind_results( $stmt,$something );
mysqli_stmt_fetch( $stmt );

// $something now holds the value from the DB
echo $something;

You could use the object oriented way:

// connect
$db = new mysqli( 'host','username','password','db_name );
if( $db->connect_errno ){ /*  error: unable to connect  */ }

// prepare your statement
$sql = "select something from my_table where this=?";
$stmt = $db->prepare( $sql );

// bind your data to the parameters ("?")
$stmt->bind_param( 's',$_GET['this'] );

// execute (send) the statement
$stmt->execute();

// get the results
$stmt->bind_result( $something );
$stmt->fetch();

echo $something;

I prefer using PDO to MySQLi (it streamlines parts of this process, and you can use named parameters (like this=:this instead of this=?)), but PDO has no functions (it’s all objects, like my second example above). If you are willing to work with objects, I’d recommend PDO instead of MySQLi; but I can help you with either.