Inserting a statement requiring minimum number of characters - php

Question

Here I have a code which inserts data into db. It's working fine now, but I want the title to have a minimum of 4 characters and the body a minimum of 500.
Here is my code:
<?php
if(isset($_POST['submit'])) {
//get blog data
$title=strip_tags($_POST['title']);
$body=strip_tags($_POST['body']);
$posted_by = $first_name;
$category=$_POST['category'];
$bio = $bio;
$userid=$_COOKIE['user'];
$date = date ('d-M-Y');
if ($title && $body && $category) {
$query = "INSERT INTO blogs (userid, title, body, posted_by, bio, category_id, posted) VALUES ('$userid', '$title', '$body', '$posted_by','$bio', '$category', '$date')";
$run = mysqli_query($con,$query);
if($query) {
echo "posted";
}
else {
echo "error";
}
}else {
echo "data missing";
}
}
?>
I tried the code below to put minimum requirements for the title and body, but it echoes the title error message whenever you submit data even when the title contains more than 5 characters.
<?php
if(isset($_POST['submit'])) {
//get blog data
$title=strip_tags($_POST['title']);
$body=strip_tags($_POST['body']);
$posted_by = $first_name;
$category=$_POST['category'];
$bio = $bio;
$userid=$_COOKIE['user'];
$date = date ('d-M-Y');
if (strlen($title<5)) {
echo "Title must be of minimum 5 characters";
}
else {
if (strlen($body<500)) {
echo "Title must be of minimum 500 characters";
}
else {
$query = "INSERT INTO blogs (userid, title, body, posted_by, bio, category_id, posted) VALUES ('$userid', '$title', '$body', '$posted_by','$bio', '$category', '$date')";
$run = mysqli_query($con,$query);
if($query) {
echo "posted";
}
else {
echo "error";
}
}
}
}
?>

Answer 1

A question as such deserves an explanation for future readers to the question.
The reason why your code is failing, is that:
if (strlen($title<5))
evaluates to:
function($string conditional)
when the syntax is:
function($string) conditional
The manual states:
int strlen ( string $string )
http://php.net/manual/en/function.strlen.php
Example pulled from the manual:
if (strlen($foo) === 0) echo 'Null length is Zero <br>';
Plus, as stated in comments. Your query is subject to an SQL injection. It's best to use a prepared statement.
Consult the following links:
How can I prevent SQL injection in PHP?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepared_statement

Answer 2

I think the issue lies with the conditions you used.
if (strlen($title<5))
should be
if (strlen($title)<5)
similarly
if (strlen($body<500))
to be
if (strlen($body)<500)

Answer 3

Try this:
<?php
if(isset($_POST['submit'])) {
//get blog data
$title=strip_tags($_POST['title']);
$body=strip_tags($_POST['body']);
$posted_by = $first_name;
$category=$_POST['category'];
$bio = $bio;
$userid=$_COOKIE['user'];
$date = date ('d-M-Y');
if (strlen($title) < 5) {
echo "Title must be of minimum 5 characters";
}else {
if (strlen($body) <500 ) {
echo "Body must be of minimum 500 characters";
}else {
$query = "INSERT INTO blogs (userid, title, body, posted_by, bio, category_id, posted) VALUES ('$userid', '$title', '$body', '$posted_by','$bio', '$category', '$date')";
$run = mysqli_query($con,$query);
if($query) {
echo "posted";
}else {
echo "error";
}
}
}
}
?>