Question

I have code:

$somevar=mysql_query("SELECT * FROM feed");
while ($fetched=mysql_fetch_array($somevar)) {

  $nextvar=mysql_query("SELECT FROM comments WHERE feed_id='".$fetched['id']."'");
  while ($anotherfetch=mysql_fetch_array($nextvar)) {
    echo $anotherfetch['comment'];
  }

  echo $fetched['person'].$fetched['text'];
}

Tables structures:

feed
id | person | text

comments
id | feed_id | person | comment

What’s the best solution to optimize it and is it possible at all? I know it’s a big mistake to make while in while but it looks like there is no other way..

Answer 1

A while within a while is not so much the issue as is nested queries. This is often an indication of an N + 1 problem.

While there are different solutions, my suggestion in your case would be to use a JOIN and stitch the data together as you need it.

Also, as noted in the comments, please don’t use the mysql_* functions as they are in the deprecation process. Use MySQLi or PDO instead and be a better PHP Developer.