Trouble with using variable

[bytech]

Hi everyone,

Why won't this update the DB?

$sqlcode = "SELECT pid FROM vote_stats ORDER BY pid DESC LIMIT 1";
$sqlresult = mysql_query($sqlcode, $s_dbid); 

$updatecode  = "UPDATE vote_stats SET lastvote=$now WHERE pid=$sqlresult";
$updatedb = mysql_query($updatecode, $s_dbid);

The mySQL queries work when I enter them in phpmyadmin. The php code works when I replace pid=$sqlresult with pid='3' (in my case the highest PID for now). Using the two together, no update is made to the DB. What am I missing?

Thanks in advance.

[TeKBuzz]

pid=$sqlresult means to set where pid = result reference (or something like that) you need to get the info out of $sqlresult and into an int, this may not be the best way to type it but it would work, i'm sure you'll get the idea and speed it up:

$sqlresult = mysql_query($query);
while ( $pidnum = mysql_fetch_array($sqlresult) ) {
          $updatecode  = "UPDATE vote_stats SET lastvote=$now WHERE pid=$pidnum[pid]";
$updatedb = mysql_query($updatecode, $s_dbid);
}

Altho this would seem like a useful way only when there is more than one update, you have to understand that by giving it the mysql result you aren't giving it a value it can compare to the pid field.

[bytech]

Thank you! That worked, although I am not exactlly sure what/how this does. I understand the concept of what I was doing wrong, but not sure how you solved it. Any words of further wisdom?

[TeKBuzz]

$sqlresult = mysql_query($query);
while ( $pidnum = mysql_fetch_array($sqlresult) ) { //Take the results of the query and insert into an array
$updatecode = "UPDATE vote_stats SET lastvote=$now WHERE pid=$pidnum[pid]"; //Set query to update where pid is equal to the pid in the current offset of the array
$updatedb = mysql_query($updatecode, $s_dbid);
}

I added comments but basically what happens if when you run a mysql_query, it returns a resource ID aka tells the protocol where to look for the information that was returned. By calling mysql_fetch_array() on this result, you then take that information and put it into an array where the values are defined by the field name given in the mysql table. So now you have an array which contains the id your looking for, and you then take that array and go to the offset with the id and make it the check on your condition.

So what's going on is you get information from mysql, you put that information into something accessable, you find what you need and use it. If this doesn't make sense please try to elaborate on what doesn't make sense, or if it does feel free to ask something else. BTW if your query looking for the ID only returns ONE result (aka one ID, not the ID of more than one thing) you can always get rid of the while statement and do the same thing just get rid of while(){}, leave everything else in (IE leave the $pidnum = mysql_fetch_array($sqlresult); in)