How do I update MySQL row in PHP?

Question

I have a MySQL database that I'm working with, but when I try to update a row in it, it doesn't work. Here's the update code I'm working with:

mysql_query("UPDATE offtopic SET next = '$insert' WHERE id = '$id'");

Answer 1

your syntax is correct, so it might be an error with the variables or your field names.

Try this:

$sql = "UPDATE offtopic SET next = '$insert' WHERE id = '$id'";
if (!mysql_query($sql)) {
    echo "MySQL Error: " . mysql_error() . "<br />" . $sql;
}

That might show you some useful information to help you debug.

Answer 2

First of all, you should make it a bit more safe:

mysql_query(sprintf("UPDATE offtopic SET next = '%s' WHERE id = '%s'",
            mysql_real_escape_string($insert),
            mysql_real_escape_string($id));

Now, is your id actually string, and not numeric? If its numeric, you should rather have:

mysql_query(sprintf("UPDATE offtopic SET next = '%s' WHERE id = %d",
            mysql_real_escape_string($insert), $id);

Answer 3

Please, for the love of the internet, don't built an SQL query yourself. Use PDO.