Having problems retrieving from mysql to populate form - php

Question

I'm having a problem getting a result from my mysql database and getting it to popular a form. Basically, i'm making an item database where players can submit item details from a game and view the database to get information for each item. I have everything working as far as adding the items to the database and viewing the database. Now i'm trying to code an edit item page. I've basically reused my form from the additem page so it is showing the same form. At the top of my edititem page, I have the php code to pull the item number from the url as the item numbers are unique. So i'm using a prepared statement to pull the item number, then trying to retrieve the rest of the information from the database, then setting each information to a variable. Something is going on with my code but I can't find any errors. I entered a few header calls to debug by putting information in the url bar...But the headers aren't even being called in certain spots and im not getting any errors.
In the form, I used things like
<input name="itemname" type="text" value="<?php $edit_itemname?>">
and nothing is showing in the textbox. I'm fairly new to php and it seems much more difficult to debug than the other languages i've worked with..Any help or suggestions as far as debugging would be greatly appreciated. I posted my php code below as well if you guys see anything wrong...I shouldn't be having issues this simple! I'm pulling my hair out lol.
Thanks guys!
<?php
require 'dbh.php';
if (!isset($_GET['itemnumber'])) {
header("Location: itemdb.php");
exit();
}else{
$sql = "SELECT * FROM itemdb WHERE id = ?";
$stmt = mysqli_stmt_init($conn);
if (!mysqli_stmt_prepare($stmt, $sql)) {
header("Location: edititem.php?error=sqlerror");
exit();
}else{
$getid = $_GET['itemnumber'];
mysqli_stmt_bind_param($stmt, "i", $getid);
mysqli_stmt_execute($stmt);
$result = mysqli_stmt_get_result($stmt);
//Make sure an item is selected
if ($result == 0) {
$message = "You must select an item to edit!";
header("Location: edititem.php?Noresults");
exit();
}else{
while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($stmt)) {
$edit_itemname = $row['name'];
$edit_itemkeywords = $row['type'];
$edit_itemego = $row['ego'];
$edit_itemweight = $row['weight'];
$edit_itemacordmg = $row['acordmg'];
$edit_itemtags = $row['tags'];
$edit_itemworn = $row['worn'];
$edit_itemaffects = $row['affects'];
$edit_itemloads = $row['loads'];
$edit_itemarea = $row['area'];
$edit_itemcomments = $row['comments'];
header("Location: edititem.php?testing");
}
}
}
}
?>

Answer 1

To get the value of $edit_itemname into the output you should be using <?= not <?php. Saying <?php will run the code, so basically that is just a line with the variable in it. You are not telling it to print the value in the variable.
If your whole line looks like:
<input name="itemname" type="text" value="<?= $edit_itemname?>">
That should give you what you are looking for. The <?= is the equivalent of saying echo $edit_itemname;
If you don't like using <?= you could alternatively say
<input name="itemname" type="text" value="<?php echo $edit_itemname; ?>">

Answer 2

Your code should be change to a more readable form and you should add an output - I wouldn't recomment to use <?= - and you need to choose what you're going to do with your rows - maybe <input>, <table> - or something else?
<?php
require 'dbh.php';
if (!isset($_GET['itemnumber'])) {
header("Location: itemdb.php");
exit();
} // no else needed -> exit()
$sql = "SELECT * FROM itemdb WHERE id = ?";
$stmt = mysqli_stmt_init($conn);
if (!mysqli_stmt_prepare($stmt, $sql)) {
header("Location: edititem.php?error=sqlerror");
exit();
} // no else needed -> exit()
$getid = $_GET['itemnumber'];
mysqli_stmt_bind_param($stmt, "i", $getid);
mysqli_stmt_execute($stmt);
$result = mysqli_stmt_get_result($stmt);
//Make sure an item is selected
if ($result == 0) {
$message = "You must select an item to edit!";
header("Location: edititem.php?Noresults");
exit();
} // no else needed -> exit()
while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($stmt)) {
$edit_itemname = $row['name'];
$edit_itemkeywords = $row['type'];
$edit_itemego = $row['ego'];
$edit_itemweight = $row['weight'];
$edit_itemacordmg = $row['acordmg'];
$edit_itemtags = $row['tags'];
$edit_itemworn = $row['worn'];
$edit_itemaffects = $row['affects'];
$edit_itemloads = $row['loads'];
$edit_itemarea = $row['area'];
$edit_itemcomments = $row['comments'];
// does not make sense here: header("Location: edititem.php?testing");
// show your data (need to edited):
echo "Name: " + $edit_itemname + "<br/>";
echo "Area: " + $edit_itemarea + "<br/>";
echo "Comment: " + $edit_itemcomments + "<br/>";
// end of current row
echo "<hr><br/>"
}
?>