Query after query in pdo? Binding problems [duplicate] - php

Question

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PDO pagination with LIKE
(1 answer)
Closed 2 years ago.
I have one doubt about PDO.
I have a method in the class that returns data from the database for sent filters.
I want to get a number of rows for that query, but there are LIMIT and STAR in the query.
So because of that, I am using two queries to get a number of rows and data but to work, I need to bind the same value two times. Is there any more elegant way to achieve not have repeated code?
The method that I use is below.
$db = $this->openConnection();
$sql = " SELECT * FROM contacts";
// Filter data by main search input
if(!empty($search_query)){
$sql .= " WHERE ( location LIKE :search_query_location OR address LIKE :search_query_address ) ";
}
$sql .=" ORDER BY ".$order;
$stmt = $db->prepare($sql);
if(!empty($search_query)){
$stmt->bindValue(':search_query_location', (string) $search_query.'%');
$stmt->bindValue(':search_query_address', (string) $search_query.'%');
}
// Get number of rows after filter
$stmt->execute();
$total = $stmt->rowCount();
$sql .=" LIMIT :start, :limit_num";
$stmt = $db->prepare($sql);
if(!empty($search_query)){
$stmt->bindValue(':search_query_location', (string) $search_query.'%');
$stmt->bindValue(':search_query_address', (string) $search_query.'%');
}
// Bind start and limit value
$stmt->bindValue(':start', (int) $start, PDO::PARAM_INT);
$stmt->bindValue(':limit_num', (int) $limit, PDO::PARAM_INT);
// Get filtered data
$stmt->execute();
$data = $stmt->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
return array($total,$data);
WHY I NEED TO REPEAT BINDING FOR TWO SAME QUERIES ONE WITHOUT LIMITS TO WORK IS THERE ANY ELEGANT SOLUTION

Answer 1

Problem
The reason that you have to bind twice is that $pdo->prepare($sql) returns a PDOStatement which isn't editable after it's been set. So when you update it you have to overwrite it and start again... Obviously the new statement doesn't retain the old bound parameters.
If you think of it as an array that you add some data to and then overwrite with a new, blank, array... You then can't read the information from the original array because it doesn't exist in the new one:
$array = [];
$array[] = 1;
$array[] = 2;
$array[] = 3;
var_dump($array);
/*
Output...
Array
(
[0] => 1
[1] => 2
[2] => 3
)
*/
$array = [];
print_r($array);
/*
Output...
Array
(
)
*/
The difference is that PDOStatement is an object not an array. But it's functionally the same thing!
N.B.
While $pdo->rowCount() may return the number of results from a SELECT query it isn't guaranteed so usually it's best practice not to use it.
I wouldn't overwrite the variable with a new query anyway... Better to use a different variable name e.g. $countQuery and $dataQuery
Solutions
So, if the only reason is that you're trying to reduce the amount of code then there are a bunch of solutions that you could use. However, this doesn't appear to be code golf, so why does it matter?
Solution 1
Assuming you don't have an unreasonable amount of unneeded results returned by the query then you could just return the array from the first query and use array_slice to take the place of the second query...
$pdo = $this->openConnection();
$sql = "SELECT * FROM contacts";
if($search_query){
$sql .= " WHERE ( location LIKE :search_query_location OR address LIKE :search_query_address ) ";
}
$sql .= " ORDER BY :order";
$query = $pdo->prepare($sql);
if($search_query){
$query->bindValue(':search_query_location', $search_query.'%');
$query->bindValue(':search_query_address', $search_query.'%');
}
$query->bindValue(':order', $order);
$query->execute();
$result = $query->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
$count = count($result);
return [$count, array_slice($result, $start, $limit)];
Solution 2
If you're worried about readability and code maintenance then you should remember that: it's usual for a method/function to have a reasonably specific function, for example...
Return the number of rows which match a query
Return the data which matches a query
Implementing this would mean you have each of your queries in separate functions:
function countContacts(...)
{
$sql = 'SELECT count(*) FROM contacts WHERE ...';
$query = $pdo->prepare($sql);
$query->bindValue(...);
$query->execute();
return $query->fetchColumn();
}
function getContacts(...)
{
$sql = 'SELECT * FROM contacts WHERE ... ORDER BY ... LIMIT ...';
$query = $pdo->prepare($sql);
$query->bindValue(...);
$query->execute();
return $result->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
}
Solution 3
I wouldn't use this, but it technically solves the issue
You could use a union and run two queries in one, then you could use emulated prepared statements (as per #Straberry's answer) to bind once...
Although, again, emulated prepared statements are not something that anyone on here is likely to suggest you should use without good reason. Of course you could use normal prepares and use different bind parameter names.
Either way, this isn't a great solution. I wouldn't use it.
$sql = "
SELECT COUNT(*) as col1, null as col2, null as col3, null as col4, null as col5 FROM contacts WHERE ...
UNTION
SELECT col1, col2, col3, col4, col5 FROM contacts WHERE ... ORDER BY ... LIMIT ...
";
$query = $pdo->prepare($sql);
$query->bindValue(...);
$query->execute();
$result = $query->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
return [$result[0]["col1"], array_slice($result, 1)];