Question

So I have a table with 45 records (but can be dynamic) and I use mysql_fetch_array() to get the data from the database. What is the best way to output 5 records at a time? So I need to do record 1-5, then have a link for records 6-10, 11-15, and so on. I thought about doing something with array_chunk but not sure how to keep track of the record number. Thanks for hints.

Answer 1

To get the first 5 results form a table:

    SELECT * FROM table ORDER BY  table.column_name ASC  LIMIT 0, 5
    

• Selects from `table`
• Ordered by the column name Ascending
• Limit 0,5 selects the first 5 results, starting at 0.

Change LIMIT 0,5 to 5,5 to list results 6-10 (start at record 5, and continue for 5 records.)

Ordering is just good practice to ensure consistency. Under most circumstances set this to ‘id’ if you have an auto-increment ‘id’ column. If you want results sorted by date, order by a timestamp column. If you want data reversed, order by DESC.

You can keep track of where your queries are though PHP Sessions, Passing GET parameters, temporary database tables, and probably a few more I missed.

Other solution:

Use the array returned from the mysql_fetch_array() and utilite http://php.net/manual/en/language.types.array.php

The obvious disadvantage to this approach is the fact that it fetches all rows in the table. This is okay if you’ll NEVER have more than a manageable number of rows. In your case, 45 should be fine, assuming they’re not gigantic rows. This approach may also may useful if you want data pre-loaded.