How does PHP/SQL database do it?

puppymagic · 03-11-2010, 05:32 AM

Let's say someone built an internal search engine for his website, and there is the text box where visitors can enter the words they want, and all goes well and it returns a set of results.

My question is, how does the PHP do it, without anyone logged in in the valid way? Don't we have to log in using a correct password first, if we want to take advantage of search engines running on PHP? Is it called the anonymous log-in? If yes, how do I do that? (as a php builder)

thanks, experts @LQ!

jamescondron · 03-11-2010, 05:36 AM

Well you don't need to log anyone in to call a function. All it needs to do is pass the search string to whatever search function you have. This function should ideally sanitise the search string, then use a mysql query.

I don't understand where the login element to your question is coming from, perhaps you could expand on this? Paste your code? etc.

Incidentally, this ought to be in the PHP programming subforum if a mod is about to do this?

puppymagic · 03-11-2010, 05:37 AM

Thanks for your quick answer~~ by the way, where is the best forum to receive help regarding php? Did you mean within LQ or some other place on the internet?

arashi256 · 03-11-2010, 05:39 AM

What I *think* the OP is saying is that usually you need a username/password to access the MySQL database. This is supplied by PHP to login to the MySQL database. Much as any other language would, such as Java or whatever.

If you mean something else, please clarify.

jamescondron · 03-11-2010, 05:43 AM

Yeah, there is one on here, a Mod should move this for you, so there is no real need to create a new post I don't think.

Consider the php (ish, untested, not-quite $1) code:

Code:

$string = $_POST['search_string']
$string = $this->sanitise_for_search( $string )
$query = mysql_query( "SELECT * FROM Table_of_contents VALUES WHERE Title=$string" )

Then whatever you're doing, be it using the mysql_get_object for row etc. (Or whatever the correct php method is)

On this, as you see, there is no need to test for logged in from $_COOKIE or so on

(My php is rusty)

Perhaps you could post the code you have for someone a little better at this than I to look at

jamescondron · 03-11-2010, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arashi256

What I *think* the OP is saying is that usually you need a username/password to access the MySQL database. This is supplied by PHP to login to the MySQL database. Much as any other language would, such as Java or whatever.

If you mean something else, please clarify.

Ah, I hadn't considered that meaning

puppymagic · 03-11-2010, 06:13 AM

Arashi, is it possible to access and search for information without a login/password? Isn't that what's happening, when we use the built-in search engines of the websites?

If that is possible and that is what's happening, how do php builders do that? Just like jamescondon stated?

jamescondron · 03-11-2010, 06:16 AM

Right, theres a lot of confusion here. What do you want, to be able to access a database without having the password to the database? Or do you want to know whether a user can search without having to login to the web-app it's self?

Basically, are you talking about accessing the database? Or doing it as search engines do; as in you don't need to have an account on google to use google

arashi256 · 03-11-2010, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puppymagic

Arashi, is it possible to access and search for information without a login/password? Isn't that what's happening, when we use the built-in search engines of the websites?

If that is possible and that is what's happening, how do php builders do that? Just like jamescondon stated?

I don't understand what you mean. A search engine is accessing a database, which presumably has a username and password attached to it. This username and password is supplied to the database by PHP - you don't enter anything manually.

Something like: -

Code:

<?php
    // Connect to database server
    $hd = mysql_connect("myhost", "username", "password") or die ("Unable to connect");
    // Select database
    mysql_select_db ("database", $hd) or die ("Unable to select database");
    // Execute sample query
    $res = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM customer", $hd) or die ("Unable to run query");
    // Query number of rows in rowset
    $nrows = mysql_num_rows($res);
    // Output
    echo "The query returned $nrows row(s):\n\n";
    // Iteration loop, for each row in rowset
    while ($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($res)) {
        // Assigning variables from cell values
        $data1 = $row["title"];
        $data2 = $row["fname"];
        $data3 = $row["lname"];
        $data4 = $row["phone"];
        // Outputting data to browser
        echo "ROW# $nr : $data1 $data2 $data3 $data4\n";
    }
    mysql_close($hd);
?>