Mysqli query not working properly in if/else statement

Question

I have a table in MySQL and I want to check in PHP whether there are any 'tasks' written (it's a todo list webapp). If there aren't I want to display a message 'You haven't added any tasks yet', problem is it's not displaying.

PHP is assuming that the list of tasks is never empty, when for user 1 (in PHP current user_id = 2), for instance, it is, since I haven't inserted any tasks in my MySQL for User 1 (all tasks are user 2).

<?php
global $connection;
$user = $_SESSION['user_id'];

$query = "SELECT * FROM to_do_list WHERE user = $user";
$items = mysqli_query($connection, $query);
?>

            <div>
                <?php if(!empty($items)): ?>    
                <ul id="myUL">
                    <?php foreach($items as $item):  ?>  
                    <li>
                        <span class="item<?php echo $item['done'] ? ' done' : '' ?>"><?php echo $item['task']; ?></span>
                        <?php if(!$item['done']): ?>
                        <a href="#" class="donebutton">Done</a>
                        <?php endif; ?>
                    </li>
                    <?php endforeach; ?>
                </ul>
                <?php else: ?>
                <p>You haven't added any tasks yet.</p>
                <?php endif; ?>
            </div>

Jameson the dog · Accepted Answer · 2016-12-11 16:30:24Z

2

mysqli_query returns a "resource" not an array - so:

instead of foreach($items as $item): use while($item = mysqli_fetch_assoc($items))

and now every $item is an associated array of results (meaning - you can call the output using it's name like $item['done'])

also - instead of if(!empty($items)) you should use if(mysqli_num_rows($items) > 0)

answered Dec 11, 2016 at 16:30

Jameson the dog

1,8061 gold badge12 silver badges13 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

Jameson the dog Over a year ago

it's fun to be helpful :) have a nice day!

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Mysqli query not working properly in if/else statement

1 Answer 1

1 Comment

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

1 Comment

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related