Getting Information From 2 Tables At The Same Time.

[White_Lily]

I need to get several different bits of information from 2 tables at the same time, but im slightly confused about how i go about this.

 

when you have:

 

<?php

$query = mysql_query("SELECT users.username, messages.to FROM users, messages WHERE users.username = messages.to");

?>

 

can you have:

 

<?php

$query = mysql_query("SELECT users.*, messages.* FROM users, messages WHERE users.username = messages.to");

?>

 

this is because i pretty much have to select everything from each table, but i dont want to have to write a stupidly long query to do it...

[haku]

You want to look at Joins: http://www.tizag.com/sqlTutorial/sqljoin.php

[haku]

But in this case you would want:

 

SELECT messages.subject, messages.body, messages.headers, users.uid, users.name, users.email
FROM messages
JOIN users
ON users.name = messages.to

[White_Lily]

I have a lot more fields than that, thats why im asking if you can do: users.*, messages.*

[Muddy_Funster]

No one serious about sql would suggest or endorse the use of SELECT * in anything other than debugging.

[White_Lily]

Ive been given a design that incorporates almost (if not all) columns in both tables... I don't particulary fancy writing a massive query...

[Muddy_Funster]

...I don't particulary fancy writing a massive query...

Lazyness is the most common excuse for increasing server load and reducing scalability with poorly structured SQL. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying you shouldnt expect to be encouraged to do it.