PHP MySQL :: Insert Data Into a Database Table

The INSERT INTO statement is used to insert new records in a table.

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Insert Data Into a Database Table

The INSERT INTO statement is used to add new records to a database table.

Syntax

It is possible to write the INSERT INTO statement in two forms.

The first form doesn't specify the column names where the data will be inserted, only their values:

INSERT INTO table_name VALUES (value1, value2, value3,...)

The second form specifies both the column names and the values to be inserted:

INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, column3,...) VALUES (value1, value2, value3,...)

To learn more about SQL, please visit our SQL tutorial.

To get PHP to execute the statements above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

In the previous chapter we created a table named "Persons", with three columns; "Firstname", "Lastname" and "Age". We will use the same table in this example. The following example adds two new records to the "Persons" table:

<?php $con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123"); if (!$con)   {   die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());   } mysql_select_db("my_db", $con); mysql_query("INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age) VALUES ('Peter', 'Griffin', '35')"); mysql_query("INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age) VALUES ('Glenn', 'Quagmire', '33')"); mysql_close($con); ?>

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Insert Data From a Form Into a Database

Now we will create an HTML form that can be used to add new records to the "Persons" table.

Here is the HTML form:

<html> <body> <form action="insert.php" method="post"> Firstname: <input type="text" name="firstname" /> Lastname: <input type="text" name="lastname" /> Age: <input type="text" name="age" /> <input type="submit" /> </form> </body> </html>

When a user clicks the submit button in the HTML form in the example above, the form data is sent to "insert.php".

The "insert.php" file connects to a database, and retrieves the values from the form with the PHP $_POST variables.

Then, the mysql_query() function executes the INSERT INTO statement, and a new record will be added to the "Persons" table.

Here is the "insert.php" page:

<?php $con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123"); if (!$con)   {   die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());   } mysql_select_db("my_db", $con); $sql="INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age) VALUES ('$_POST[firstname]','$_POST[lastname]','$_POST[age]')"; if (!mysql_query($sql,$con))   {   die('Error: ' . mysql_error());   } echo "1 record added"; mysql_close($con) ?>

PHP :: Functions

PHP Functions

In this chapter we will show you how to create your own functions.

To keep the script from being executed when the page loads, you can put it into a function.

A function will be executed by a call to the function.

You may call a function from anywhere within a page.

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Create a PHP Function

A function will be executed by a call to the function.

Syntax

function functionName() { code to be executed; }

PHP function guidelines:

• Give the function a name that reflects what the function does
• The function name can start with a letter or underscore (not a number)

Example

A simple function that writes my name when it is called:

<html> <body> <?php function writeName() { echo "Kai Jim Refsnes"; } echo "My name is "; writeName(); ?> </body> </html>

Output:

My name is Kai Jim Refsnes

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PHP Functions - Adding parameters

To add more functionality to a function, we can add parameters. A parameter is just like a variable.

Parameters are specified after the function name, inside the parentheses.

Example 1

The following example will write different first names, but equal last name:

<html> <body> <?php function writeName($fname) { echo $fname . " Refsnes.<br />"; } echo "My name is "; writeName("Kai Jim"); echo "My sister's name is "; writeName("Hege"); echo "My brother's name is "; writeName("Stale"); ?> </body> </html>

Output:

My name is Kai Jim Refsnes. My sister's name is Hege Refsnes. My brother's name is Stale Refsnes.

Example 2

The following function has two parameters:

<html> <body> <?php function writeName($fname,$punctuation) { echo $fname . " Refsnes" . $punctuation . "<br />"; } echo "My name is "; writeName("Kai Jim","."); echo "My sister's name is "; writeName("Hege","!"); echo "My brother's name is "; writeName("Ståle","?"); ?> </body> </html>

Output:

My name is Kai Jim Refsnes. My sister's name is Hege Refsnes! My brother's name is Ståle Refsnes?

 

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PHP Functions - Return values

To let a function return a value, use the return statement.

Example

<html> <body> <?php function add($x,$y) { $total=$x+$y; return $total; } echo "1 + 16 = " . add(1,16); ?> </body> </html>

Output:

1 + 16 = 17