Home/ Questions/Q 8630175
In Process

The Archive Base Latest Questions

Editorial Team
  • 0
Asked: 2026-06-12T08:59:55+00:00

I have a MySQL database with 6 columns in a table. There will eventually

  • 0

I have a MySQL database with 6 columns in a table. There will eventually be about 100 rows, for now I have 3.

Column titles: FirstName, SecondName, Sentence1, Sentence2, Sentence3, Sentence4

All tables are set to VARCHAR

I want to use php on a web page to call random data from each row, eg mix and match row1 FirstName with row3 SecondName and row2 Sentence1 etc.

I read it is quicker to randomise using php but I really can’t grasp how to do this despite searching.

I can connect to my MySQL database and get results returned using this code:

    <?php
    // Connect to database server
    mysql_connect("localhost", "xxx", "yyy") or die (mysql_error ());
    // Select database
    mysql_select_db("zzz") or die(mysql_error());
    // SQL query
    $strSQL = "SELECT * FROM Users";
    // Execute the query (the recordset $rs contains the result)
    $rs = mysql_query($strSQL);
    // Loop the recordset $rs
    // Each row will be made into an array ($row) using mysql_fetch_array
    while($row = mysql_fetch_array($rs)) {
    // Write the value of the column FirstName (which is now in the array $row)
    echo $row['FirstName'] . "<br />";
      }
    // Close the database connection
    mysql_close();
    ?>

but this just returns one column of data. I need the random code to be returned in the webpage using something like:

echo $firstname . $lastname . $sentence1 . $sentence2 . $sentence3 . $sentence4;

Note, this will be repeated for another 3 or 4 rows afterwards too

echo $firstname_2 . $lastname_2 . $sentence1_2 . $sentence2_2 . $sentence3_2 . $sentence4_2;

I’m not too hot on arrays but if someone can get me started it would be great, thanks.

Share

Leave an answer

You must login to add an answer.

Need An Account,

1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    All those telling you to use rand in the SQL query have not read the question. To those people: the asker wants a random combination of data from the rows, not a random row.

    Something like this. It will take all the results from the database and echo a totally random combination. I couldn’t avoid using arrays as they are super useful.

    <?php
// Connect to database server
mysql_connect("localhost", "xxx", "yyy") or die (mysql_error ());
// Select database
mysql_select_db("zzz") or die(mysql_error());
// SQL query
$strSQL = "SELECT * FROM Users";
// Execute the query (the recordset $rs contains the result)
$rs = mysql_query($strSQL);
// Array to hold all data
$rows = array();
// Loop the recordset $rs
// Each row will be made into an array ($row) using mysql_fetch_array
while($row = mysql_fetch_array($rs)) {
// add row to array.
$rows[] = $row;
  }
// Close the database connection
mysql_close();

// Max rand number
$max = count($rows) - 1;

// print out random combination of data.
echo $rows[rand(0, $max)][0] . " " . $rows[rand(0, $max)][1] . " " . $rows[rand(0, $max)][2] . " " . $rows[rand(0, $max)][3] . " " . $rows[rand(0, $max)][4] . " " . $rows[rand(0, $max)][5];

?>
    • 0