Using the php mysql functions, if I have a query that I know will only return one row from the data table I nest the functions like this:
$myVariable = mysql_fetch_assoc(mysql_query("SOME QUERY"));
Using the mysqli functions I have to have to use two lines of code:
$query = $db->query("SOME QUERY");
$myVariable = $query->fetch_assoc();
Is it possible to condense the two lines into one as I do using the older mysql functions?
Yes you can do it but I wouldn't recommend it:
$myVariable = $db->query("SOME QUERY")->fetch_assoc();
It's a bad idea because you don't get the opportunity to do any error handling. For example:
$myVariable = array();
$result = $db->query("SOME QUERY");
if($result && $result->num_rows == 1)
{
$myVariable = $result->fetch_assoc();
}
If you nest or chain the calls, you might run into unhandled fatal errors because query() will return false if there was a MySQL error.
If you're looking to tidy up your code or reduce it, you could extend the MySQLi class and add your own method to fetch a single row.
You can chain them:
$myVariable = $db->query("SOME QUERY")->fetch_assoc();
Although both that and your intial mysql_ usage are prone to errors. Neither will handle a failed query particularly nicely.
As a matter of fact, you should not have to condense the two lines into one using older mysql functions, and shouldn't do it with new ones.
When a programmer needs to condense something, they write a function. So you have to.
So, what it have to be
$myVariable = my_function("SOME QUERY");
As you can see,