RE: [PHP] display query results at random

the sql RAND() function was mentioned, use it with ORDER BY like this : SELECT foo,bar FROM tablename ORDER BY RAND() this use of RAND() requires at least version 3.23 you can use LIMIT too : SELECT foo,bar FROM tablename ORDER BY RAND() LIMIT 10 your result will be random, loop through accordingly. see : http://www.mysql.com/doc/M/a/Mathematical_functions.html for more details. regards, Philip Olson On Wed, 26 Sep 2001, Matthew Delmarter wrote: > Hi Lawrence, > > Thanks for your reply. > > I should clarify that I want to control where I output the result. > > Place 1 - show details for record 3 //I specifically want record 3 > details here > Place 2 - show details for record 1 //I specifically want record 1 > details here > Place 5 - show details for record 5 //I specifically want record 5 > details here > > What I meant by 'random' was that it's not in the order returned by > the mysql query. > > Matthew > > -----Original Message----- > From: Lawrence.Sheed@dfait-maeci.gc.ca > [mailto:Lawrence.Sheed@dfait-maeci.gc.ca] > Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2001 3:56 PM > To: matt@adplusonline.com > Cc: php-general@lists.php.net > Subject: RE: [PHP] display query results at random > > > Return into an array, then loop through the array or shuffle it > (easier)?. > > Note if you have nulls in DB, you will have to do something different. > > n'est pas? > > -------- > > e.g. (untested) > > mysql_fetch_array > > <?php > mysql_connect ($host, $user, $password); > $result = mysql_db_query ("database","select user_id, fullname from > table"); > $j=0; > while ($row[$j] = mysql_fetch_array ($result)) { > $j++; > } > mysql_free_result ($result); > > srand ((float)microtime()*1000000); > shuffle ($row); > > //do output stuff with array > > ?> > > -----Original Message----- > From: Matthew Delmarter [mailto:matt@adplusonline.com] > Sent: September 26, 2001 12:01 PM > To: PHP Mailing List > Subject: [PHP] display query results at random > > > How do I return a specific record from a db outside of the query? > > Let's say I "select * from table" (using mysql_fetch_object) and get 5 > results. I want to display the 5 results in different / random places > on the page. > > Place 1 - show details for record 3 > Place 2 - show details for record 1 > Place 5 - show details for record 5 > > How do I do this? > > I know how to loop thru a mysql result - but what if want to display > things in a random order around the page? I could have multiple select > statements - but this would increase the load on the server and is > unnecessary as all the data was returned from the query - it's just a > matter of knowing how to get it! > > Can anyone help? > > I am sorry if the question is confusing, but I can't think of a better > way to explain it at the moment (i'm tired)... > > Matthew > > > -- > PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) > To unsubscribe, e-mail: php-general-unsubscribe@lists.php.net > For additional commands, e-mail: php-general-help@lists.php.net > To contact the list administrators, e-mail: > php-list-admin@lists.php.net > > > -- > PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) > To unsubscribe, e-mail: php-general-unsubscribe@lists.php.net > For additional commands, e-mail: php-general-help@lists.php.net > To contact the list administrators, e-mail: php-list-admin@lists.php.net >