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PHP

Robbie Thomas
Robbie Thomas
31,093 Points
Posted by Robbie Thomas
Robbie Thomas
31,093 Points

PHP PDO Stage 2 End

This is not a code challenge here. I'm done with the end of stage 2 in the PHP PDO section and on my way to finishing stage 3 and the whole PHP Development all together. However, at the end of stage 2, I'm pretty sure I did the code right, but in the end, it seems I'm wrong. Here's my code:

<?php

require_once('database.php');

if(!empty($_GET['id'])){
  $film_id = $_GET['id'];
}

try {
    $results = $db->query('select * from film where film_id = '.$flim_id);    
} catch(Exception $e) {
    echo $e->getMessage();
    die();
}

$film = $results->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);



?>

And I get this:

Notice: Undefined variable: flim_id in /home/treehouse/workspace/films.php on line 10 SQLSTATE[HY000]: General error: 1 near " ": syntax error

Any idea what I did wrong? Again, it's not a code challenge, but I like to get this correct when or if I venture into PHP Development in the future.

R.T.

Ted Sumner
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 Points

formatted code quote. Please review for future reference on how to quote code and have it formatted.

1 Answer

Ted Sumner
PLUS
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 Points
Ted Sumner
Ted Sumner
Courses Plus Student 17,967 Points

The first thing that I notice is that you do not create a new instance of your database classe. You need a $db = new line prior to your try catch block. The second thing I would do is change your try phrase to this:

<?php

try {
  $results = $db->query("select * from film where film_id =$flim_id");
} //catch block starts here as you did above

One thing that I learned that was really helpful in coding PHP relates to variables and single and double quotes. If you use double quotes, the variable is resolved and the value is placed in the string in place of the variable. If you use single quotes the variable is not resolved and you will display the variable name, not its value. Thus, it is far easier to to use double quotes and not have to worry about concatenation in a string like you use in your try block.

Your film id needs to be in quotes. This is how I handled it in a project I am currently working on. I need to add a try catch block around the function, but the code works as is:

<?
public function getAllTopics($table, $constraint) {
        $query = $this->connection->prepare("SELECT * FROM $table WHERE $constraint");
        $query->setFetchMode(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
        $query->execute();

        return $query;
        reset($query);
    }

And this is how I assign $constraint in the index.php file:

<?php

$constraint = "badge = 'wolf'";

I felt the best way to accomplish the quote was to include it in the variable, but I may change my mind and try it in the class. I am not sure yet. The end code will build $constraint from user input.