Naming a php variable using the result of a database query

Posted by kreutz on November 26, 2008, 5:05 pm

Please log in for more thread options

Newbie post...

My MySQL database table holds the names and values of variables that
I'd like to define and use in php. I can write php by hand, e.g.
$var1 = fdfgdfjg
$var2 = skdfsf
etc.
but I wonder instead if there a way to query the table, obtain the
variable name (which is stored in the table along with the value), and
automatically/quickly create a series of correctly named php variables
(instead of by hand, as above).

Is this possible? Does it even make sense?!

Many thanks in advance, Tom Kreutz

Posted by A.Reader on November 26, 2008, 5:21 pm

Please log in for more thread options

On Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:05:16 -0800 (PST),

show/hide quoted text

Yes, it's both possible and sensible.

$dset = mysql_query( 'DESCRIBE tablename' ) ;
$temp = array ;
while ( $rec = mysql_fetch_assoc( $dset ) )
{
$temp[] = $rec ['Name'] ;
// it might not be 'Name', you'll have to look
}

extract( $temp ) ;

Follow that?

Posted by A.Reader on November 26, 2008, 5:25 pm

Please log in for more thread options

On Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:21:28 -0500,

show/hide quoted text

I looked: the identifier field is called 'Field', not 'Name'

Posted by kreutz on November 26, 2008, 5:29 pm

Please log in for more thread options

Thanks for your marvelously rapid and detailed reply! It doesn't make
sense to me yet, but I suspect that it will after I dig in and do some
learning. Tom

Posted by A.Reader on November 27, 2008, 5:22 am

Please log in for more thread options

On Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:29:11 -0800 (PST),

show/hide quoted text

You're welcome. As it turns out, I was in a rush and didn't
remember the process quite correctly. This is correctly:

// DESCRIBE yields a dataset in which each record
// gives all the information about one of the fields in the
// table being described: Field, Type, Null, Key, Default,
// and Extra
$dset = mysql_query( 'DESCRIBE tablename' ) ;

// you'll need a temporary array for extract() to work from
$temp = array() ;

// take each of the fields returned by DESCRIBE
while ( $rec = mysql_fetch_assoc( $dset ) )
{
        // and use the field-name value as the key
        // in the temp array, which is what extract
        // will be looking for.
        $temp[ $rec ['Field'] ]= 'foo' ;
}

// now call extract(), who takes every key in temp
// and turns it into a variable, assigning it whatever
// nominal value ('foo', in this case) you used when
// setting up temp
extract( $temp ) ;

// and you're done.