Question

For a search function, I need to be able to get the mysql function to show up results by combining two columns.

To be more precise: I have a table in the database called “members” in that there is a column called “firstname” and one called “lastname” which I need to use for this. When someone types in a whole name, eg. Jane Doe, I want the query to look whether combining firstname + a space(&nbsp?) + lastname brings forth any results.

My code so far is this:

$poster = mysql_query("SELECT id FROM members WHERE (firstname'&nbsp'lastname) LIKE '%$search%'") or die(mysql_error());
$poster = mysql_fetch_object($poster);

I know that’s probably wrong, it’s the most recent I’ve tried after trying with brackets around the firstname + lastname bits, etc, etc… But yes, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Use the CONCAT function:

SELECT id FROM members
WHERE CONCAT(firstname, ' ', lastname) LIKE ?