Insert Data Into a Database Table
The INSERT INTO statement is used to add new records to a database table.Syntax
It is possible to write the INSERT INTO statement in two forms.The first form doesn't specify the column names where the data will be inserted, only their values:
INSERT INTO table_name
VALUES (value1, value2, value3,...)
VALUES (value1, value2, value3,...)
INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, column3,...)
VALUES (value1, value2, value3,...)
VALUES (value1, value2, value3,...)
To get PHP to execute the statements above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.
Example
In the previous chapter we created a table named "Persons", with three columns; "Firstname", "Lastname" and "Age". We will use the same table in this example. The following example adds two new records to the "Persons" table:
<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
{
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}
mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);
mysql_query("INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)
VALUES ('Peter', 'Griffin',35)");
mysql_query("INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)
VALUES ('Glenn', 'Quagmire',33)");
mysql_close($con);
?>
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
{
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}
mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);
mysql_query("INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)
VALUES ('Peter', 'Griffin',35)");
mysql_query("INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)
VALUES ('Glenn', 'Quagmire',33)");
mysql_close($con);
?>
Insert Data From a Form Into a Database
Now we will create an HTML form that can be used to add new records to the "Persons" table.Here is the HTML form:
<html>
<body>
<form action="insert.php" method="post">
Firstname: <input type="text" name="firstname">
Lastname: <input type="text" name="lastname">
Age: <input type="text" name="age">
<input type="submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
<body>
<form action="insert.php" method="post">
Firstname: <input type="text" name="firstname">
Lastname: <input type="text" name="lastname">
Age: <input type="text" name="age">
<input type="submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
The "insert.php" file connects to a database, and retrieves the values from the form with the PHP $_POST variables.
Then, the mysql_query() function executes the INSERT INTO statement, and a new record will be added to the "Persons" table.
Here is the "insert.php" page:
<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
{
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}
mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);
$sql="INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)
VALUES
('$_POST[firstname]','$_POST[lastname]','$_POST[age]')";
if (!mysql_query($sql,$con))
{
die('Error: ' . mysql_error());
}
echo "1 record added";
mysql_close($con);
?>
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
{
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}
mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);
$sql="INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)
VALUES
('$_POST[firstname]','$_POST[lastname]','$_POST[age]')";
if (!mysql_query($sql,$con))
{
die('Error: ' . mysql_error());
}
echo "1 record added";
mysql_close($con);
?>