Query string

[Sonny1973]

i'd like to know how you would structure the following query for multiple selectnames (which are all contained in the search form, via drop down menu options):

$query = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM tablename WHERE selectname LIKE '%$search%' LIMIT 0, 50"

also, i'd like to get rid of the Search box in the search form. so in other words i don't want to reference a search value, '%$search%', at all. thanks for any help in advance.

[sde]

you are saying you want the query to support multiple names, but a drop down menu only allows you to select one name. is this from multiple select boxes? or 1, multi-select box.

if you are controlling the drop down options, then you can put exact names in there. this will eleminate the need for the wild cards " % " around the search variable.

since you mention multiple names, for now i will forget about how you are getting them into the script and i'll just use an array. below are 2 methods which you could search for multiple names.

SELECT * FROM tablename WHERE selectname IN ('Joe Smith','Mike Jones')

SELECT * FROM tablename WHERE selectname='Joe Smith' OR selectname='Mike Jones'

with PHP, we could make these queries dynamically if the selected names were in an array. Here's an example:

PHP Code:

<?
$names = array('Joe Smith','Mike Jones');

// start sql
$sql = "SELECT * FROM tablename WHERE selectname IN ";

for($i=0;$i<count($names);$i++){
  $sql .= $names[$i];

  // create a comma if it's not the last item in the array
  if($i<$count)
    $sql .= ",";
}

// finish sql string
$sql .= ")";

// query db
$result = mysql_query($sql);
?>

you would use the same logic if you opted to use the other sql query too. you are just building a string from an array.

[Sonny1973]

actually, it is from multiple select boxes. and i appreciate the advice.