Displaying data in table format from mysql database with php loop - php

Question

Need to display retrieved data from mysql table in table format, but not getting the right display i planned for. This is how i want it to look like
Target display
But this is what am getting based on my code
Current display
This is the html code
<div>
<table class="table table-striped table-hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>First Name</th>
<th>Last Name</th>
<th>Department</th>
<th>Action</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<?php
$staff_set = find_all_employee();
while ($staff = mysqli_fetch_assoc($staff_set)) {
//display staff first name, last name, department and action (edit and delete links)
?>
<tr>
<td>
<?php
echo $staff["first_name"];
}
?>
</td>
<?php
$staff_set = find_all_employee();
while ($staff = mysqli_fetch_assoc($staff_set)) {
//display staff last name
?>
<td>
<?php
echo $staff["last_name"];
}
?>
</td>
<?php
$staff_set = find_all_employee();
while ($staff = mysqli_fetch_assoc($staff_set)) {
//display staff department
?>
<td>
<?php
echo $staff["department"];
}
?>
</td>
<td>
<span class="glyphicon glyphicon-pencil"> Edit</span>
&nbsp
<span class="glyphicon glyphicon-trash"> Delete</span>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
Here is the function that am using to find the list of all employee from the my staff table
function find_all_employee() {
global $connection;
$query = "select * from staff";
$staff_set = mysqli_query($connection, $query);
confirm_query($staff_set);
return $staff_set;
}
Is there a better way to write the loop and display my data in the right way? I have looked up similar threads but still not able to grasp.

Answer 1

I dont understand why you calling so much tie function and also why making so much loops. Let me try fi your code:
<div>
<table class="table table-striped table-hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>First Name</th>
<th>Last Name</th>
<th>Department</th>
<th>Action</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<?php
$staff_set = find_all_employee();
while ($staff = mysqli_fetch_assoc($staff_set)) {
//display staff first name, last name, department and action (edit and delete links)
?>
<tr>
<td>
<?php echo $staff["first_name"]; ?>
</td>
<td>
<?php echo $staff["last_name"]; ?>
</td>
<td>
<?php echo $staff["department"]; ?>
</td>
<td>
<span class="glyphicon glyphicon-pencil"> Edit</span>
&nbsp
<span class="glyphicon glyphicon-trash"> Delete</span>
</td>
</tr>
<?php
}
?>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>

Answer 2

Since OP asked for a varying technique in a comment:
<?php
// Select all staff first name, last name, and department info
$staff_set = find_all_employee();
$staff_results = array();
while ($staff = mysqli_fetch_assoc($staff_set)) {
$staff_results[] = $staff;
}
?>
<div>
<table class="table table-striped table-hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>First Name</th>
<th>Last Name</th>
<th>Department</th>
<th>Action</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<?php if (!empty($staff_results)): ?>
<?php foreach($staff_results as $staff_member): ?>
<tr>
<td>
<?= $staff_member["first_name"]; ?>
</td>
<td>
<?= $staff_member["last_name"]; ?>
</td>
<td>
<?= $staff_member["department"]; ?>
</td>
<td>
<span class="glyphicon glyphicon-pencil"> Edit</span>
&nbsp
<span class="glyphicon glyphicon-trash"> Delete</span>
</td>
</tr>
<?php endforeach; ?>
<?php else: ?>
<tr><td colspan="4">No Staff Members Found.</td></tr>
<?php endif; ?>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
This also introduces the short tag syntax (<?=) for replacing calls to echo. Read this thread if your PHP version is < 5.4. This also introduces control structure alternate syntax, for better readability with HTML. The above approach separates the concern of selecting data from the DB from the presentation of the HTML. This allows for easier debugging, as well as future adaptation and modularization of your application.