Re: [php] most recent row from table

On Tue, Jun 02, 2009 at 04:49:44PM +0100, HELP! wrote: > Hi, > > how do you select the most recent row from sql table if the date are stored > this format date('Y-m-d H:i:s') e.g (2009-06-02 10:10:30) > > i have tried select top 1 from table where id = xx > any solution This is the problem with databases. The two clauses for the SELECT statement which assist here are LIMIT and OFFSET. But here's the problem: You only want one record, which you can obtain using LIMIT = 1. But OFFSET only works if you know how many records are in the table, which can change from second to second on a busy table. Moreover, there isn't a specific command for obtaining the number of records in the table. I'd suggest setting up some WHERE condition which limits the number of records you obtain with the SELECT, ensure they are ordered with an ORDER BY clause which puts the record you want at the bottom of the array you get from SELECT. Count the records in the obtained SELECT array, and take the last of these records. Paul -- Paul M. Foster