trying to put code into a table

[beginner123]

I have created a search bar for my website to display the product information when you enter a product name in the search bar. I want the results of the search to be in a table format but I keep getting errors

Heres the code:

Code: Select all

<?php
mysql_connect ( 'localhost', 'root', "", 'k00127082')
or die (mysql_error());mysql_select_db ("k00127082");
 
$term = $_POST['term'];
$sql = mysql_query("select * from products where product_name like '%$term%' ");

while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($sql))
{   
   echo '<table>';
   echo '<tr>';
   echo '<br/> Product Name: '.$row['product_name'];   
   echo '<br/> product description: '.$row['product_description'];
   echo '<br/> product price: €'.$row['price'];   
   echo '<br/> Image: '.$row['image'];   
   echo '<br/><br/>';
   echo '</tr>';
   echo '</table>';   
}

?>


instead of the <br/> i tried putting in <td> but it doesn't work.

[johnj]

The correct format is <table><tr><td></td></tr></table>

[beginner123]

yes i know i am having problems with the <td> tags in the code. whenever i put them in i get errors

Code: Select all

echo '<table>';
echo '<tr>';
echo '<td> Product Name: '.$row['product_name'] </td>';  // if i do this i get errors
echo '<br/> product description: '.$row['product_description'];
echo '<br/> product price: €'.$row['price'];   
echo '<br/> Image: '.$row['image'];   
echo '<br/><br/>';
echo '</tr>';
echo '</table>';   

[tkdbb84]

single quotes don't parse variables:

Code: Select all

echo '<table>';
echo '<tr>';
echo '<td>Product Name: ',$row['product_name'],'</td>';
echo '<td>Product Description: ',$row['product_description'],'</td>';
echo '<td>Product Price: €',$row['price'],'</td>';
echo '<td>Image: ',$row['image'],'</td>'; //although don't you want img tag here?!?!
echo '</tr>';
echo '</table>';


alternatively you could include a variable in a double quoted string "$myVar"; however if you are using an array, then you can't use the quotes inside the array, and thus you will generate a warning:

Code: Select all

echo "$row['product_name']"; //<--kicks an error
echo "$row[product_name]"; //<--works but generates a warning

but since echo is nice enough to take multiple arguments, you can just use commas to feed it argument after argument

hope that helps.

[seandisanti]

Here's how I did something similar recently.

Code: Select all

<table>
   <tr>
      <th style="padding:10px;">E-mail</th>
      <th style="padding:10px;">First Name</th>
      <th style="padding:10px;">Last Name</th>
   </tr>
   <?php
      while ($result=mysql_fetch_assoc($results))
      {
   ?>
   <tr>
      <td style="padding:10px;"><a href="profile.php?uid=<?php echo $result['id']; ?>"><?php echo $result['email']; ?></a></td>
      <td style="padding:10px;"><?php echo $result['first_name']; ?></td>
      <td style="padding:10px;"><?php echo $result['last_name']; ?></td>
   </tr>
   <?php } ?>
</table>


just another way to skin the same cat. i personally like doing it that way, because plain HTML is more readable for me than echo'd html

[tkdbb84]

Seadisanti, have you considered formatting your echo's as HTML, you get the best of both worlds, readability on both level.

If I format your example:

Code: Select all

        <table>
            <tr>
                <th style="padding:10px;">
                    E-mail
                </th>
                <th style="padding:10px;">
                    First Name
                </th>
                <th style="padding:10px;">
                    Last Name
                </th>
            </tr>
<?php
    while ($result=mysql_fetch_assoc($results))
    {
        echo '<tr>',
                    '<td style="padding:10px;">',
                        '<a href="profile.php?uid=',$result['id'],'">,$result['email'],'</a>',
                    '</td>',
                    '<td style="padding:10px;">',
                        $result['first_name'],
                    '</td>',
                    '<td style="padding:10px;">',
                        $result['last_name'],
                    '</td>',
                '</tr>';
    }
?>
        </table>


Then there is no need to wade through embedded <?php?> tags throughout the html. Additionally I find it annoying to wade through bracketed {} segments that aren't enclosed in <?php?> tags, as single tags can get lost in hundreds of lines of html.

[seandisanti]

It's a practice i typically avoid in my examples, even though i am notorious for it around my office. I definitely understand everyone's preference for not blending html and php the way that i do it, but I personally consider it a little easier to read the way I do it, because in notepad plus (where i am typically looking at my sources) there are contextual colors and hightlighting for html and php, but echo'd html is a string, not highlighted text. it's not a big deal, but with proper indenting and syntax highlighting i think it helps the readability rather than hurting it.

***edit***
removed redundancy and attached image to demonstrate difference. With the html being output here the highlighting doesn't matter much, but when the output contains jquery functions etc. it can be a pretty big difference. above the blue line is the way that i usually do it, and below is the suggested alternative.

Just including to illustrate why i still intentionally exercise that one bad practice (and probably several i'm as yet unaware of) in my personal code.