mySQL Database Querying Functions

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I have constructed the following three functions (an architecture, if you will) to help ease the "workings" with a mySQL database. They mitigate the need for a PHP object to be created, and instead SQL can be passed as a string to these functions. The following explains each function's specific use:

  1. q(STRING, int [0/1 optional]) (placing a "1" as the second parameter will put you in "debug" mode to help you find where a query fails)

    2. This function is best used to query the database for multiple fields. It returns an associative array (with the indexes being the NAME of the database field). For example you could execute the following code: 

    $recordset = q("SELECT fldName, fldPhoneNumber
                      FROM tblPersons LIMIT 20");

    This would retrieve up to 20 names and phone numbers from the tblPersons table and store the fields into the var $recordset. Then to retrieve the data you could do the following: 

    foreach ($recordset as $record){
    $name   = $record[fldName];
    $phone  = $record[fldPhoneNumber];
    echo "$name" . "'s" . " phone # is " . $phone . ";
}

    (you can obviously also use the list() function [with any type of loop] to put the values into variables as well, but I find the above easier to read)

    Similarly, two additional functions are created:

  2. qr(STRING, int [0/1 optional])

    3. The qr function can be used to send INSERT, UPDATE, OR SELECT statements to the database. For the former two SQL attempts, (insert/updatE) the function will return true if rows were created or updated (respectively) [and false if not]. It'll also retrieve one row of data into an array for easy retrieval. This is demonstrated below. 

    $person =  qr("SELECT fldName, fldAddress
                  FROM tblPersons
                      WHERE pkPersonID = 3");
$person_name    = $person[fldName];
$person_address = $person[fldAddress];

    As you can see, you do NOT need to iterate through the array to get at its data since there is only one row retrieved.

  3. q1(STRING, int [0/1 optional])

    4. This last function, q1, is easy for getting one SINGLE value from a SQL query that returns one row with one value. Example: 

    $person_name = q1("SELECT fldName FROM tblPersons
                         WHERE pkPersonID = 23");

There you have it: 3 very easy functions create an easy, non-class-based architecture for querying from a mySQL database!


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