PHP Search Script

[cksrealm]

Hi all, I have written a simple search scripts that searches a database based on a customers name and prints the output to a web browser, only issue is that the customer name has to be entered exactly as it appears in the database, is there anything that I can that will for example return the data if a user just enters say a and it will show all customer that start with a

 

Hope you know what I mean

 

Regards

 

CK

[suzzane2020]

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/pattern-matching.html

 

check this out-Pattern Matching

 

for eg if u need names containg or starting from a

 

select * from table where name like ' %a%'

will give u names containing the letter a

[monk.e.boy]

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/string-comparison-functions.html

SELECT * FROM people WHERE name LIKE 'a%'

 

monk.e.boy

[monk.e.boy]

suzzane2020 - are you reading my thoughts? Scary.

 

monk.e.boy

[suzzane2020]

ha ha nw thts coincidence!!!

[cksrealm]

Guys thanks for your comments however its not as easy as you said, the current query looks like this

 

mysql_query("SELECT number FROM customers WHERE custname='$custname'")

 

the $custname is a value that is set within the search page, i.e the field that users input the customers name. Therefore I am unable to just take a single letter from it and search for that arent. Or am I just being a fool.

[monk.e.boy]

mysql_query("SELECT number FROM customers WHERE custname LIKE '$custname%'");

 

if that don't work try:

 

mysql_query("SELECT number FROM customers WHERE custname LIKE '". $custname ."%'");

 

TAKE CARE OF ALL THE QUOTES I HAVE USED.

 

monk.e.boy

[suzzane2020]

The point is : watever the user inputs in the field will be taken and compared to wats there in te database

 

so u dont have to take any letter from that

 

I hope u got wat we were tryin to say