Illegal string offset when displaying data from array

Question

I got the following code:

<?php

require('connect.php');

if(isset($_GET['region'])) {
    $region = mysql_real_escape_string($_GET['region']);
    if ($region == "eu") {
        $rows = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT  * FROM `daily_leaderboard_eu`"));
    } elseif ($region == "na") {
        $rows = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT  * FROM `daily_leaderboard_na`"));
    }
} else {
    $rows = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT  * FROM `daily_leaderboard_eu`"));
}

?>

<table>
    <tr>
        <td>Rank</td>
        <td>Points</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <?
            if(empty($rows)){
                echo '<td colspan="5">We are unable to provide data at the moment!</td>';
            } else {
                foreach($rows as $row){?>
                    <td><?=$row['rank']?></td>
                    <td><?=$row['points']?></td>
                <?}
            }
        ?>
    </tr>
</table>

The code is supposed to fetch the whole daily_leaderboard_X table and then present the data in a simple table. It's however not working as I get the following errors:

Warning: Illegal string offset 'rank' in /home/bbb/public_html/pvp/index.php on line 29 5
Warning: Illegal string offset 'points' in /home/bbb/public_html/pvp/index.php on line 30 5

Picture: http://i.gyazo.com/b1ec034e7d0d906fb81c8175300f288c.png

Could someone point out my mistake and how to fix it please?

You might find help at StackOverflow: warning-illegal-string-offset-parameter-in-php-file or StackOverflow: how-to-fix-warning-illegal-string-offset-in-php — Our Man in Bananas
– Our Man in Bananas, Commented May 12, 2015 at 20:48
Your variable $row does not have the fields 'rank' and 'points' set - try to use var_dump or print_r to output the whole thing, in order to see what's wrong (maybe). — Jost
– Jost, Commented May 12, 2015 at 20:52
Tried with print_r and it just prints out numbers from the database. — user4803090
– user4803090, Commented May 12, 2015 at 20:56

Don't Panic · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-12 20:48:47Z

1

When you do this

$rows = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT  * FROM `daily_leaderboard_eu`"));

you are selecting ONE row from the query result. Then when you do this

foreach($rows as $row){?>

you are iterating over the values in the row. So when you do this

$row['rank']

$row is not an array, it is a string, so PHP is expecting a numeric index. That is why you are seeing the "Warning: Illegal string offset". You can fix this by separating your query from your fetch, so at the top you will have just

$rows = mysql_query("SELECT  * FROM `daily_leaderboard_eu`");

Then you can change your foreach loop to a while loop and fetch the rows one at a time.

while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($rows)) {?>

Then $row will actually be an array and work as you expect.

answered May 12, 2015 at 20:48

Don't Panic

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1 Comment

Don't Panic Over a year ago

I used the mysql functions that you had in your question, but you should really update your code to stop using these outdated functions. In this case I think it would just be as simple as changing it to say mysqli... everywhere it says mysql....

Misunderstood · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-12 21:41:54Z

0

It is saying there is a typo here:

Where "points" and "rank" are not correct values.

This is how you stay out of this kind of trouble:

if(isset($_GET['region'])) {
  $region = mysql_real_escape_string($_GET['region']);
  if ($region == "eu") {
      $sql = "SELECT   `rank`,`points`  FROM `daily_leaderboard_eu`");
  } 
  elseif ($region == "na") {
      $sql = mysql_query("SELECT   `rank`,`points`  FROM `daily_leaderboard_na`");
  }
  else {
    $sql = "SELECT  `rank`,`points` FROM `daily_leaderboard_eu`");
  } 
  $results = mysql_query($sql);  
  $rows = mysql_num_rows($results);
  if($rows == 1)){
    echo '<p>We are unable to provide data at the moment!</p>';
  }
  else {
    echo '<table><tr><td>Rank</td><td>Points</td></tr><tr>';
    while($row = mysql_fetch_array($results,MYSQL_NUM));
       echo "<td>$row[0]</td><td>$row[1]</td>";
    }
    echo '</tr></table>';
  }
}

edited May 12, 2015 at 21:41

answered May 12, 2015 at 20:41

Misunderstood

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3 Comments

user4803090 Over a year ago

Hmm, what do you mean by not correct values? Thos are the column names in the db i.gyazo.com/9bebb30d43db84792ce48981fc81de26.png

Misunderstood Over a year ago

Ok done finally. It is worth a look to see how to stay out of trouble like that.

Misunderstood Over a year ago

Ok now,finally, I'm really done. It is worth a look to see how to stay out of trouble like that.

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