Question

What’s the difference between

$PDOStatement->fetchColumn(); 

and

$PDOStatement->fetch(PDO::FETCH_COLUMN); 

(if one exists)? Or are they functionally similar but only aesthetically different?

Answer 1

By default fetchColumn() will return only 'value' while other by default will return array('column_name'=>'value'). You’d have to use setFetchMode() to change that.

$PDOStatement->fetchColumn($colno); 

would be equivalent to:

$PDOStatement->setFetchMode(PDO::FETCH_COLUMN, $colno); $PDOStatement->fetch();