keeping people from leaving blank section

[serverman]

i want to make this have the first/last name and comment be required to post the message to the sql database

ok heres my script for the form

<form action="../Beta/leaveacomment/insert.php" method="post">
<h3 align="center">Give us some feedback</h3><table width="250" border="1" align="center">
  <tr>
    <td>Firstname:</td>
    <td><input name="firstname" type="text" maxlength="15" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Lastname:</td>
    <td><input name="lastname" type="text" maxlength="15" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Email
: </td>
    <td><input name="email" type="text" id="email" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Comment</td>
    <td><label>
      <textarea name="comment" id="comment"></textarea>
    </label></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td colspan="2"><input type="reset" name="Reset" value="Reset" />
      <input name="submit" type="submit" />
      <label></label></td>
    </tr>
</table>

</form>

here is code for the processer

<?php
$login = mysql_connect("---","---","---");
if (!$login)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }mysql_select_db("website_stuff", $login);$sql="INSERT INTO comment (FirstName, LastName, Email, Comment)
VALUES
('$_POST[firstname]','$_POST[lastname]','$_POST[email]','$_POST[comment]')";if (!mysql_query($sql,$login))
  {
  die('Error: ' . mysql_error());
  }
echo "thank you for leaving a comment."."<a href='../../home.PHP'>Back to Home</a>";mysql_close($login)
?>

[DarkWater]

1) Clean up your code.  It's REALLY sloppy.  Make it nicely indented and stuff.

 

2) Use if (isset()) {} structures.

[andrewgarn]

EDITED

 

Put before the query.

 

You need to set the variables from the post data first by:

 

$username = $_POST['username'];

 

etc, then you can do this:

 

if(!$firstname or !$lastname or !$comment) {
echo ("Please complete all fields");
}
else {
//do sql stuff
}

 

And yes as the other person said, put paragraphs in your code, and indent

[serverman]

Put before the query.

 

if(!firstname or !lastname or !comment) {
echo ("Please complete all fields");
}
else {
//do sql stuff
}

 

And yes as the other person said, put paragraphs in your code, and indent

sweet thank... that was an easy one... i'm really new to this stuff thanks for the help

[DarkWater]

No.  That's not good enough.  Use

if (!empty($_POST['firstname']) && !empty($_POST['lastname']) && !empty($_POST['comments'])) {

echo "Please fill in first name, last name, and comments!';

}

else {

//do query

}

 

And use '' on associative array indexes.  I.E: $_POST['element'] instead of $_POST[element].

[serverman]

ok heres what i did

$firstname = $_POST['firstname'];
$comment = $_POST['comment'];

if(!$firstname  or !$comment) {
die("Please complete all fields");
}

it works... but is that a correct way to do it?

[DarkWater]

if (empty($firstname) || empty($comments)) {

 

}