Getting started with MySQLi

Name: Getting started with MySQLi
Rating: 4 (1 reviews)
Author: Joshua

Creating a MySQL Database via cPanel

To create a database and user in cPanel, follow these steps:

Step 1: Create the Database
Go to the MySQL Databases section in cPanel. In the "New Database" box, enter a name for your database and click Create Database.
Step 2: Create the Database User
Scroll down to the "MySQL Users" section. Enter a username and password in the respective boxes, then click Create User.
Step 3: Assign User to the Database
Scroll further down to the "Add User to Database" section. Select the user and database from the dropdown menus, then click Add User to Database. Assign the required privileges and click Make Changes.

Your database and user are now set up and ready to use with the PHP connection code provided above.

The database connection - mysqli_connect

The following example demonstrates how to connect to a MySQL database using the procedural approach:

PHP Code

<?php
$connection = mysqli_connect("localhost", "your_username", "your_password", "your_database");
 
if (!$connection) {
    die("Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error());
}
 
echo "Connected successfully";
?>

What’s Happening Here:

mysqli_connect(): Establishes a connection to the MySQL database.
mysqli_connect_error(): Returns the error message if the connection fails.
die(): Stops script execution and outputs the error message.

Example MySQLi query

Always validate and sanitise user input to prevent SQL injection and other vulnerabilities. Use prepared statements with mysqli for executing SQL queries. Here’s a quick example:

PHP Code

<?php 
// Ensure the database connection code is included before this block
 
// Prepare a SQL query with a placeholder for the email parameter 
$stmt = $connection->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = ?");
 
// Bind the email parameter to the query ("s" indicates the parameter is a string) 
$stmt->bind_param("s", $email);
 
// Set the value for the parameter 
$email = "example@example.com";
 
// Execute the prepared statement 
$stmt->execute();
 
// Get the result of the query 
$result = $stmt->get_result();
 
// Loop through each row in the result set and display the 'name' column 
while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) { 
    echo $row['name']; 
}
 
// Close the statement to free up resources 
$stmt->close();
 
// Close the database connection 
$connection->close(); 
?>

Conclusion

This tutorial demonstrates how to connect to a MySQL database using MySQLi in PHP.
We have learnt how to create a database via cPanel and includes important security tips to ensure your code is safe and functional.
Always use modern methods like MySQLi or PDO to stay compatible with current PHP versions.

Author:

Joshua

Views:

2,195

Rating:

Posted on Friday 9^th February 2007 at 09:48 PM

Joshua

Is mine good?

If so, thanks, this was actually one of the firsts I wrote.

Posted on Friday 9^th February 2007 at 09:35 PM

DanielXP

I will have a look into my one.

Posted in the early days, you know what i mean.

Posted on Friday 9^th February 2007 at 09:31 PM

Dean

yah ano it is . But still its already been posted :)

Posted on Friday 9^th February 2007 at 05:06 PM

Nevram

yes, but this is much better explained. lol

Posted on Thursday 8^th February 2007 at 10:11 PM

Dean

Well daniel posted a tutorial similar to this.

Posted on Thursday 8^th February 2007 at 08:41 PM

Nevram

Lol im the biggest n00b. I never got it until i read this!:p